See why every musician should become familiar with figured bass. For harpsichordists and organists needing to realise figured bass in performance realising figured bass fluently with style is essential. For others it’s a useful way of...

We explore what makes the harmony of this iconic Christmas song so iconic and durable. Irving Berlin’s song from 1940 includes a rich blend of diatonic, extended and chromatic chords, which skilfully add distinctive character to the...

This music theory lesson summarises the rule of the octave and explains how it offers insight into harmonic thinking and into Baroque harmony in particular. The rule of the octave begins with the notion of harmonising an octave of the...

Learn about the most commonly used borrowed chords and chromatically altered chords. Many composers and arrangers find themselves limited to diatonic chords and lack the confidence to use borrowed and chromatically altered chords. Yet...

Which are the most common approach chords? We consider the reasons why these chords work better than other options, examining voice leading, the smooth progression of parts, and the avoidance of parallels & false relations. This music...

Learn the quickest and most efficient methods of modulating from one key to the next on the circle of 5ths. The first part of the video is devoted to movement from key to key moving left around the circle of 5ths, then the second part...

How to take a plain bass line and turn it into something much more interesting. By using quavers and eighth notes this music composition lesson works through how to use extra chord tones, harmony notes and non-chord tones, inessential...

Chopin’s E minor Prelude is one of his most popular and most beautiful Preludes. What makes the impact of this piece so poetic? This composer insights lesson begins by examining the melodic line in the right hand. Through much of the...

How to approach constructing a note row that also incorporates a sense of tonality. The music composition lesson explores how to build in some implication of a key within a twelve-tone serial piece and explains how to achieve a...

Learn how to evolve a rising sequence above a bass line employing a series of 4-3 suspensions alternating in the upper parts. We explore a Baroque technique that has broader application for harmonic writing, giving ideas for developing...

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...

Some examples of chords that would work well approaching a Neapolitan flat two chord. This music composition lesson begins with a reminder of how to form a major chord on the flattened supertonic, otherwise known as a Neapolitan chord....

Discover how to transform a piece of music that is using block chords into a much more engaging presentation with a moving bass line. Taking the opening of the British National Anthem this music composition lesson demonstrates how to...

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...

Classical melody writing tricks and music composition techniques. We begin with an exploration of how melody notes must either belong to the harmony or be identified as inessential notes. We then move on to consider how conjunct and...

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...

This video gives us an quick revision on 'Circle' from our interesting series 'Some Stupid Math Mistakes'

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?