Some Interesting Keyboards Some books about music refer to a persistent "myth" that it is possible, using only two keyboards, to construct an instrument on which it is possible to play music in any key using just intonation. Indeed, it is true that it is not possible, with only 24 keys to the octave, to construct an instrument that will play in perfect just intonation in every key. However, it is possible to exhibit an example of the type of keyboard that has given rise to this "myth", so that its capabilities, as well as its limitations, can be seen. Thus, what may be constructed with 24 keys to the octave is a keyboard which allows playing diatonic music in just intonation in any of the twelve conventionally designated keys, even if nothing can be ensured concerning the pitch of accidentals, and with the provision that one has to make a jump in pitch when one transposes around the far end of the circle of fifths. This will be shown explicitly below. The most obvious design: This is the Wicki-Hayden keyboard.
Arrangement Tips and Tricks: Fills and Transitions Twice a month we revisit some of our reader favorite posts from throughout the history of Audiotuts+. This tutorial was first published in March 2010. Even the best track can be let down by bad arrangement. Let things slide in this area and you're in danger of losing your listeners' interest. One area that is hugely important is creating interesting transitions and using varying fills when introducing new elements. Step 1: The Basic Drop For the purpose of this tutorial I have mocked up a small dummy arrangement showing the transition between a few different sections of a hypothetical track. In each step of the tutorial we'll look at different techniques for creating varied and interesting fills. First up let's take a look at perhaps the most simple method for moving between sections in your track, the drop. Basically all we are aiming to do here is remove one or more elements from the mix to drop the energy of the piece temporarily. The basic drop. The drop fill in action. ... ...
Music Theory for Musicians and Normal People by Toby W. Rush This page includes links to each of the individual Music Theory pages I've created in PDF form. This is a work in progress; I am writing new ones regularly and fixing errors and omissions on existing ones as I find them. If you find them useful for your theory studies, you are welcome to use them, and if you find errors or have suggestions, I invite you to contact me. Click the thumbnails to view or download each page as a PDF for free! These pages are available for free under a Creative Commons BY-NC-ND license. This collection is a work in progress, but if you would prefer, you can download all the current pages as a single PDF. Each and every one of these pages is available is an 18" x 24" poster. These pages are available in multiple translations and localizations! Interested in helping translate these pages to your own language? What is Music Theory? And why are all these cool and attractive people studying it? Notation: Pitch Notation: Rhythm Notation: Meter Beaming Triads
How to Write a Song This easy-to-use guide will show you how to write a song, from finding a great title to writing your melody. Hands-on songwriting exercises will jump start your creativity, while ‘how-to’ video tutorials are a fun way to find out more. by Robin Frederick. What comes first, melody or lyrics? If a song genuinely expresses your feelings, then it’s a good song. So, how do you write a song that moves other people and makes them want to listen? ‣ What is song craft and why do I need it??? Good songwriters use song craft to give their songs emotional impact and create a memorable experience for listeners. The simple, time-tested ideas on this page will help you create a song that expresses your feelings and moves listeners, keeping them involved and interested in what you have to say. ‣ How does a song get started? Getting started can be one of the hardest tasks in songwriting. There’s always the temptation to jump right in and begin with the first thing that occurs to you. ‣ What happens next?
A different way to visualize rhythm - John Varney To learn more on circular perceptions of rhythm with specific reference to African music, read this paper and then watch this Five(ish) Minute Drum Lesson on African Drumming. How has drumming played an essential role in African culture? What do specific rhythms represent? Interested in the software applications of a circular rhythmic approach? What exactly is rhythm? How does the beat of a song differ from its rhythm? As seen from this TED Ed lesson, different cultures share similar rhythms. Rhythm and Math are related? Just love music and want to learn more? How playing an instrument benefits your brain - Anita Collins Why we love repetition in music - Elizabeth Hellmuth Margulis Music as a language -Victor Wooten
I analyzed the chords to 1300 songs for patterns. This is what I found. (Part 3) Interactive Discovery | Blog – Hooktheory Last year, we discussed the first results of a long term effort to study the patterns found in the chords of popular songs. The reception that we got was incredibly positive, and we received a ton of great feedback. The two most common questions we’ve gotten from people have been: “I really like the sound of chords X Y Z together. Our answer: Hooktheory Trends Our crowdsourced database is uniquely suited to answer these questions because it contains the harmonic data of songs indexed in a way that makes it easy to perform this type of analysis. Hooktheory is experiencing VERY high traffic as a result of this article. Mirror 1 Mirror 2 How Trends Works When you open Trends, you will see the most commonly used chords in the key of C. Click a song to highlight where it uses the chords. The ability to quickly explore visually how chords are used in different songs opens up a huge potential for discovery and learning. Get started using Trends by clicking here! Fun things to try
Music theory Music theory considers the practices and possibilities of music. It is generally derived from observation of how musicians and composers actually make music, but includes hypothetical speculation. Most commonly, the term describes the academic study and analysis of fundamental elements of music such as pitch, rhythm, harmony, and form, but also refers to descriptions, concepts, or beliefs related to music. Because of the ever-expanding conception of what constitutes music (see Definition of music), a more inclusive definition could be that music theory is the consideration of any sonic phenomena, including silence, as it relates to music. Music theory is a subfield of musicology, which is itself a subfield within the overarching field of the arts and humanities. The development, preservation, and transmission of music theory may be found in oral and practical music-making traditions, musical instruments, and other artifacts. History of music theory[edit] Fundamentals of music[edit] Play .
Writing Songs : Harmonic Movement : How Music Works In the previous topic, we created a harmonic backing for a melody using the related chords of the melody's scale. You may have wondered how we decided to arrange them in a progression, since there are so many combinations we could have chosen. In general, you will be relying heavily on your ear to decide which chords work well with the melody, and what order they should be arranged in. This is (of course!) as it shoud be. As you listen to harmonic movement, it may help to imagine a 'shape' to the music, feeling the tension varying with each chord change, up to the satisfing release (or resolving) of tension with the last chord. There are many common harmonic movements from one related chord to another that occur often in music. We will express all of these movements in roman numeral notation to help you transpose them to any key, but an example for each will also be given in the key of C. Here's another example progression with the I and V chords.
How maths helps us understand why music moves people Music is known to provoke the senses, give pleasure and sometimes move people to tears. Surely this has little to do with mathematical models which are so frequently associated with cold and rational logic. So what can maths tell us about this powerful phenomenon closely connected to the emotions? Can mathematics help us measure what’s sublime or ineffable about a piece of music? Music evokes strong emotions such as frisson (goose bumps), awe and laughter – and has been found to use the same reward pathways as food, drugs and sex to induce pleasure. On one end of the spectrum, a performance or a piece of music that does just what you’d expect runs the risk of becoming banal. Author provided Listen PDQ Bach: The Short-tempered Clavier: Minuet in C Download MP3 / 735 KB The craving that comes from musical anticipation and the euphoria that follows the reward have both been found to be linked to dopamine release. Playing with expectations Listen Happy Birthday (first part) Download MP3 / 284 KB