To all music compositions, from the classics of Bach and Beethoven, to current-day "pop" songs, the "Key" of the song is the set of tones on which the melody and chords will be based. Too, the "Time" of the song is that which keeps the notes confined to a set structure of beats and meter.

Both possessing what is called "signatures", "Keys" and "Time" are found in almost every single piece of music as references for those who want to perform the same piece of music the same way the composer intended it to be played. But, any song can be notated differently for the player, with the end result sounding the same to the listener.

Did you know (as an example) that the song "Ole McDonald Had A Farm" can be written with 30 different key signatures, but unlimited different key changes, and unlimited different time signatures, but all can sound identical to the listener?

Its all in the tricks of how it is written and how it is arranged for the musicians. When an arranger "arranges" a song, they're not just putting the notes on the page so that multiple instruments can play certain parts of the harmony to give the song its "sound", and drive an emotional impact to an end result. But many times, they're writing parts and sometimes the entire piece, to challenge the musicians in reading, interpretation, time-signature adaptation, and more to give the song different "twists and turns" for the sake of the musician's experience, and a host of other reasons. As you'll see - a time signature and key are only references which are sometimes misleading - ON PURPOSE!

A melody by itself, although the main "message" component to any song, can stand alone and, by itself can communicate the lyrics, idea and feeling to the audience.  But a chord structure behind any melody establishes a foundation upon which it can help move the melody by conveying emotion, energy, presentation, and introspection.

To study chords and chord progressions in the make up of music is to understand what emotional impact is being delivered underneath the melody to give the listener a feeling of happiness, anticipation, sadness, inspiration, melancholy, anger, wanting, despair, success, suspense, triumph, failure, and a myriad of other feelings and emotions that the composer is trying to convey with the music as it compliments the melody (if there even is a melody).

Part of that study has to do with the intervals between melodic notes, their direction within the song, their placement within the chord progression and many other things. Though intervals are used in training your ears, they are key elements in how songs can move you to feel a particular emotion - it's mind control in its most beautiful form.

What's the difference in Listening and Hearing? Anyone can "listen" to music and make out the words and melody, the bass and guitar, the drums and rhythm, the background vocals and sound effects.
 
But only those with trained ears can really "hear" if the song is in a Major or Minor key, or which minor key, for that matter (there are 3). They can also tell if the melody is written in what is called "modal". Are there key changes or modulation? Did the rhythm change time signatures or was just an extra bar of 3 thrown in to make it interesting?
 
Hey, did you know that when you hear a single note on any instrument, like a piano, you're not just hearing a single note, but rather a series of notes faintly mixed with the note that was played? It's called the "harmonic structure" and it's why brass instruments can play multiple notes using the same valve combination or slide position, and was very instrumental in how our music evolved from early Gregorian Chant Octaves to the jazz chords we use in today's music.

Once you've been shown the tricks you'll be able to take a song you've heard and play it the first time without ever having read the music, or be able to write the melody, chords and rhythm of that song strictly from memory, without ever having played it.

Training your ears to really "hear" the music is what the pros do, and with a little help, you'll be doing it just like them.

Writing or composing your own song isn't as hard as you might think. Most people, whether they aspire to learn how music works or not, can usually come up with a little melody in their heads - most of the time that melody is just that - a melody - no chords, no lyrics, no arrangement - just a melody. Sadly, they may never learn that they could be getting paid for that little song.

But, did you know that over 75% of all the music you hear every single day has no lyrics, is not a song by a well known artist on the radio, is not purchasable by the public, and is strictly written to enhance a commercial, a video production, a major motion picture, a website, a TV show, and hundreds  of other uses, even that music you hear in the elevator, the doctor's office, and at restaurants.

BTW - Sometimes you "think" you're listening to the original, but many times you're listening to a "sound alike" produced by different musicians in a studio, but not the same musicians who were on the release of the original recording. Ever wonder why?

In every single case, someone got paid to write, arrange, adapt, copy parts, play, score, engineer, produce, mix, market, and distribute that music whether or not the public ever knows to whom they're listening.

But, after learning some of the "insider info" in this course, and how you can market your own music, you'll have a better idea how to construct an interesting melody, counter-melodies, chord structure, chord progression, key changes, rhythm parts, and a whole lot more.

There's no guarantee that publishers will beat a path to your door, but then again, who needs them? We've got "Internet"!

 WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:

• The different major keys from C Major to all the others which use 1 to 7 sharps and 1 to 7 flats, and how they are used. Plus, we'll cover the 4 Clefs and how they're used (not just Treble and Bass).
   

• The "relative minor keys" to all the major keys as well as three different types of minor keys, how they differ from each other, and how they are used to convey different emotions.
   

• What "Modes" are, how they correspond to major scales, and how they are used in all forms of music, not just jazz.
   

• The different time signatures, how they're used, and why they are each preferred when writing musical pieces.
   

• Terms and how different time changes in the same piece of music can present an unsuspecting "hook" that adds fun to the music.
   

• How one piece of music can be written in many different keys and time signatures, but all sound the same (as in the example above using "Ole McDonald Had A Farm").
   

• Different rhythms and syncopations from around the world to indicate cultural identities in music, and how they are used in every-day music.
   

• We will explore some of the many differences between what are called duplets, triplets, and quadruplets, quintuplets, sextuplet, septuplets, octuplets, and nontuplets, and how they're all applied. (WOW! I was getting "tuplet dizzy"!)
   

• We will examine different "genres" of music, their rhythms and how they contribute to a particular cultural feeling, as well as how important the "meter" of a song is.
   

• Did you know you can identify what key a song is in just by one note in the melody and one note of one chord in the song? It's not magic, but there is a trick. And, wait until you see what else I have up my sleeve.

 WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:

• The many different types of chord structures used in modern and classical music, from the primitive octaves and fifths used in 9th and 10th century Gregorian Chants, to the progression of the use of major and minor thirds, three part harmony of contemporary major and minor chords, to the more advanced chords which use sharp and flat 5s, 7s, 9s, 11s, 13s, passing tones, and more.
   

• Why it took a period of several thousand years for those harmonies and chords to be accepted into our western music culture and why our human hearing capabilities played a major role in how our music has evolved - HINT: It has to do with how you hear all there is to hear - in other words, what you "think" you're hearing isn't all that you're "actually" hearing - pretty spooky, huh?.
   

• How over thousands of years our progression of listening techniques as humans have followed what is call the "Harmonic Structure" (a physical and scientific "map" of what is known to every sound called its "harmonics", which differs between instruments, natural sounds, manmade sounds, etc.), explaining why, if a piano, flute, clarinet , and trumpet all play the identical pitch, like Concert C, they all still sound different to one another.
   

• Common chord progressions used in Classical, Pop, Rock, and Fusion/Jazz styles including what is known as the "Circle of 5ths", a common key change technique called "5 of 5", and how relative minors are used in changes.
   

• You will discover the different methods used to create emotion and feeling in music through chord types, chord "voicing", melodic intervals, chord progressions, time changes, tempo changes, super-imposed chords, and more.
   

• We'll examine some of the most memorable musical pieces and investigate how the chords and melodic intervals played a part in the success of motion picture themes, background music, TV themes, commercials and current pop-artist-performed songs.

 WHAT  YOU'LL LEARN:

• Several listening techniques to spot and identify different melodic passages by using intervals, diatonic spread, accidentals, key changes, super-imposed chord structures, and modal adaptations.
   

• How to transpose a melody by mapping the intervals between melodic notes and transcribing them for a different instrument or key.
   

• Simple techniques to start training your ears to hear those "harmonics" and simple ways to prove that they even exist using an acoustic instrument as your proof.
   

• How music is "mixed" in a recording studio (it's not all about volume) and how musicians can acoustically "mix" themselves while in a performance on stage.
   

• Sound "tricks" that most blind people can teach you, such as how to determine how far away a sound is, or is something louder or just closer to you? How can you tell the difference? Or, why 2 "in-tune" trumpets playing the same note will sound louder than 4 "out-of-tune" trumpets playing the same note at the same volume.
   

• How to hear if a chord is being played in 1st, 2nd or 3rd position meaning, which of the three notes in chord is on top, in the middle,  and on the bottom, and what voicing techniques was used by the arranger - open voicing, closed voicing or minimal voicing.
   

• Other sound tricks, like what "sound shadows" and "reflective effects" are, the difference between an echo and reverberation, why people think they sound good singing in the shower and why practicing in a closet full of clothes is more productive than practicing in a gymnasium. These are all parts of training your ears to hear things that exist - you just didn't know they were there.
   

• We'll also explore the use of "silence" in music as a major technique that adds anticipation and emotion, and can lead to other musical options.

 WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:

• Why the first step in writing a song many times has nothing to do with the song, but where it might be used, what it might be used for, or who might want to buy it. What is your target market? Is this just for you or are you wanting to market your music? What genre or style of music is your song? How current is your song to what is now being used in the different parts of the music industry? Lot's of questions before you continue, but for now - let's just write a song!
   

• Starting by using a song with which you're familiar and making changes to that song to make it your own, or taking an idea totally from inside your head, you'll learn to write the melody, develop the chord structure and rhythm of your song to create something of your own.
   

• The basics of arranging your song using different instrumentation, alternative chord choices, how to add "hooks" to your music, the pattern of songs (e.g., verse, verse, bridge, verse, or "A, A, B, A", etc.)
   

• You will learn that not all music has lyrics, and just as much money is made with music for productions (TV shows, radio promos, commercials, multimedia, Internet products, infomercials, radio and television jingle packages, production music libraries, and more) as is the money made by music being performed by major artists in the commercial music industry.
   

• How new songs are "pitched" to major artists, and how difficult it is to make it in the "commercial" music industry. But there are lots of alternative paths you can follow, and as a player, learning these tricks to your craft can only help you.
   

• We'll discuss different ways you can craft, record, and even market your music, and how you can make money selling music for other people - it's all in what you know and who you know!
   

• Although you'll learn a little bit about music publishing, we'll discuss a great technique for getting your new composition played for an audience without ever needing a publisher.

Copyright © 2013 - MusiCopia.us - All Rights Reserved