Music Matters
Can You Name the Interval? - Music Theory
Can you name these intervals? In this music theory lesson you will have an opportunity to discover how accurate you are at identifying intervals. Do you know your major intervals from your minor intervals or your augmented intervals from...
Music Matters
Orchestration & Writing for Brass - The Trumpet
All you need to know in order to begin composing for the trumpet. This orchestration video explores the Trumpet as a solo instrument and in the context of playing as part of an ensemble of Trumpets or wider Brass, and explains the rather...
Music Matters
Decorating Straightforward Harmony - Inside the Mind of Bach
Find out how Bach goes about decorating a straightforward chord progression and use multiple harmonic devices to create a really moving piece of music. We examine the choice of harmony and modulation, the part writing, the use of...
Music Matters
What is a Cadential 6-4? - Music Theory
What is a cadential 6-4? What does it sound like? How does it function? What do we mean by “cadential” and 6-4? This music theory lesson explains the cadential 6-4 and answers all those questions. The melodic, as well as the harmonic...
Music Matters
Intervals Quiz - Music Theory
How good is your ability to work out the interval between two notes? In this music theory lesson we practice working out intervals. Do you know your Major intervals from your Minor intervals or your Augmented intervals from your...
Music Matters
Consecutive Fifths and Consecutive Octaves - Music Theory
Consecutive fifths and consecutive octaves. This music theory lesson presents a short passage of four-part harmony that is filled with consecutive fifths and consecutive octaves (also known as parallel fifths and parallel octaves)....
Music Matters
Transposing a Melody into Another Key - Music Theory
How to transpose a melody from one key to another. Suitable for students preparing for Grade 5 theory exams. Are you confused about transposition? Do you need to transpose some music by playing or writing out music in a different key? Do...
Music Matters
Passing Notes (Non-Harmonic Tones) - Music Theory
What are passing notes? Find out how they work and how best to use them. Melodic notes must either belong to the prevailing chord or should be inessential notes. The most common inessential note is the passing note, which moves by step....
Music Matters
How to Play Ornaments on the Piano - Music Performance
How to play ornaments on the piano. We take a melody and fill it with the most commonly used ornaments, explaining what all the different signs for musical ornaments are and how each should be played. The lesson covers the Trill, the...
Music Matters
Enharmonic Equivalents - Music Theory
What is Enharmonic equivalent in music? Why is the same note sometimes called A# and sometimes Bb? Why is F sometimes known as E#? Why do we have double sharps and double flats? This music theory lesson explains the matter of...
Music Matters
The Picardy Third (Tierce de Picardie) - Music Composition
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...
Music Matters
Piano Accompaniment Styles - Music Performance
Always wanted to compose or improvise a professional accompaniment to a melody on the piano? In this music performance lesson we consider not only how to fit chords to a melody but also how to come up with a really effective...
Music Matters
The Difference Between 2:2 and 4:4 Time Signatures - Music Theory
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...
Music Matters
Time Signatures Quiz - Music Theory
Can you answer these questions about time signatures? This music theory lesson offers a quiz in which you get to decide what the time signature should be in a number of different bars. Sometimes there is more than one solution but how do...
Music Matters
Overlapping Suspensions - Inside the Mind of Bach
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...
Music Matters
Identifying Consecutive Fifths and Octaves - Music Composition
Music Matters demonstrates "Identifying Consecutive Fifths and Octaves"
Music Matters
Singing Tips for Music Exams and Aural Tests - Music Performance
Singing tips for music exams and aural tests. Lots of musicians find themselves being asked to sing, even when they don’t consider themselves singers. For example you may be asked to sing in the Aural Tests for a music exam and you may...
Music Matters
How to Sight Read Advanced Piano Pieces
In this advanced sight reading video we explore a two part invention from the perspective of how to sight read a more advanced piano piece, the level of sight reading is that required by many music exam boards for diploma exams. You...
Music Matters
The Genius of Schubert’s Melodic Writing - Composer Insights
A look at the beauty of Schubert’s melodic writing and how it interacts with his use of harmony and texture. This composer insights lesson takes the opening of Schubert’s Andante from his Piano Sonata in A and explores the melodic design...
Music Matters
The Difference Between 3:4 and 3:8 Time Signatures - Music Theory
Understand the difference between 2/2 and 4/4 time signatures. Mathematically it appears that 2/2 and 4/4 are two versions of the same thing. Musically they are quite distinct because 2/2 contains two minim beats per bar, while 4/4...
Music Matters
How Good is Your Harmony? - Music Theory
How good is your harmony? Are there mistakes that commonly catch you out when writing harmony. This music theory lesson presents a passage of four-part harmony, test your harmony knowledge and try to answer these questions about chords,...
Music Matters
Name the Time Signatures - Music Theory
When you look at a rhythm how good are you at identifying the time signature that most appropriately fits it? How do you know if a rhythm should be in 6/8 or in 3/4, especially when the notes in any given bar add up to the same...
Music Matters
Adding Chords to a Melody on the Piano - Music Composition
How to find and choose chords to fit a melody. Have you ever written a melody but didn’t really know how to find chords to fit it? If you have a melody and you’re searching for chords to harmonise with it this music composition lesson...
Music Matters
Harmony Enriched with Suspensions - Inside the Mind of Bach
Learn from the master of harmony and find out how Bach uses suspensions to enrich the chords within this chorale. We examine the choice of harmony and modulation, the part writing, the use of inessential notes and suspensions, plus other...