Music Matters
Generating Rhythmic Movement and Embellishment - Inside the Mind of Bach
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...
Music Matters
Horizontal and Vertical Sight Reading
Learning to sight read advanced piano music involves improving your skills in both horizontal and vertical sight reading. Some keyboard players tend to read individual lines from left to right on the score. This is useful for absorbing...
Music Matters
Creating Melodies from Chord Progressions - Music Composition
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...
Music Matters
How to Compose a Melody from a Chord Scheme - Music Composition
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...
Music Matters
Common Notes Between Chords - Inside the Mind of Bach
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...
Music Matters
Reading and Understanding Intervals - How to Read Music
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...
Music Matters
Using a Common Note in Harmony - Music Composition
How to convert a less than satisfactory passage of harmony into a passage that works much better. In particular, there is a focus on how to use common notes (common tones) to maintain stability in the part writing when moving from one...
Music Matters
The Best Chords to Follow Chord One - Music Composition
Are you struggling to get started in writing a chord progression? When you're writing a chord progression it often makes sense to start with chord one but which chords could you use next? This music composition lesson gives you thirteen...
Music Matters
3 Ways to Modulate from the Same Opening - Music Composition
This music composition lesson takes an opening bar and demonstrates how to modulate into three different closely related keys. The opening bar is used as a departure point for modulations to the dominant, the subdominant and the relative...
Music Matters
Music Theory Exam Tips & Advice - Music Theory
These music theory exam tips could make all the difference in your exam. Are you taking a music theory exam soon? Then this music theory lesson is for you. Find out what to take to the exam, how best to prepare, how to work through the...
Music Matters
What are Messiaens Modes of Limited Transposition: Music Theory
Learn about the 7 modes of limited transposition used by Olivier Messiaen in his music. The difference between these and more common modes is explained, along with an explanation of how each mode has a particular number of possible...
Music Matters
George Michaels Skillful Use of Extended Chords Composer Insights
An insight into the introduction of George Michael’s “Careless Whisper” to discover the skills employed to create the opening to this iconic song. This video lays out the chord scheme used during the introduction and demonstrates the...
Music Matters
Why the Notes E# B# Cb and Fb Really Do Exist - Music Theory
Yes, the notes E#, B#, Cb and Fb really do exist and it's important to know why. In this music theory lesson we explain the often confusing topic of enharmonic equivalents and why in music we sometimes have to call a note E# instead of...
Music Matters
How to Harmonize a Major Scale - Music Theory
Would you like to be able to harmonize a major scale? Improve your keyboard harmony and learn how to easily harmonize a major scale. Being able to harmonize a major scale gives you a good feel for the key - useful for players and...
Music Matters
False Relation - Music Theory
Learn all about false relation and the two ways in which it commonly occurs. A false relation comes about when there are two notes of the same letter but with differing accidentals that either occur simultaneously or between one chord...
Music Matters
Orchestration & Writing for Woodwind - The Oboe
A look at how to write for the oboe in detail. During this orchestration video you will discover the range of the Oboe, the clef it uses, how it functions as a double reed non-transposing instrument, and how to write for it in such a way...
Music Matters
Using 6-4 5-3 Chord Progressions - Music Composition
Teaching you the best ways to deal with second inversion chords. The second inversion chord is explained along with its unstable characteristics and the video goes on to illustrate the most convincing musical contexts for using the chord...
Music Matters
Romantic Waltz Style - Composing for the Piano
In this episode of composing for the piano we take the Music Matters theme and present it as a Waltz in Romantic style. The Music Matters theme was originally written in 4 time. By converting it into 3 time with some rhythmic...
Music Matters
How to Easily Move from One Key to Another Using a Pivot Chord - Music Composition
Learn how to easily modulate from one key to another using a pivot chord. Some people can write a piece of music but experience difficulty when it comes to modulation i.e. moving from one key to another. This music composition lesson...
Music Matters
Anticipation Notes (Non-Harmonic Tones) - Music Theory
Improve your melody writing and learn all about anticipation notes and non-harmonic tones. When melody notes fit the prevailing chord we refer to them as harmony notes. When they do not fit the chord they should belong to one of the...
Music Matters
Using Scalic Bass Lines - Inside the Mind of Bach
Bach loves to use scalic bass lines within his chorales as a solid foundation for building the harmonic structure. Often the bass lines interact with the other parts within the texture to create a conversational type of movement. Let's...
Music Matters
Reading Bass Clef Ledger Lines - Music Theory
How well do you know your bass clef ledger lines above and below the stave? You may be fairly new to reading music or you may have been a musician for years but many musicians get caught out when it comes to reading notes on ledger...
Music Matters
The Mannheim School of Composers - Music History
The Mannheim school of composers, led by Stamitz, steered significant musical developments during the second half of the eighteenth century. This music history lesson explains some of their most significant innovations and explains the...
Music Matters
Improve Your Harmony - Music Composition
Improve your harmony with advanced chords and learn how to write more dramatic chord progressions with this music composition tip. In this music composition lesson we analyse the harmony of the opening section of Bach’s C Minor Partita,...