Music Student 101

Reading music is a complex but essential skill for one who wants to learn and reproduce new melodies or songs. On this episode, we will discuss some tips and philosophies on how to approach reading and sight reading music. We will also share some of our own experiences and challenges in this endeavor.

Continuing our discussion from episode 88, we will dig deeper into extended tertian harmonies from a theory perspective with the 9th, 11th and 13th chords. We will listen to chords with substituted 6ths and raised and flatted 5ths. We will discuss how they work in traditional, and in not so traditional, ways!

Melodic dictation, the act of transcribing and notating a melody by ear, is a crucial skill for a musician to cultivate. In this episode, we will focus on the Dorian mode and some of the chords that compliment it. It has one small difference from the minor scale, or Aeolean mode. Let's listen!

If you love to play music, you probably love the idea of recording. Once you plug in, or approach the microphone, you may find some of these effects to be a great help. With dynamics, such as compression, limiting and gate, you can tame your volume levels. With equalization (EQ), you can add or subtract frequencies to better shape your sounds. And with reverb, to can add depth and dimension to an...

Today's most widely used tuning system is equal temperament. It sounds great to our ears. But it is a compromise! Musicians and mathematicians have always struggled finding tuning systems that didn't compromise the pure tones provided within the natural harmonic series. On this episode, we will discuss these struggles and the systems that arose from this effort: just tuning, Pythagorean tuning, me...

Follow along as we delve into enharmonic spellings and reinterpretation and the various reasons why they are necessary. We will also demonstrate some great ways to use these reinterpretations for some snappy modulations to far away places!

It is time for us to give a listener to another round of fantastic listener compositions! They work hard, that we may listen hard! So let's listen! This episode will feature the original music of: Michael Chapman, Pasi Pasiaala, Dane Howard, Melody Brook Gibson, Adam House and Stefan Jacques

This episode is truly a celebration of how far we've come on the show and how far you've come in the theory sequence! We will discuss songs we've written for our pets. We will catch you up with our own projects and talk about the future of the podcast! Finally, we will hear some outtakes from previous shows. Don't worry, it's still a family friendly episode thanks to my censor guitar!

We've almost said everything we can about the fully diminished 7th chord. ALMOST! In this episode we will explore this versatile chord and its many possibilities. We will hear it's use as a secondary leading tone chord (viiº7 of), as a modulatory technique, as a chain of viiº7 chords and as a counterpuntal element. Enjoy our chatter on this extraordinary chord!

Continuing where episode 73 left off, this episode will review our previous discussions on diatonic chords and secondary functions. We will now add the secondary seven of III (viiº/III) and seven of VI (viiº/VI) chords. Listen for the chord qualities and use your theory brain to find out how to decipher these chord progressions. Use this skill to learn songs faster and know music better!

It's time to further our discussion of women composers! Continuing where we left of on episode 81, we will now cover several influential female composers from the Baroque and Classical periods.

On episode 95, we began a discussion on orchestration for the string section and it's instruments: the bass, the cello, the viola and the violin. We will now continue this discussion with a focus on techniques for fingering and bowing, the terms involved, and a bit more detail on the instruments themselves!

Orchestration is the art of choosing the right instruments, and the proper balance thereof, for a composition. Different considerations go into conveying different moods and emotions to better tell the story. The string section is often the most utilized. So let's talk about the instruments: the contra bass, the cello, the viola and the violin!

We don't show enough love to our good horn section and other brass players! We're going to start making that right with a discussion on the general care and maintenance for the tuba, trombone, euphonium, horns, trumpet and other brass instruments! We will discuss their mechanics, routine cleaning suggestions and how to keep them sounding shiny and brassy!

We've familiarized ourselves with the building blocks of a form, such as motives, phrases and periods. We have delved into small forms, such as binary and ternary. Now it's time to think a little bigger. It's time to talk about the sonata form and it's basic elements: the exposition, the development and the racapitulation.

In this episode, we are going to take a moment to address an issue that many of us must reckon with: staying creative during difficult times. We are going to share some of our experiences, based mainly on the Covid-19 social distancing guidelines. We will hear from some of our listeners who have been so kind to share their own stories. We will also discuss a few articles on the topic. Enjoy and be...

Once more, our listeners have bared their souls and shared their own original music. Let us listen! This episode will feature the original music of: Badrinarayan Rammohan, Eamon Kelly, Jerome Chapman, Sharli Azulai and Keith Andrews.

In this episode, we will be meeting more new listeners and discussing more music topics! We're going to give a little tease of an up and coming episode on form and analysis, by discussing the sonata form. We'll meet two mothers who are continuing their music education while being rock star moms! Furthermore, we will cover some good sight reading tips and we'll hear a fantastic submission for our "...

Continuing our "shelter in place video series", the content of this 2nd video is now available for our good podcast listeners. We will find some good acronyms for the diatonic modes. We will discuss some of these modes and we might pick on Locrian for a bit. We will give also show a little more love to the minor diatonic chords and dissect a classic rock favorite. We hope you enjoy!  

In efforts to keep this show going, while sheltering in place, we have decided to launch a mini series of videos to share on social media and other video platforms. But for you, our good LISTENERS, it seemed fitting to release the audio of these videos! In this episode, we will tackle diatonic and non diatonic (chromatic) substitutions. We will also discuss our composition processes and what inspi...

It's time we had a chat with some more musicians! Most of our bumper tracks for this show have really come together thanks to the efforts and talents of Brian Maloy (drums) and Jerome Chapman (guitar). Let's get to know them as we discuss their beginnings, some of their favorite bumper tracks and what music has done for them.

Having covered the origins of the blues, in Pt.1 of this series, it's time to dig in to the genres that emerged from these origins during the early stages of the blues. Join us, as we discuss country blues and delta blues, the styles involved and the musicians that continued to make this such a popular genre.

Dive with us, face first, into chromaticism with this discussion on extended and altered chords. We will make sure we're well acquainted with the concept of suspended ("sus") chords and added ("add") chords. This will prepare us for an ongoing exploration of altered chords. We will also compare the use of these chords, in classical theory, to their rolls in the jazz and pop music genres!

For some reason, creative types are often drawn to mind altering substances. Musicians have been no exception. In this episode we will discuss the lure towards nicotine, alcohol, marijuana and hallucinogenic influences. We will discuss their effects and some of the risks involved. We will also share some stories of those who have fallen to, and those who survived, some of the dangers that come alo...

It's time to get a little out of step with time! Syncopation is a technique that can add more color and interest to your rhythms. In this episode, we will define syncopation, give some examples and share some stories where we've been challenged by this composition technique.