Music, much like life, is fundamentally a swinging pendulum between tension and release. Fortunately, with music, this is easy to represent objectively and to utilize in your music composition. Taking a look at the C major scale, you can see that … [Read more...]
Confusing Music Theory Fundamentals And Cliche
Wanna hear something provocative? Check out this quote from an old issue of keyboard magazine. "On this experimental record, I've been trying to explore more jazz harmonies. The thing is -- and I'm gonna piss off a lot of people here -- the II-V-I … [Read more...]
The Rules and Principles of Counterpoint
These rules of counterpoint are simple and easy to memorize. Use them during the arranging phase of your music producing. Counterpoint: a composition which is written strictly according to technical rules. In earlier times, instead of our modern … [Read more...]
Don’t Forget Square One…
I've noticed a lot of resistance to "songwriting rules". Most of the criticism falls in the Craft vs. Inspiration camp. And my defense is always that it isn't an either-or argument. From Don't forget square one...: Horse trainer Linda Parelli … [Read more...]