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Music Theory for Songwriters Masterclass
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This Course Includes
skillshare
4.8 (40 reviews )
5 hours 44 minutes
english
Online - Self Paced
course
SkillShare
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..