Can you answer all the questions in this Circle of Fifths quiz? The Circle of Fifths tells you everything you need to know about major keys, minor keys, and key signatures. This music theory lesson presents a light-hearted quiz that is...

Test your knowledge of The Circle of Fifths! Can you answer these questions? The Circle of Fifths tells you everything you need to know about major keys, minor keys, and key signatures. This music theory lesson presents a light-hearted...

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...

There are 3 minor scales, or more precisely, 3 variants of the minor scale because of how harmony and melody interact in Western musical tradition. Why do they exist and what are they? In this music theory lesson we explain the Natural...

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

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...

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...

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....

Learn how to use a German 6th chord to modulate from one key to another. The German 6th has a chromatic chord function within the key to which it belongs and can add helpful colour and tension to the harmony. The German 6th can also...

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

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...

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

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...

Serialism and Serial Music explained, with an insight into serialism composition rules and techniques. Always wanted to understand Serialism or Twelve note tone rows? All evolved by the composers of the Second Viennese School, led by...

How do you know which chord you could use next? We share our very own minor 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...

Composing music in different styles using the same chord progression. Have you ever experienced the frustration of finding a sequence of chords you really like the sound of but have been unsure about how to compose a melody to fit those...

A masterclass in modulation achieved by studying one of Bach's Chorales. We examine the choice of harmony and modulation, the part writing, the use of accented and unaccented passing notes, plus other features of the Bach Chorale style....

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...

Learn how to write a melody over a chord progression. Have you got a great set of chords that need a melody to fit with them? In this music composition lesson we learn how to compose or improvise a melody that fits with a given chord...

Learn how to create melodies from chord progressions. We start with a set of chords in four-part harmony and find notes which fit the progression before going on to add melodic variation and input some non-harmonic tones. This music...

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 work out intervals and develop the ability to hear and pitch them. Many people struggle to pitch notes accurately from a score, whether you’re a singer or someone needing to sight sing in an instrumental exam. In this video you'll...

How Sergei Rachmaninoff makes use of motifs when composing music. This composer insights lesson explores the opening of Rachmaninoff’s “Vocalise”. The melodic design is explained alongside the rich harmony, which features extended and...

Chord identification on the piano and how to tell the difference between major, minor, augmented, and diminished chords. In this music theory lesson all is explained. Within any major key there is found a mixture of major, minor, and...