Lessons by topic
Songwriting Lessons
Writing progressions, melodies, harmonies, and whole songs. Theory in service of finishing music.
20 lessons
How to Write Chords and Songs in Minor
A crash course in writing with the minor scale. Learn the chords, progressions, and techniques for composing emotional and powerful music in minor keys.
How Voice Leading Creates Better Chord Progressions
Learn how voice leading transforms simple chord progressions into rich, professional-sounding arrangements. Discover parallel, similar, contrary, and oblique motion to write smoother harmonic movements.
How To Write Progressions With 7th Chords: maj7, m7, & 7
Learn how to use Major 7, minor 7, and dominant 7 chords in your progressions, adding more color and interest to your harmony.
43 Music Theory Concepts Every Modern Composer Should Master
The complete music theory roadmap for self-taught musicians: 43 concepts in the exact order to learn them, from the musical alphabet to writing full songs.
Writing Progressions with Borrowed Chords
Learn about Modal Interchange, Borrowed Chords, and Modal Mixture — the concept of using parallel modes to expand your chord palette. Discover how to borrow chords from minor, Lydian, Phrygian and more to create unique and interesting progressions.
Intro to Modulations and Key Changes
Explore how songs change keys with modulations. Learn about half-step, whole-step, and larger modulations through famous examples from Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Bon Jovi, and more.
How to Write Harmonies for Guitar, Piano, and Vocals
Learn to write harmony lines like Boston, The Eagles, and Iron Maiden. Explore diatonic thirds, sixths, fourths, and fifths to create rich harmonized melodies.
Motifs and Chords: The Fast and Easy Way to Make Music
Learn a simple, effective, and versatile technique for writing music. Start with a melodic motif, build chords underneath it, then modify and reharmonize to create complete pieces.
2 Indian Rhythm Exercises (Konnakol) That Will Destroy You
Two konnakol exercises from Indian Carnatic music - reductive threes and speeding fives over a steady pulse - and how they turn into music, with Ben Levin.
Random Math Metal Riff Generation Using Pi and the Byzantine Scale
Turn the 16 sixteenth-note permutations into a math metal riff by letting the digits of pi pick the rhythm, then add a Byzantine-scale lead on top.
How to Write a Sea Shanty or Pirate Song
Learn the musical elements that make sea shanties and pirate songs so catchy and timeless. Covers shuffled rhythms, minor key chord progressions, pentatonic melodies, and the Dorian mode.
Hemiola: What It Is and Writing Funky Jams With It
What hemiola really means (the 3:2 ratio), the vertical, horizontal and 3/4-over-6/8 kinds, and a funky B Dorian jam built from a horizontal hemiola.
Musical Drones and Pedal Tones
Explore how drones and pedal tones create tension, atmosphere, and harmonic interest in music. From bagpipes to film scores, learn to use these powerful compositional tools.
3 Concepts That Made Me A Better Songwriter
Over 15 years of writing music, I developed a few philosophies on composing that have helped make my music more enjoyable and less frustrating. These principles may be more helpful than music theory itself.
The Mario Cadence: How To Use These 3 Majestic Chords
The Mario cadence — I-bVI-bVII-I — is a striking modal mixture progression heard in Super Mario Bros, "I Am the Walrus" by The Beatles, and Seal's "Kiss From A Rose." Learn how to write with it.
How Borrowed Chords & Modal Mixture Work in Minor Keys
You aren't limited to seven notes when writing in minor. Learn how the minor scale morphs into harmonic minor, Dorian, and Phrygian, and how to borrow their chords.
Exploring Modal Mixture Part 1 - Major Keys
Learn how to write modal mixture chord progressions, and which scales to use on top of them, to create stunning music with dramatic shifts.
Write Chromatic-Infused Chord Progressions With Modal Mixture
Learn how to write chord progressions with descending bass lines using modal mixture and borrowed chords. Master the lament bass technique and expand it into full chromatic descents.
Stealing Musical Ideas To Make Unique Music
Writer's block begone! Learn how easy it is to write original and awesome sounding music by stealing a simple rhythmic pattern. This lesson explores the double tresillo rhythm (3 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 4) and shows how to use it for composing, producing, and songwriting.
Master of Puppets Interlude Explained: Music Theory Breakdown
Breaking down the iconic interlude from Master of Puppets, then using those strategies to write original music.