How to undertake a roman numeral chord analysis of a piece of music. Using a short movement by Schumann this music theory lesson explains how to read the keys then how to discover each of the chords, including designating extension...

Discover how Alberti Bass works and how useful it is in breathing energy into accompaniments. Often composers write a successful melody but the accompaniment is limited to block chords. Using Alberti Bass is one way of liberating the...

A clever little music composition technique for you to try in your next piece. This music composition lesson begins with a reminder of how to extend triads to 7th chords in the conventional manner. It then goes on to consider an...

This music composition lesson demonstrates how to take a succession of block chords and turn them into melodic lines with arpeggiated accompaniment. The chord sequence is analysed then organised as a melodic line at the top of the...

Many composers and students of harmony worry about harmonising repeated notes in a melody. Repeated notes can make for melodic stagnation and the remedy is often to create harmonic interest but how is this achieved? This music theory...

The key movement is fast and chords do not always resolve as expected. In particular, we discover how Bach uses a number of unresolved dominant 7ths back to back, making this a radical approach for Baroque times. Discover what Bach is...

A video describing how to play the notes B, A and G on the recorder.

Find out how to draw the Circle of Fifths and why it's so incredibly useful! Learn how to use the circle of fifths to work out all the major keys, all the minor keys and all their key signatures. Useful for understanding keys and key...

In this music theory lesson we look at the circle of fifths. It can seem complicated at first, but the circle of fifths can be a really useful tool when learning music theory. It organizes key signatures, and it can tell you what kinds...

How to use the circle of fifths to modulate and change keys. If we are writing or improvising a piece of music and we want to modulate to other keys, how do we decide which keys to move to? The Circle of 5ths not only explains the whole...

This video is a comprehensive lesson on circle theorems, including an extension on the topic. The presenter covers the key four circle theorems that students should know, including the arrow shape, bow shape, quadrilateral, and...

Harmonizing a melody using chromatic chords and advanced harmonic techniques to effect modulation to extreme keys. The melody to be harmonized includes an extreme modulation from Eb to B major before travelling back to Eb major. This...

Minor key harmony can be very complicated. Many people are reasonably happy about choosing chords to harmonize a melody in a major key but minor keys present particular challenges, especially when trying to figure out your way around the...

How to recognize written chords in sheet music. This music theory lesson will help you understand how to look at a chord and know what chord is written. By the end of this lesson, you will have a good understanding of how to identify...

Now that we've built the circle, how do we use it? What all can we do with the Circle of Fifths?

Are you struggling to get started in writing a chord progression? If you want to use chord III what are the best options for chords to follow? This music composition lesson gives you plenty of options for chords that progress well from...

Improve your keyboard harmony and learn how to easily harmonize a minor scale. If you want to get really happy about playing, sight reading, improvising, or writing in minor keys then learning to harmonize a minor scale can prove very...

How do we go about choosing chords and how can you be sure if you've got the right for a given situation? A lot of people are happier doing this in major keys than they are in minor keys so in this music composition lesson we're going to...

Improve your music writing and harmony with these three chromatic chord alteration tricks. Many composers, arrangers, and improvisers get fed up with being stuck using the same basic chords all the time. This music composition lesson...

Learn about the two systems for labelling chords in the Roman Numeral system, namely Basic Roman and Extended Roman. In this music theory lesson the construction of diatonic chords is explained, followed by the labelling of those chords....

You may be familiar with modulating to a different key using a pivot chord but can you modulate using a pivot note? Use this modulation technique to modulate to more extreme keys. When Baroque composers first ventured into the realms of...

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 do you know which chord you could use next? We share our very own major chord progression chart that will help get you started in figuring out which chord comes next. Musicians often wonder which is the best way to progress from one...