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...

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

Learn how auxiliary notes and escape tones work, a useful melodic device you can use to improve your melody writing. Melody notes usually work best when they belong to the prevailing chord. However, by only using notes that belong to the...

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...

Sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch are the five basic senses that humans pocess. But surely we can do better, right? As scientists unravel the mysteries of the brain, the true level of its neuroplasticity is being revealed. In this...

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...

We continue our "Building Music" series, looking at how composers construct music. Today we look at how motifs can be used to construct phrases, and phrases can be used to make periods.

Music Matters demonstrates Identifying Inessential Notes

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....

Journey through the opening of George Shearing’s “Lullaby of Birdland”. What makes his compositional approach so successful? We look at the design of the melody and how one phrase relates to another. We also examine the rhythmic...

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...

In this video, the teacher explains how to read words with the R controlled syllable, specifically focusing on the OR sound like in "fork." The teacher emphasizes the importance of recognizing the OR syllable and blending the sounds...

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...

Occasionally you'll find that even Bach doesn't follow the rules of four-part harmony however he often has a good reason to break them. This video takes a look at one of his Chorales in which some rules are broken in order to achieve a...

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...

What is the Difference between the Ionian Mode and the Major Scale

Does it get any better than Mozart? This composer insights lesson explores the first movement of Mozart’s K545 Sonata in C. The simple phrase structure and melodic design are unpacked in the context of the overall Sonata Form. Triadic...

How Grieg builds musical character in “Wedding Day at Troldhaugen”, number 6 of his op.65 Lyric Pieces written in celebration of his own 25th wedding anniversary. The celebratory character is explored through the tonality, the...

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...