At a certain point, you want to expand beyond the standard guitar chords such as C, D, E minor and the like. You may get out on the web and read about chords that have letter names with numbers after them, like G 13, C 9, or A augmented. I’m referring to these chords as…… Continue reading The “no music theory” introduction to exotic chords and how to use them
Reddit, if you don;t know, is a useful site where people discuss all sorts of topics. I just stumbled across this great collection of links to all the reddits related to creating music. How to get the most out of reddit as a musician.
Warning: this is a rather philosophical post with limited practical value. 😉 In the world of music psychology and such you often see music compared and contrasted to language. This makes sense as both music and language use sound. Some would argue that they both use sound to communicate. In language, we know if a statement…… Continue reading Emotional meaning in music
How does one create a melody? It’s an interesting question with a lot of possible answers. For years, I tended to noodle around on guitar until I discovered a riff or chord progression I liked. Then I would basically just hear a melody in my head that would fit the guitar part. I really didn’t…… Continue reading Writing melodies using melodic shapes
Note: To understand this article you’ll need to be familiar with basic chord theory and the use of Roman numerals to notate chords. (This link can fill you in.) I often find myself having to learn songs quickly. (Related article: How to learn a lot of songs fast.) Often I’ll end up scouring the internet…… Continue reading Songs can be harmonized in different ways
When first starting out playing an instrument, music theory can be intimidating. A lot of unfamiliar terms get brought up and it’s hard to get a sense how they all apply to the fun stuff: making music. I thought I’d write a (hopefully) digestible introduction to one the essentials of music theory, the major scale.…… Continue reading An Introduction To The Major Scale
Wil Forbis Music 