Subject: Let's Try Another...

Let's Try Another...

September 29th, 2016 at 8:37 am EDT

Hey Friend, I mentioned I had a little process I used to figure out a scale based on a particular key. It's nothing elaborate, just a way I keep things straight in my head. Regardless of the the key, I always keep C major as the reference. Remember, ...

Going in Circles

September 28th, 2016 at 8:29 am EDT

Hey Friend, We started talking a little about the Circle of Fifths yesterday, and from that, we figured out that if we're going solely off the number of sharps (#) or flats (b) in a key, the next logical choice to study would be the key of G major. G ...

So What's Next?

September 27th, 2016 at 8:36 am EDT

Hey Friend, Let's move this along. We covered a lot of ground with the key of C major. Seven chords (plus some variations), in upwards of ten versions for each. Many shapes you can use to work your magic around the guitar neck. But that was just one ...

Baby Steps...

September 26th, 2016 at 8:32 am EDT

Hey Friend, Yup, no email yesterday. I was a bum. It wasn't that I had something else going on or that I didn't intend on writing. I just got caught up in other stuff. Not that I wasn't thinking about you... I did make a decision as to how The Chord ...

Stttrrreeetttccchhh...

September 24th, 2016 at 5:00 pm EDT

Hey Friend, I have to say I'm stuck on the Wings song "Bluebird." I'm scratching my head over the key, and wondering about the choice. Maybe I shouldn't question genius, and perhaps it's that I just don't understand the process well enough yet (much ...

It Sounded Easy Enough...

September 23rd, 2016 at 8:37 am EDT

Hey Friend, Day Two of needing to write while under the cover of headphones. My wife has a deadline to get through these webinars, so you may be getting a few more of these emails with me distracted by the music I happen to have on at the moment. Aft ...

Creating Dimension

September 22nd, 2016 at 8:37 am EDT

Hey Friend, As I sat down to write this today, my wife was in the middle of listening to a work webinar. The woman giving the webinar is a Southern lady, with a heavy accent. Not unpleasant, but distracting, for sure. Especially for someone like me t ...

From Lows to Highs

September 21st, 2016 at 8:27 am EDT

Hey Friend, There are many ways to fill out the sonic spectrum in music. By that I mean making sure the bass, mid-range and treble frequencies are represented in a song (as long as they serve the song). Unlike an orchestra that can have hundreds of i ...

Filling Out

September 20th, 2016 at 8:35 am EDT

Hey Friend, So where were we? Oh yes, scaling for music... We were talking about how composers need to understand the venue that houses their orchestra. It's not enough to pull a bunch of musicians together and sit them down in sections. They had to ...

Scaling for Music

September 19th, 2016 at 8:41 am EDT

Hey Friend, Have you ever wondered why orchestras are so large? Why they have multiple musicians playing the same instruments? When you look across the floor, you'll often see three or more instances of each instrument. Multiple violins and violas, f ...