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...

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...

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...

The Second installment in our Building Chords Series. Today we look at the Augmented and Diminished Chords, and how they related to the Major and Minor Chords.

Learn all about the Picardy Third and Picardy Cadence, otherwise known as the Tierce de Picarde. The Tierce da Picardie is a musical device often used by composers to provide an optimistic finish to a piece in a minor key. The Tierce da...

What is the difference between 3/4 and 6/8 time signatures? Mathematically it appears that 3/4 and 6/8 are two versions of the same thing. On the face of it, there may appear to be little difference between music in 3/4 time or music in...

How Bach makes use of multiple suspensions, often overlapping each other, in one of his chorale workings. We also take a look at the choice of harmony, the part writing, dealing with harmonic and melodic minor, plus other features of the...

A look at all that can be done using the Circle of 5ths

How to build all major scales

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 do to construct and use augmented 6th chords in minor keys. This music composition lesson explains the best ways to write approach chords to Augmented 6th chords and the best ways to resolve them. After explaining how to form...

Today I want to talk about parallel major and minor keys. The example we are using today is the Spanish Christmas carol A La Nanita Nana. First we will look at how to identify the minor key by using the three half step trick. Then we can...

How to use diminished 7th chords. This music composition lesson explains how to construct a diminished 7th chord and how to key reference it, clearing up various common misunderstandings on the way. We explore the diminished 7th chord in...

This music theory lesson teaches you how to harmonize a melody with chords in a minor key on the piano. The video focuses on how to choose the most effective chords for the given melody and also investigates the particular challenges of...

Musicians often need to transpose music from one key to another, in order to accommodate transposing instruments or to realign music in a key to suit singers, for example. Some people need to understand the theory behind writing out a...

A Guide to transposing instruments, and what to do with them

How do you use Neapolitan chords in? How does a Neapolitan sixth chord resolve? What are the best approach chords to use before a Neapolitan? This music composition lesson explains the best ways to write approach chords to Neapolitan...

How to recognise a modulation in music. This music theory lesson explains what constitutes modulation and works through a piece of music that contains several modulations. An analysis of chords, accidentals and cadences reveals the...

I get a lot of questions about how to use music theory to write music. So, today I'm taking a look at a melody I wrote a long time ago to see how I can improve it using concept we learn in Theory I and II.

How To Find The Key In Three EASY Steps

Learn how to build and recognise major and minor chords. This music theory lesson teaches you how to construct major and minor chords above any given note. Two techniques are explained, one based on intervals and the other based on...

Writing bad four part harmony?! Lots of people manage part of the journey with four-part harmony then get stuck or struggle to develop an outcome that is musically satisfying. This music composition lesson starts with a piece of...

We often see accidentals in music but they have different significance depending on the context. Accidentals might be flagging up a key change, or they might be decorative chromatic notes, or they might be signifying a minor key, or they...

Solfege has been around for a long time - over 700 years. And it gets mentioned a lot, in music rehearsals, on this channel, and in the Sound of Music. So, what exactly is solfege, and how can we use it?