Is There Life On Mars? A harmonic analysis of one of Bowie's best. We delve into the mind of the composer and explore what makes David Bowie’s “Life on Mars” such an original and iconic song. The main focus is on the harmonic content of...

This composer insights lesson explores the Romantic harmony of Burgmüller as written in his delightful character piece for piano “At the Christmas Tree”. It explains the overall Ternary structure of the piece then how the internal...

What is doubling the major third? How do you know if its a major third? Can you double thirds? Why is doubling a major third bad? This music composition lesson explains one of the rules of writing four-part harmony, namely the advice to...

Season 3, Episode 19 - Two Minute Music Theory Today we begin a series on Building Chords. Starting with the two most common types of chords in western music: The Major and Minor Chords.

These rules will get you writing better harmony. Avoiding these common mistakes, although not absolutely necessary, will often help your keyboard harmony flow much better than before. In this video, we work through some of the ‘rules of...

Learn how to easily modulate using something known as a pivot chord. Do you struggle to modulate from one key to another? Then this is for you. Lots of people can write or improvise music but get stuck in one key. Changing key, or...

In this episode of composing for the piano we introduce the original Music Matters theme. Over the course of this series, we're going to take the music matters theme and arrange it into different styles, discussing music composition...

Starting with a set of chords and finding a melody to fit them on the piano. Building keyboard harmony skills with improvisation but also keeping some of the rules of harmony and melodic techniques in mind. Most people engaged in...

Pop songs are so dang catchy, whether you like them or not; but why? We look to music theory for the answers.

What does a lead sheet look like and how do you play from one? This music performance lesson takes you through the first eight bars of a famous Standard, “Lullaby of Birdland”, explaining how a lead sheet works, unpacking how to read...

The plagal cadence, also sometimes called the "amen" cadence. In this video we look at examples of the plagal cadence, how it is used in music, and what it sounds like by listening to some examples. This continues our look into music...

Music Matters demonstrates Identifying Inessential Notes

Discover an easy method to work out and accurately identify intervals using this simple interval chart. In music, an interval is a measured distance between two notes. When the notes sound at the same time it is called a harmonic...

This music theory lesson explains how to effect radical modulation by using just a single note. By using a single pivot note, rather than a pivot chord, it is possible to modulate to distant keys without making the music sound strange....

How to write better harmony and chord progressions. This music composition lesson begins with what is often a typical working of a four-part harmony exercise, which doesn’t sound bad but doesn’t sound good. We explore what works and what...

How to compose and develop melody over a set of chords. Are you someone who can come up with a chord progression but you’re not quite sure how to improvise or write a melody to go with it? In this music composition lesson, we take a...

Learn all about the interrupted cadence, also known as the deceptive cadence, which chords it uses and how it sounds. Would you like to write an interrupted cadence? Would you like to be able to hear interrupted cadences? Cadences...

How to grasp extended chords and chromatic chords from a Lead Sheet. Using the opening section of the jazz standard “Fly me to the moon” you will learn how to read a rich chord language and how to organise the spacing and texture of...

Always wondered what we mean by the term extended chords? Want to use extended chords but not sure how to? Are you a composer who can use chords but want your chords to be more interesting and more colourful? Want to be able to use...

Making music with 7th chord chains and advanced chord progressions in any style, from baroque to cocktail piano. The chain of 7ths has been used by composers since the Baroque period as a means of providing a rich sequence of 7th chords...

Beginner's guide to four-part harmony. This music theory lesson explains the basics of how to write four-part harmony to fit with a given melody. Often people can write a tune they are happy with but they are not sure which chords to use...

Find out what makes a secondary dominant and how best to use them. A secondary dominant is a way of adding a touch of harmonic colour to a piece of music. It occurs when a V-l progression occurs in a key other than the prevailing key....

Last time we talked about chord progressions in a major key. Today we will look at chord progressions in a minor key. In this video we will find the key signature for the minor key, build the diatonic chords of that key, make a chord...

Music can often be quite symmetrical, which is great, because humans tend to love symmetry. Season 4, Episode 4