Where do song ideas come from, where do we take them, and where do they take us? What makes a good song idea? How do you...
Rules of engagement for getting the most out of remote group music projects I recently agreed to join with a couple pals in a music creation...
How to use sequencers to create musical patterns My last few columns have discussed repetition in music and the patterns that result. Until now, those discussions...
As music evolved, repetitions became patterns, and patterns became musical meters. Meters are time signatures. While tempo is how fast the music goes, meter is how the music goes fast. Together they...
Go beyond simple repetition and explore new musical territory by composing patterns. Last month, I contemplated the concept of repetition in music. That made me hear...
To connect with your audience, anything worth playing is worth playing again. To repeat or not to repeat? That’s this month’s question. There are all kinds...
File away your musical ideas for future use. Think about how you make music. It can be pretty nonstop: playing, listening, producing, and posting finished pieces...
Exploring harmonic relationships beyond chords and intervals. Chords. What are chords? Oh, that’s right, they are collections of notes sounded at the same time. They have...
Managing the horizontal and vertical dimensions of musical space. Chords. Who doesn’t love chords? Generally speaking and to most people, chords appear to be the basic...
Ever wonder why some moments in your favorite pieces of music seem so deeply satisfying? Most often, it’s because the composer has carefully designed such moments...
Do you believe in magic? What should you do when you’ve fallen under its spell? The real beginning of any musical piece is not how it...
You think you’re writing music…but what are you really doing? You switch on your synth, boot your laptop, and then search for some fresh sounds or...
