Bess Atwell performs latest single "The Weeping" as she launches third studio album Light Sleeper.The Brighton-based singer recorded the album in the famous New York studio of producer Aaron Dessner, joining the likes of Taylor Swift,...

British rock act Wings of Desire perform their single "Chance Of A Lifetime" in a live acoustic session for Music Box.As their social and politically conscious songwriting and superb live shows grow the band's reputation, the band's...

Irish singer Luz (pronounced 'Luce') performs her single ""sustain"" on Music Box.Armed with nothing other than the piano and her beautiful vocals, Luz says the song is about ADHD, showcasing the reason why she was nominated for the Ivor...

Hannah Grae delivers a blistering performance of 'I Never Say No' for Music Box.The singer came to the attention of many through her series of cover versions and original tracks responding to the likes of Olivia Rodrigo recorded in her...

Celebrating the release of her EP Honour And Glory, soul singer MEGA stopped by the Music Box studio to perform two tracks.The London singer has been gathering a following across 2023 with supporting slots for the likes of Self Esteem...

What is a nota cambiata? What are the four steps involved? How do I use one or spot one in a piece of music? Can I see and hear an example? A nota cambiata is a cadence formula used in music of the Renaissance period and is a device that...

Each key has five closely related keys to which we can modulate. This music composition lesson explains how to find those neighbouring keys and the purpose and use of pivot chords, before showing all the options for using pivot chords in...

What are chord inversions? How do we write them? How do we identify chord inversions and why do we need them? Refresh your knowledge of the diatonic chords and 7ths within any key and understand how chords can be presented in their...

How Bach elaborately decorates a simple chord scheme to transform the impact of the opening bars of his Sarabande from the English Suite no 2 in A minor. This composer insights lesson unpacks how Bach combines conventional ornaments like...

Music analysis and exploration of the simple structure of the first movement of Schumann’s kinderszenen. Having explained how the external structure works, the internal phrase structure is unpacked. We then go on to examine how the...

Learn how to compose a two-part invention and deal with counterpoint and contrapuntal writing. This music composition lesson demonstrates how to add a second part to a given part in order to create an example of a two-part invention. The...

Each key has five closely related keys to which we can modulate. This music composition lesson explains how to find those neighbouring keys and the purpose and use of pivot chords, before showing all the options for using pivot chords in...

A look the breakdown of modality in “Ecce Advenit” by William Byrd. The typical features of the late Renaissance style are illustrated, including the linear construction and use of counterpoint. The video then proceeds to explore how the...

What is a Tritone Substitution? How do you work out a tritone substitution? How do you use one?The tritone is defined and it’s use within a Dominant 7th chord is explored. The inversion of the tritone is demonstrated as a means of...

Learn how chord inversions work, what they are, how and when to use them, and how to label them. This music theory lesson includes U.K. and U.S. terminology to describe inversion chords and you will learn how to use all the diatonic...

A look at a Bach chorale where the embellishments work in conjunction to create rhythmic movement within the piece. We examine the choice of harmony, the part writing, dealing with harmonic and melodic minor, plus other features of the...

How does Bach create stability when writing harmony? Let's find out as we take a deeper look into a fantastic chorale harmonization and examine the choice of harmony, chromatic chords, secondary dominants, borrowed chords. and...

How to convert a less than satisfactory passage of harmony into a passage that works much better. In particular, there is a focus on how to use common notes (common tones) to maintain stability in the part writing when moving from one...

Are you struggling to get started in writing a chord progression? When you're writing a chord progression it often makes sense to start with chord one but which chords could you use next? This music composition lesson gives you thirteen...

This music composition lesson takes an opening bar and demonstrates how to modulate into three different closely related keys. The opening bar is used as a departure point for modulations to the dominant, the subdominant and the relative...

Learn about the 7 modes of limited transposition used by Olivier Messiaen in his music. The difference between these and more common modes is explained, along with an explanation of how each mode has a particular number of possible...

An insight into the introduction of George Michael’s “Careless Whisper” to discover the skills employed to create the opening to this iconic song. This video lays out the chord scheme used during the introduction and demonstrates the...

Teaching you the best ways to deal with second inversion chords. The second inversion chord is explained along with its unstable characteristics and the video goes on to illustrate the most convincing musical contexts for using the chord...

Bach loves to use scalic bass lines within his chorales as a solid foundation for building the harmonic structure. Often the bass lines interact with the other parts within the texture to create a conversational type of movement. Let's...