Songwriting Modal Interchange in Radiohead's "Creep" Explore the music theory behind Radiohead’s “Creep” and discover how modal interchange enhances its emotional depth. Delve into the intriguing use of non-diatonic chords B and Cm in the key of G major, revealing the techniques that make this song a timeless classic.
Songwriting Relative minor and secondary dominants in Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley Discover the music theory behind Jeff Buckley’s rendition of “Hallelujah.” Learn how the use of relative minor chords and secondary dominants creates a reluctant, bittersweet feeling. See how these harmonic tools shape the song’s emotion and how you can use them in your own compositions.
Paid-members only Songwriting Unlocking the Secrets of Modern Music: Analyzing the Top 5 Chord Progressions for Songwriters
Improvise Relative minor blues pentatonic over major (soloing trick #37) Discover a versatile soloing trick to instantly elevate your playing. Learn how using the relative minor blues pentatonic scale over major chord progressions can make your solos sound more professional by avoiding scale running. Transform your improvisation and focus on creativity.
Songwriting Ballad intro I-VI-ii-V – great for songs in major As a musician and songwriter, expanding your repertoire of intros and outros is essential. Discover a beautiful ballad intro using the I-VI-ii-V chord progression, perfect for songs in a major key. Learn how to use arpeggios and altered chords to create a captivating start to your music.
Paid-members only Songwriting A great intro for ballad songs Every musician and songwriter needs a bunch of intros and outros for songs. Whether you tag them onto your own compositions or use them when covering other musician’s songs, well crafted intros and outros make a performance much more sophisticated.
Paid-members only Songwriting The magic of the major 7 in ABBA's Dancing Queen The 7th scale degree in a major key is magic! We often use it to make the tonic chord sound very lush and sophisticated. But the 7th also a wonderful melodic choice that can make a song iconic. A good example of this is ABBA's classic hit song "Dancing Queen".
Business Is ABBA the future of music? This year the legendary band ABBA will be back on stage! But although they'll perform a few new songs, they won't actually be on stage! Their avatars will perform live. Is this a glimpse of the future of live music? What is ABBA Voyage? ABBA could have retired and not
Songwriting How Songwriters Manage Their Creative Energy with Flow We songwriters heavily depend on our creative energy. Professional songwriters know how to use the concept of flow to their advantage. This article helps you to enter a state of flow more often.
Paid-members only Songwriting How to create dark, eerie and foreboding moods with the Phrygian mode If you want to create a dark and eerie mood in your music, the Phrygian mode is an awesome music theory tool to get the job done. This old mode has been used for intercession and lament in churches from the Middle Ages on and it certainly hasn‘t lost
Reharmonize From Simple to Complex Harmony using Secondary Dominants An important music theory tool for songwriters, composers and musicians in general is the secondary dominant. This tool alone can turn a boring chord progression into a masterpiece or number one hit song. I invite you to join me on a journey of pimping a simple chord progression and turning
Questions Parallel or Relative minor? Music theory can be confusing. Relative & parallel – which is which? And why is "p" the symbol for "relative"? Learn about the interesting backstory here.
Getting Started Relative Minor and Parallel Minor EXPLAINED Understanding the concept of relative and parallel keys is a must for any decent musician. Relative minor? Parallel major? These music theory terms are a lot easier than they might seem. Let's learn about relative and parallel keys now.
Reharmonize Reharmonizing Stand by Me (by Ben E. King) Learn several approaches to reharmonizing this classic song. You can use the techniques I explain for any other song as well.
Songwriting Featured How a one-note melody became a number one hit How to turn a one-note melody into a Billboard number one hit? Learn the music theory Toto used in their song Africa. We'll talk about one-note melodies, common chords and expectation vs. deception.
Questions What is the longest musical chord name? Did you ever think about the longest chord symbol you could write in music?
Songwriting How many songs should an album have? Many artists are wondering about how many songs they should put on their album — 10? 13? 21? 3? Read my advice in this article…
Reharmonize Mamma Mia (ABBA) - Reharmonized A cover of Mamma Mia using modal reharmonization techniques. Music theory can be so much fun when applied to ABBA songs :)
Paid-members only Songwriting The 251 turnaround (aka ii-V-I) The 251 turnaround is one of the most common chord progression in jazz and pop music. This mini course teaches you its practical applications for songwriting and improvising alike.
Songwriting Kokomo (Beach Boys) - Analysis Analyzing a harmonically rich Beach Boys song recently resurfaced through the Netflix series Space Force. Learn the use of plagal cadences and secondary dominants.
Songwriting Man in the Mirror (Michael Jackson) – Song Analysis Learn from the music theory in Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror". Understand the chord progressions to use the same tricks in your own songwriting.
Questions Are minor and diminished chords the same thing? Is a minor chord essentially equivalent to a diminished chord? What are the commonalities and where do the differences lie?
