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5 Classic Chord Progressions to Use in Your Next Song music theory songwriting tips Sep 09, 2021

For many of us, the chord progression is the backbone of a song. And while everything has pretty much been done, it hasn’t been done the way we would do it. Today...

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Use Musical Textures, Theyā€™re Youā€™re Friend music theory Aug 26, 2021

Use musical textures, they’re your friend. I mean, we’re already using them, but we can also use them intentionally. Wild, right? I know, man. I know.

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The 3 Types of Motion | Easy Voice Leading Tips music composition music theory songwriting tips Jun 03, 2021

If there’s one thing I can point to that helped my voice leading the most, it was an understanding of the 3 Types of Motion. 

I came away with easy voice...

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How Do You Make Harmonies Sound Good? music theory songwriting tips Mar 11, 2021

I love a good harmony. It hits me right in the feels, and I bet it does for you. But how do we make harmonies sound good like that? 

In this week’s video,...

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Writing Music With Alternating Time Signatures (step by step guide) music composition music theory Feb 25, 2021

Writing music with alternating time signatures sounds fancy. It’s really not. It’s just taking the regular count and messing with it every other measure.

In...

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Practicing to a Click vs Playing by Feel: Which Is Best? guitar lessons music theory Feb 18, 2021

Get ready to hear all the feelings, today. For some reason, using a metronome (or click) is controversial...

In my earlier years, I too was resistant to it, but I came...

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Find the Notes of Any Chord With Just Your Fingers music theory Feb 16, 2021

When I was just starting out writing songs, chords were super mysterious to me. They carry so much emotional weight and create a scaffolding for the melody to play around...

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Add Color to Any Chord With ONE Note music theory Jan 28, 2021

Do your chords sound boring? Are major and minor just not cutting it anymore? I get you, I do. 

This week we’re talking chord tones and non-chord tones; and how...

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How To Use Chords Like A Pro, Part 4: Modes and Modulation music theory Dec 03, 2020

I hope you had an amazing and safe Thanksgiving. If the holidays are hard for you, I hope you were able to successfully cope and administer some self-care. 

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How to Use Chords Like a Pro, Part 3: Prolongation music theory Nov 19, 2020

Whooo! Alright. Here we are in part three of How to Use Chords Like A Pro. We're talking about prolongation, an invaluable songwriting technique that buys you SO MUCH...

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How to Use Chords Like a Pro, Part 2: Substitutions music theory Nov 12, 2020

This week, we're into Part 2 of our series on using chords like the pros do. Remember, all of this information is only meant to help you solve problems. The intent isn't...

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How To Use Chords Like A Pro: Tonics, Dominants, and Cadences music theory songwriting tips Nov 05, 2020

Chords are often the bedrock from which our songs emerge. All it can take is two chords and a simple melody to be the genesis for a whole piece. 

When I was first...

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