News — Music Theory Courses

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

Learn how basic harmonic exercises transform into powerful modulating sequences by treating chord progressions as "words" you can combine. KEY LESSON POINT: Mastering small harmonic movements as reusable "words" allows you to create sophisticated modulating sequences by combining them in new ways, just as composers like Barber and Wagner did. By thinking of chord progressions as reusable words that can be combined into musical sentences, you transform technical practice into creative possibility. Find more of the examples used in this video in our Functional Harmony Course and exercises.   

Is It "Stealing" to Use Other Composers' Progressions? This lesson explores the common practice of reusing harmonic progressions through examples from Tchaikovsky, Alfred Newman, James Newton Howard, and others. Through practical demonstrations, we examine how the same basic progressions appear across different genres and time periods. KEY LESSON POINT: Using existing harmonic progressions and techniques from other composers isn't stealing - it's a fundamental part of musical composition. The artistry comes from how you reimagine and repurpose these common elements in your own unique way. Rather than trying to invent completely new progressions (which in purely diatonic music is most...

We have a new course on writing memorable melodies that we just released.  The goal is to provide a set of tools to help you develop better melody writing habits.  Breaking free from creative ruts can be one of the most challenging aspects of melody writing. If you've ever felt stuck repeating the same musical ideas or struggled to bring freshness to your compositions, we have a new course for you. We're excited to announce: "Basic Melodic Practice," designed to provide you with practical tools and lessons to rejuvenate your melody writing. Reinvigorate Your Melodic Creativity "Basic Melodic Practice" focuses...