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Skillshare

Music Composition with the Piano

via Skillshare

Overview

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Unleash your composing & songwriting with tools to unblock the writing process and generate material at the piano with ease, whether you're a beginner or intermediate at piano & music theory. 

The course consists of four core elements: 

  • Piano technique, theory & arrangement.
  • Fundamental & advanced harmony & music theory.
  • Compositional techniques and strategies 
  • Piano chords, progressions and songwriting

What you will learn. 

  • Express yourself and your musical ideas fluently, at the keyboard and DAW
  • Use extended music theory without reading a line of music
  • Compose different styles of music; filmic, classical, jazz and mainstream through a fundamental understanding of harmony
  • Build interesting chord progressions

Syllabus

  • Introduction
  • Overview of the Course
  • Resources
  • The Grid
  • The Chromatic Scale
  • Creating a Major Key
  • Creating Chords Inside of a Key
  • Naming Notes on the Piano
  • Ambient Track Assignment
  • Ambient Track Example
  • Establishing 'Gravity' With Keys
  • The Circle of fifths Major Key Gravity
  • Creating a Minor Scale and Key
  • Circle of fifths Minor Key Gravity
  • Learning all Keys
  • Assignment Transposing Chords & Melodies
  • Get Composing!
  • Technique & Fluency at the Piano
  • Hand positions & Fingerings
  • Wandering Hands Backing Tracks
  • Assignment - Wandering Hands Track
  • Wandering Hands Example Track
  • Introduction to Chords in a Key - Diatonic Harmony
  • Analysing 1000+ Tunes
  • Common Chord Progressions and Conventions
  • 30% Different - Changing Standard Chord Progressions
  • Chord 5 in a Minor Key
  • Harmony Cheat Sheet: Stage 1
  • Tension & Resolution
  • Chord tones
  • Non Chord Tones
  • The Feelings of Different Intervals
  • Layering & Overlapping
  • Non diatonic Tones
  • The Pentatonic Scale
  • Patterns - The Way to think about your music
  • Assignment - Melody Writing
  • Example - Melody Writing
  • Roman Numerals in Analysis
  • Harmonic Structure
  • Repeating Harmony
  • Repeating Harmony Example
  • Small Changes in Harmony
  • Varying Your Bass Lines
  • Modulation - New Centres of Gravity
  • Assignment - Composing 3 different sections
  • 3 Different Sections Example Track
  • Introduction to Voicing
  • Arpeggiation
  • Examples of Arpeggiation in Context
  • Closed & Open Position Chords
  • Chord Inversions
  • Doubling Notes
  • Dropping Notes
  • Voice Leading
  • Grace Notes
  • Accompaniment Singers Assignment
  • Accompaniment for Singers Example
  • Orchestral String Writing Assignment
  • Orchestral String Writing Example
  • Example of Voice Leading
  • Harmony Cheat Sheet Level 2
  • Bass Lines Introduction Supporting the Harmony
  • Voice Leading & Passing Notes
  • Bass Line Riffs
  • Introduction to Chords from Scratch
  • In Depth Chords from Scratch
  • How to Create Triads from Scratch
  • Suspension Chords
  • Working out the Key of a Song
  • Modulation & Secondary Dominants
  • Pushing Out of the Key Example Track
  • Introduction to Upper Structures
  • Creating 7th Chords from Scratch
  • Diminished & Augmented & 7th Chords
  • Creating 9th Chords from Scratch
  • Creating 11ths 13th Chords from Scratch
  • Upper Structure Assignments
  • Upper Structure Composing Example
  • How to Read Chords and Chord Symbols
  • Harmony Cheat sheet Level 3
  • Where do I Start? Generating material with rules
  • Patterns, Patterns, Patterns
  • Problem Solving
  • Introduction to Harmonic Rhythm
  • Passing chords & Reharmonisation
  • Reharmonisation Assignment
  • Melodic Rhythm
  • Phrasing & Space
  • Phrasing and Melodic Rhythm Assignment
  • Standard Accompaniment Patterns (with commentary)
  • Standard Accompaniment Patterns (no commentary)
  • Musical Layers & Alignment
  • Musical Alignment Example
  • The Chord Progression Bible
  • What Scales go with What Chords?
  • The Blues Scale
  • Harmonic & Melodic Minor Scale
  • The Scale Omnibus
  • Paired Pentatonics
  • Modes
  • Introduction to Chord Relationships
  • Chord Relationship & Arpeggiation Assignment
  • Chord Relationship & Arpeggiation Example
  • Writing Themes
  • Conclusion of the Course

Taught by

Jack Vaughan

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