News — Music Theory Courses

This video lesson reveals a basic, simple move you can use with Mixolydian to get a very enchanting sound for the film score genre, specifically by alternating between the Mixolydian I and v chords. This simple move is best used when constantly transitioning keys, giving the composition momentum as if it's going somewhere through drastic sudden key changes

  In this video lesson Robert shows a cool little trick that you can use within your sequences.   Reversing the roles of the outside voices (top line and bottom line) in a musical passage, specifically in sequences that use opposite motion.  In the context of Chromatic Harmony lines.  Learn more about Chromatic Harmony with our course here: https://fisound.com/collections/music-theory-courses/products/basic-chromatic-harmony

This video explores Wagner's masterful use of pivot chord sequential techniques, demonstrating how to create compelling harmonic progressions that move clockwise through the circle of fifths using  vi-ii-V-I patterns starting from A minor. Learn how to enhance these sequences with proper voice leading and motivic development, plus discover Wagner's signature "breakout" techniques—including half cadences and inverted augmented sixth chords—that prevent repetitive sequences from becoming monotonous and add sophisticated compositional interest to your music.

Key Video Lesson Take Away:  This little trick with symmetrical scales, especially the diminished scale lets you create these really cool opposite motion chord runs where the outside lines come together and then depart each other.  Unlike non-symmetrical scales, the diminished scale works out perfectly for this, making it super useful for those tense musical moments. And when you actually write it out instead of just playing into your DAW, you can stack voices gradually to create an awesome buildup that sounds incredible even with minimal tweaking!

Here is a free bonus lesson from our new Melodic Minor Course (Practical Melodic Minor):  KEY LESSON POINT:  The traditional directional rules of melodic minor (ascending with raised 6th/7th, descending as natural minor) are unnecessarily restrictive for composers.  Instead, a more practical approach treats minor as a unified system where composers can freely draw from natural, melodic, and harmonic minor elements regardless of direction, particularly when approaching the dominant chord to create more expressive and captivating progressions. Check out more from our Practical Melodic Minor Course here:  https://fisound.com/products/practical-melodic-minor