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Music Theory for Songwriters Masterclass

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  • 4.8
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  • Reviews ( 40 )
Free

This Course Includes

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  • icon4.8 (40 reviews )
  • icon5 hours 44 minutes
  • iconenglish
  • iconOnline - Self Paced
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  • iconSkillShare

About Music Theory for Songwriters Masterclass

Introduction

My Approach to Music Theory

Tools You Will Need

Do we need to read music?

The Elements of the Score

Pitch Names

Octaves

Worksheets!

Languages

Rhythmic Divisions

Dots

Rests

Time Signatures

Ties

Triplets

Musictheory.net Exercises

Accidentals

Sharps

Flats

Accidental Behavior and Naturals

More Score Symbols

Back to Musictheory.net

Places to find scores online for Practice

Tips for Practicing

A Reminder About Why we are Doing this

What are Scales, and why do we care?

Definitions: Chromatic and Diatonic

"Ordered Pitch Class Collections"

Chromatic Scales

Whole-Steps and Half-Steps

The Whole-Half Pattern

Tonic

Practice

Writing a Melody with Major Scales

Steps, Skips, and Leaps

Melody Analysis

What Does it Mean to be “in key"?

Why We Care About Keys?

Identifying Key Signatures

Other Ways of Finding the Key

What Key Should I be Writing in?

What are chords?

Building Triads

Roots

The Diatonic Chord Progression

Roman Numerals

Piano Man, Billy Joel (Song Analysis #1)

All Too Well, Taylor Swift (Song Analysis #2)

The Different Types of Triads

What is inside of a triad?

The Third Holds The Power!

Diminished Triads

Octaves and Inversions

Chords on the Guitar

What is the Circle of Fifths?

Using The Circle to Find Chords

Using the Circle to Find More Interesting Chords

Borrowing from Closely Related Keys

Verse Chord Progression

Chorus Chord Progression

Verse Melody

Chorus Melody

Full Song

What are 7th Chords?

The 4 types of 7th chords

Major 7th Chords

Minor 7th Chords

Dominant 7th Chords

Blues and the 7th Chord

The "Psycho Chord"

Welcome to Minor Keys

Finding Minor by Alternations to Major

Finding Minor by the Whole-Half Pattern

Finding Minor using the Relative Major

Finding Minor using the Parallel Major

The Three Types of Minor Scales

The Melodic Minor Scale

Key Signatures in Minor

The Pattern

The V Chord and Leading Tones

7th Chords in Minor

Minor keys and the Circle of Fifths

More Options for “Closely Related Keys"

All Too Well, Taylor Swift (Song Analysis #3)

What's Going On, Marvin Gaye (Song Analysis #4)

"Real Books" and "Fake Books"

Verse Chord Progression

Chorus Chord Progression

Verse Melody

Chorus Melody

Full Song

What Have We Learned?

What Comes Next?

Bonus Lecture

What You Will Learn?

  • Hey there, I'm J. Anthony Allen. Let's ditch the stuffy theory lectures and get straight to writing killer music..
  • This isn't your typical theory class. We're here to decode what actually matters for songwriting. No memorizing obscure rules or dust-covered textbooks. Just practical knowledge that'll have you crafting better tunes from day one..
  • What we'll tackle:.
  • Writing songs that resonate, not just follow rules.
  • Cracking the code of hit songs (and using it in your own work).
  • Mastering the Circle of Fifths without the headache.
  • Reading music notation that's actually useful for songwriters.
  • Breaking "rules" creatively once you know them.
  • Whether you're just starting out or looking to shake up your songwriting routine, this course meets you where you're at. No prerequisites needed - just bring your passion and an open mind..
  • By the end, you'll have the tools to:.
  • Craft melodies that stick.
  • Build chord progressions with purpose.
  • Understand why great songs work (and how to make your own).
  • Push your songwriting boundaries with confidence.
  • I've helped over a million students cut through the noise and focus on what matters. With a 100% question answer rate, I've got your back every step of the way..
  • Ready to revolutionize your approach to songwriting? Let's do this..