Music Matters
How to Tell if Music is in Simple Time or Compound Time - Music Theory
What is simple time and compound time? How can you tell the difference? Are you able to listen to a piece of music and hear if it's in simple time or compound time? Many people find the area of simple time and compound time confusing. In...
Music Matters
Music Exam Preparation Tips - Music Performance
Many musicians across the world enter for music exams. If you’re taking an exam how best can you prepare and what are the things to consider so you can give your best on the day? This music performance lesson reflects on Gareth's decades...
Music Matters
Why Do We Have 3 Minor Scales? - Music Theory
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...
Music Matters
Test Your Knowledge of The Circle of Fifths - Music Theory
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...
Music Matters
Minor Key Harmony - Music Theory
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...
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How to Recognize Written Chords in Sheet Music - Music Theory
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...
Music Matters
Sight Reading Advice & Tips - Music Performance
Get better at sight reading with these expert tips and techniques, suitable for candidates preparing for ABRSM exams. How good are you at Sight Reading? It’s an area that many musicians worry about. In music exams, quite often it turns...
Music Matters
How to Harmonize a Minor Scale - Music Theory
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...
Music Matters
What is a Nota Cambiata? - Music Theory
What is a nota cambiata? What are the four steps involved? How do I use one or spot one in a piece of music? Can I see and hear an example? A nota cambiata is a cadence formula used in music of the Renaissance period and is a device that...
Music Matters
Nervous About Your Music Exam? - Music Performance
Are you nervous about your music exam? Many people get very nervous when it comes to taking a music exam. In this music performance lesson we begin by exploring the most common symptoms that people experience before going on to consider...
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Choosing the Right Chords in Minor Keys - Music Composition
How do we go about choosing chords and how can you be sure if you've got the right for a given situation? A lot of people are happier doing this in major keys than they are in minor keys so in this music composition lesson we're going to...
Music Matters
Chromatic Chord Alterations - Music Composition
Improve your music writing and harmony with these three chromatic chord alteration tricks. Many composers, arrangers, and improvisers get fed up with being stuck using the same basic chords all the time. This music composition lesson...
Music Matters
Writing & Developing a Melody Line - Music Composition
How to develop a melodic idea and write more interesting music. You may have some good melodic ideas but you’re not sure how to develop them or you may be preparing for a music theory exam in which you need to extend a given opening into...
Music Matters
Modulation using the German 6th Chord - Music Theory
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...
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Modulation using a Pivot Note - Music Theory
You may be familiar with modulating to a different key using a pivot chord but can you modulate using a pivot note? Use this modulation technique to modulate to more extreme keys. When Baroque composers first ventured into the realms of...
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Modulating to Closely Related Keys (Minor Key Modulation Chart) - Music Composition
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...
Music Matters
Understanding Chord Inversions - Music Composition
What are chord inversions? How do we write them? How do we identify chord inversions and why do we need them? Refresh your knowledge of the diatonic chords and 7ths within any key and understand how chords can be presented in their...
Music Matters
Which Chord Comes Next? (Major Chord Progression Chart) - Music Composition
How do you know which chord you could use next? We share our very own major 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...
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How Bach Elaborately Decorates a Simple Chord Scheme - Composer Insights
How Bach elaborately decorates a simple chord scheme to transform the impact of the opening bars of his Sarabande from the English Suite no 2 in A minor. This composer insights lesson unpacks how Bach combines conventional ornaments like...
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Schumanns Simple Musical Structures Composer Insights
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...
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Composing a Two-Part Invention - Music Composition
Learn how to compose a two-part invention and deal with counterpoint and contrapuntal writing. This music composition lesson demonstrates how to add a second part to a given part in order to create an example of a two-part invention. The...
Music Matters
Modulating to Closely Related Keys (Major Key Modulation Chart) - Music Composition
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...
Music Matters
Serialism & Serial Music Explained - Music Theory
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...
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What is a Motif in Music? - Music Theory
Learn all about the motif, what they are, famous examples and how to write your own. One way in which music is written is for it to be based on a motif or combination of motifs. So what is a motif and how would a composer work with a...