- In Western music, each octave is divided…into 12 equal steps.…Without getting into the math of it,…we perceive each pair of adjacent notes…as being equidistant from each other.…This is what the term equal temperament means.…For instance, when I play this note…and its next-door neighbor…(piano notes playing)…we perceive the difference in frequency…between those two notes as the same amount…of difference between these two neighboring notes.…(piano notes playing)…In order to keep all these keys straight, we've named them.…
The seven white keys of the piano…represent the notes A, (piano note playing)…B, (piano note playing)…C, (piano note playing)…D, (piano note playing)…E, (piano note playing)…F, (piano note playing)…and G. (piano note playing)…Once you reach G, the sequence starts…over again with A. (piano note playing)…The five black keys represent modifications…to these notes and are sometimes referred to…as accidental keys.…
Each black key is either higher or lower in pitch…than its white key neighbor…and every black key has two names.…
Author
Released
9/18/2015Professional musician Julian Velard starts the course with the building blocks of harmony: notes, scales, intervals, chords, inversions, and basic chord progressions. He then goes into voice leading—showing how to move from one chord to another by changing just one or two notes—and reviews common song forms, from the familiar verse/chorus/verse of pop to the simple verse of the blues. At the end of each chapter, Julian explains the songwriting techniques shown in the chapter within the context of his own original commercially released songs.
- Understanding scales, intervals, and keys
- Triads or three-note chords
- Triad inversions
- Common major-scale chord progressions and cadences
- Voice leading
- Song form elements such as verse, chorus, bridge, hook, and more
- Using common song forms in songwriting
Skill Level Beginner
Duration
Views
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Introduction
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Welcome1m 31s
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1. The Building Blocks of Harmony
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The octave4m 12s
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Intervals: Major and perfect7m 20s
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The concept of key3m 12s
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Figuring out intervals6m 33s
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2. Triads and Chord Progressions
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Triads: The basics of chords7m 48s
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Triad inversions6m 40s
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Voicing6m 38s
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Authentic cadences5m 32s
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3. Chord Progressions and Voice Leading
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What is voice leading?5m 28s
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The suspended chord5m 11s
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4. Song Forms
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The importance of song form2m 34s
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Beats, bars, and phrases5m 54s
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The chorus song form element1m 23s
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Verse/chorus/bridge forms1m 19s
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Simple verse form2m 2s
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Verse without chorus form1m 18s
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AABA 32-bar form1m 24s
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Through-composed song forms1m 26s
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Looking at a song's form5m 53s
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Conclusion
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Next steps1m 16s
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Video: Seven white notes and five black notes