Music Theory doesn't need to be confusing or boring. I create relatively brief videos that are jam-packed with information about various types of "complex" music theory topics, at an easy pace, but without the headache. While I don't think music theory needs to be a crutch, it's great to have a foundation to lean on a bit when you have writer's block or a tight deadline. I hope this channel will become the place to go for musicians in the near future.
I never actually got around to writing part 2! I do have a lot of other episodes about modes and one about Ostinatos (which would basically be part 2). Ostinatos are just a different way to express a modal color instead of modal progressions.
From this video it seems you have to know basic level music theory such as basic rhythm notation first, to expand a motif rhythmically using modern manipulation techniques. I make music by ear using a midi controller keyboard and a DAW that always help to get music idea out my head rightward and into a full composition. I made a lot music this way first aa a hobby. now that I'm older i have and more patience , I have an interesting need to know how did made music ear from music theory standpoint. I appreciate you showing instant application of music theory I can enjoyable easy to understand. Yet if wasn't for music technology like midi keyboard and DAW combination , I wouldn't even bother with trying to make music.
I'm currently trying to write a song in A locrian, and I feel like it's starting to come together now. I wrote a motif for the chorus that mainly just spells out the tonic chord (A, C, Eb) with an extra D note passed by to connect the C and Eb. So I use the flat 5th and the tonic note a lot in the chorus to hopefully establish the locrian sound. In the verse I instead use the flat 2nd alternating with the root note and some other extra notes to hopefully achieve the locrian sound in a slightly different way. My idea with that was to get some clear distinction between the verse and the chorus, and to keep that Eb as my highest note. And I play that entire melody over a pedal note, or rather a frequently repeating 8th note. Maybe more of a drone note, but whatever. I haven't made the bridge yet, but I quite like what I've made so far! I dunno why, but I feel like I'm at less risk of making it sound like its relative major when I use A locrian. Because when I tried to use B locrian it felt much harder to avoid it ending up sounding like C major. Maybe because I'm just less familiar with Bb major, but I dunno. That said, while I do use the F note here and there in the verse (which wants to resolve to Bb) I never follow it up directly with a Bb, other than as a passing note, and I think that way I avoided it sounding like Bb major. Basically I think you give good advice about really hammering through that tonic note throughout the piece in one way or another, and to have (some or more) of the melody spell out the tonic chord. Also making some use of that flat 5th and/or flat 2nd that are so characteristic of the locrian mode. I think following those steps does really help me bring forth that locrian sound.
Dude right on! I love the sound of locrian. Here is my backing track to the piece i wrote in locrian on my youtube channel ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-rDy9kjj_TXA.htmlsi=D02QqQK8_l-ujL0B
Thanks for putting things into perspective. Can you do a video on expanding short melodic phrases into longer ones? And also on through-composing? I would love to hear your perspective/approach to these practices.
Error in bar 12 - the cellos there do not rest, they are divisi, playing A and F above that (in the bass clef) as whole notes. You can hear them in the recording. The notes were very faint in the scan that Omni was using for their published version, so it made it look like the bar had no notes, and so these notes are missing from the Omni publication.
Beautiful Melody 😊 (Was just watching your melody video and came across this...) - Very nice job matching up the video clips to the music. Was happy to find it on Instagram...
the ending made me realized that maybe my writers block is not because I'm not feeling creative and only able to write boring melody, it's just because I'm not finished writing it yet
This is very pertinent to what I have recently discovered, and now can expand upon. I realized I always failed to understand modes because I tried to use the same chords as the Major Scale's and for some reason D (for example) would never feel like home. Once I realized I can just hammer D on the bass while playing white keys to force the Dorian to come out, a whole new world of possibilities opened up. Your other videos on each mode will greatly help me, thank you. Since you asked for suggestions for future videos, I have two distinct issues when trying to compose that might be interesting to talk about: 1 - Rhythm. I have no flexibility because I barely have any vocabulary to talk about rhythm other than straight out beatboxing them. I learned how to count my oney and a twoies, how to notate it, but composing with rhythmic variation - or even knowing when I should add variation and what would be the effects to expect is a mystery box. 2 - Planning. Maybe this sounds kinda vague, but I'm a visual artist. When I want to draw a piece, it doesn't matter if it's a simple character or an entire army fighting a dragon: I can sketch out the rough idea in a matter of minutes, to capture the overall 2D composition and be able to visualize what I want the full piece to be. Then it's just a matter of spending another 1000 hours polishing it carefully to actualize that sketch that only I can understand into a picture others can also enjoy. In the same vein, I'd love to understand how to create musical "skeletons", the draft that defines the overall feeling and structure of a song. I can pick progressions, harmonies, scales, signatures and whatnot, but without a quick idea in my head of what they'd sound like beforehand it feels more like the puzzle-solving through rules that I undertake decide the final outcome, my initial goals are lost along the way. Currently (re)studying counterpoint which seems to help, but there can be many more elements I'm unaware of (and, of course, the rhythm/beat). Hope those are relevant topics! Enjoying the channel so far, let's pray the algorithm gods take upon your offerings.
Excellent! I like the fact he said that the great composers did this instinctively without all the tech babble. Whatever helps, though. And I like the fact he said, a matter of taste. I liked his motif, but I didn’t like the diminished approach chord. That personal preference, I wonder, leads to individual style?
it's simple: i chose not to be born to rich musical wealthy white parents and i chose to be born in asia, not america or UK. i also chose to be a transgender woman, and left handed and chinese...now what s wrong wid me!? new age philosophy says all the above is TRUE. But yer right, I cant give up, its only been...40 years of tring! i m still young, only 60! wait til i get to 85 or 90! then my youtube will REALLY TAKE OFF!!!
I'm a nobody wrting songs noone will hear on a DAW in the moiddle of nowhere lol - but this has helped loads with all my moribund eight bars of tune and then - nothing. Because I didn't knw these 'tricks' excellent subscribed and liked
Good ideas. But the piano sketch at 11:25 has an open octave between rH and the bass line. Maybe, it's intended, but in simple ideas it's better avoided.
Wonderful tips. Found these very useful since I tend to find it quite easy to write a motif but difficult to expand on it to see if it is actually good or a one-off thing.. However, critical note on typography from a typographer; The typeface (‘font’) you’re using is not well-suited to longer text. In general using bold serif type in text is very rarely done in professional typesetting, they tend to be more useful in book covers or large digital headings. It’s hard to read them, especially when they have high contrast (i.e. the thick strokes are way thicker than the thin strokes. When watching on a phone, some diagonals like the rightmost strokes of v and w for instance disappear almost completely, thus the word-image suffers and becomes hard to recognise.) I notice you still do it in your later videos, and I understand the wish to use typography consistently as identity, but I’d really suggest moving away from the bold bodonis/didots and using something more suited for running text for the sake of your viewers who wish to read it. If you like the vertical stress, consider something like Century Schoolbook (MuseScore’s revival is open source, it’s called Edwin) or for use in video, a humanist sans-serif might be the best option, such as Verdana. Or, to avoid system fonts, I’m very partial to Plein designed by Inga Plönnings for FontShare. Either way, I would avoid selecting a font for the enjoyment of its æsthetic features or for consistency in visual identity if that choice ends up being a nuisance to the reader..
i am a self taught hobbyist. saw few of your videos. i can pickup knowledge from it. will revert to your videos again after i read more on chord theory. i like theory and experimental attempts to create and play myself. i am not a musician and music knowledge is minimal, random, internet based. now trying to experiment with composition and improvisation at a rudimentary level. my first experimental concoction is on my videos page with the name "A Mile".
Wow, i really love chromatic mediants. Using arpeggios is too easy to do without too much thought that is. I love that you display scale options for every chord option. This is so cool!
I want to start by saying I appreciate your understanding of music composition in a way that I don't. I'm not going to back up anything I'm saying here but I've always been envious of individuals who understand how a certain thing works that somebody like myself maybe stumbles on by accident. For me, writing music in its best moments, noting that I have multiple horrible moments and many moments of doing nothing, but my best moments are when something happens without thinking. Like those moments when you're driving and you recognize that you weren't literally consciously aware of everything you were doing because you were subconsciously doing a bit of the driving. I believe Billy Corgan once made a comment to the effect that it's like grabbing hold of some string and you ride it for the brief moment that you get an opportunity. I know that there are people who can write purposely and do amazing things and that is breathtaking to know. I think my best moments are when I find myself in the riptide of music and I look back and can't believe the melody just washed over me and almost drowned me.
I don't think tchaikovsky had any of that in mind. Melody is not really something that can be taught. You just have to practice and expand your horizons with new music.
@@Flaystray no, I'm a theory elitist but it seems like melody-writing just escapes systemization. Generally, after choosing a general outline (genre, form etc), a composer will start with a melody or theme and then build on that. Failing that, you might have a chord progression you want to make a melody for and you could identify what scales to use over what chords but ultimately I would say some sponteneity is needed to decide what to exactly play. Even in the video this guy is making all kinds of decisions about his piece that aren't related to the principles. And quite honestly I felt like the figure leading to the third bar broke up the melodic flow. I would have changed the end of the third bar instead. But that's just me.
Grit is the name of the game. From an outsiders perspective it probably seems miserable to painstakingly comb over every note and pause for days on end in search of getting it just right. But I imagine he only did it because he enjoyed it, however painful the process is, the payoff makes it all worth it.
