Learn rhythmic dictation and improve your ear. How often do you hear a rhythm in your head but you’re not sure what that rhythm is or how to write it down? How often do you look at a rhythm in a score but you’re not sure how to play it...

Can you work out the time signature of these rhythms? This music theory lesson presents a quiz to help you sharpen your skills. A number of different rhythms are presented and by looking at the numerical value of each bar and at the...

Is our response to music hard-wired or culturally determined? Is the reaction to rhythm and melody universal or influenced by environment? John Schaefer, scientist Daniel Levitin, and musical artist Bobby McFerrin engage in live...

Jazz is pretty cool, right? Well, it's certainly got its good parts, anyway, and one of my favorites is the Walking Bass. It sounds really simple, especially compared to a lot of other jazz techniques, but as you might guess it's...

Learn how to write a canon by diminution. In a canon by diminution one part begins then the second part follows on several beats or bars behind using the same pitch as the first part but presented in notes of half the value. This...

Learn how to write a canon by augmentation. In a canon by augmentation one part begins then the second part follows on several beats or bars behind using the same pitch as the first part but presented in notes of twice the value. This...

Guitar masters like Jimi Hendrix are capable of bending the physics of waves to their wills, plucking melody from inspiration and vibration. But how do wood, metal, and plastic translate into rhythm, melody, and music? Oscar Fernando...