In Part 1 of this tutorial we looked at harmonizing the C Major scale with triad chords (chords that use 3 notes). In this second part of “Harmonizing the Major scale” we will look at how you can expand upon those triad chords to make use of extended chords (chords that use 4 or more notes) when harmonizing any Major scale.
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The Harmonized Major scale enables us to identify all the chords within a given key.
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Playing the same old chords on every song can get pretty tiring and can leave a music career stale in a heartbeat.
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The pedal point is a common compositional device with a range of useful purposes. In this tutorial we’ll learn what a pedal point is and how it can be used for a variety of functions.
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We’ve done a few articles on ear training in the music theory sense, such as Bootcamp for Your Ear, where you learn to recognize musical intervals, like the minor 2nd or major 7th for instance. But what about frequency information?
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A good musician is a good librarian. A good composer is a good librarian. A good engineer, producer, DJ, or (fill in the blank) is a good librarian. This statement can be applied to nearly any creative endeavor, but most certainly is applicable to modern musicians, composers and engineers who are constantly switching between projects, applications, presets, and even platforms. This tutorial will give you an overview of what it means to be a good librarian – one who has a functional system for keeping track of everything from performance notes, to song lyrics, to presets and samples.
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In a previous tutorial I briefly explained the Overtone Series. In that tutorial I mentioned that the series could be used as a guide for effective chord voicing. In this tutorial I’ll explain what that means.
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The overtone series is the basis of tonal music. The order of pitches in the series has established the progression of Western Music over the last 300 years. Among its uses are a blueprint for effective chord voicings and an understanding of chord tones and tensions.
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Joel Falconer wrote a great article on how to use your ear to detect intervals with song associations. In this article we’ll look at how you come up with those intervals in the first place.
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The cadence is a critical element in any harmonic progression. Cadences will often come to you naturally without you being aware of them, but understanding how and why you are using them (and how you can avoid using them) will give you more sophisticated control over the dramatic shape and direction of your music.
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