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
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
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
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...
Music Matters
What is a Lombard Rhythm? (The Scotch Snap) - Music Theory
The Lombard rhythm or Scotch snap is a syncopated musical rhythm in which a short, accented note is followed by a longer one. Find out all about this syncopated musical rhythm, including how it's written and how it sounds in this music...
Music Matters
Halloween Spooky Style - Composing for the Piano
Halloween special of composing for the piano. In this episode, we look at how to present the Music Matters theme in a spooky style just for Halloween. This suitably spooky arrangement demonstrates how to use tritones and corruptions of...
Music Matters
Beauty in Simplicity - Inside the Mind of Bach
Sometimes keeping things simple works. This Bach chorale is a great example of how Bach keeps things simple and still manages to demonstrate his artistic genius. We examine the choice of harmony and modulation, the part writing, the use...
Music Matters
Name the Composer Quiz! #19 Do you know your classical composers
How well do you know your classical composers? Find out with our name the composer quiz! We present ten facts about a random composer, see if you can guess the correct answer by the end of the video.
Music Matters
Interpreting a Lead Sheet with Style - Music Performance
Music Matters demonstrates Interpreting a Lead Sheet with Style
Music Matters
Name the Composer Quiz! #28 Do you know your classical composers
How well do you know your classical composers? Find out with our name the composer quiz! We present ten facts about a random composer, see if you can guess the correct answer by the end of the video.
Music Matters
Harmonic Rhythm and Progression - Music Composition
What is harmonic rhythm and what does it tell you about chord changes during a chord progression? Harmonic rhythm is all about when and how often chords change in a piece. Sometimes the harmonic rhythm is slow; at other times it moves...