To lower-level organizational structures I call them Microform and these decisions are related to materials inside a given section or how to prepare to go to the next section. At this point, I am referring to rhythmic parts, melodies, harmony… Read More »Microform as a Low Level Organizational Structure
A commonly accepted definition is that music is organized sound and to do so, we use the musical elements. Any of the presented materials, thus far, would not make much sense if they were not combined and organized in such… Read More »Form – Common Structures and Macroform
In this post I will be giving you some tips about chord voicing. In a previous article, I have tackled this subject but, as a refresher, it refers to how the notes of a chord are distributed or placed.… Read More »Chord Voicing and the Perceived Quality of Dissonance and Consonance
It is related to the way the notes of the chord are distributed or spaced. A chord may be executed in close position (the most compact voicing), or in open position (wider spacing): We are always referring to the same… Read More »Chord Voicings
Chords are made from scale materials or pitch sets, meaning that any scale that contains the notes of a particular chord that is being used is a potential candidate to be used over it. But something to always be… Read More »Matching Scales to Chords
When I mentioned the overtone series and that the pentatonic scale is one of the most used and recognized scales in the world, you probably noticed that there were some scale degrees missing. Probably, the most commonly used pentatonic scale… Read More »The Pentatonic Major and Minor Scales
The first diatonic scales we will be looking at are the natural major and minor. Scales can be classified as being major or minor, depending on the third interval between the tonic and the mediant – a major third is… Read More »The Diatonic Major and Minor Scales
It can be related to how many instruments are playing at a given time and it can be thick or dense (lots of instruments); light or sparse (fewer instruments). But it is also related to other elements of music, such… Read More »Texture
Chords by Thirds The first chord constructions we will be looking at are the chords stacked by thirds. These chord formations must be one of the most commonly used and, in their simplest form, they are called triads. A triad… Read More »Chord Formations – Triads and Tetrads
Dynamics refers to how loud or soft a musician needs to play a particular musical passage. Being one the expressive elements of music, using dynamics in a piece of music may help sustain the interest, avoid boredom by adding variety… Read More »Dynamics
Harmony is a term used to describe two or more notes sounding together. When we looked at chords, you probably noticed that they are built from the bottom up just like the overtone series, forming a “vertical” structure. But harmony… Read More »What is Harmony?
A symmetrical scale is basically one that results from the equal division of an octave. I will only be approaching the most common but there are many other ways to divide the octave. This symmetry is also usually present even… Read More »Symmetric Scales
In this post I will show you some ways of being creative with pentatonic scales. In the end you can hear the music track I composed by taking the most from intervals and chord relationships that you can derive while… Read More »Composing with Pentatonic Material
A chord is a group of three or more notes played simultaneously that form the basis for harmony. Such notes come from the scale material we are using, or to which the chord notes relate to. In order to form… Read More »Chords
In Western music, a diatonic scale is a heptatonic scale where each tone is a degree of the scale. Each degree refers to the relative position of a particular note to the tonic, the first and main note of the… Read More »Scale Degrees and Leading Tone
A musical scale is basically a collection of notes that divide the octave in a certain number of scale steps. The reason why the pitches are organized within one octave is so we can proceed with the same notes or… Read More »Scales and the Overtone Series
In music, an interval is the relative distance between two notes that can be measured in tones or steps and, in the equal temperament system that uses twelve notes, the smallest measurable unit is a half-step or a half-tone. The… Read More »Intervals
Getting to know the musical elements Conveying emotions and experiencing emotions largely depends on social and cultural aspects, and that said, you should be aware of the emotional qualities you perceive when you listen to certain sounds, chords, rhythms, melodies,… Read More »Using the Musical Elements for Music Expression
The harmonic series is probably the most fundamental aspect upon which music can be understood. As we will see, it is the basis for an effective chord voicing, to understand chord tones and tensions, scale construction and also rhythm. Briefly,… Read More »The Harmonic Series
We make sounds to speak and when used properly in a coherent and intelligible way we are using a form of language. Music, as an art form and in its own unique way, also uses sounds and organizing them… Read More »Music as Language
