Post Description

When most people think of a composer, they imagine someone sitting in a dusty attic with a grand piano, big white wig, and the year is 1800. That might have been accurate back then, but the modern composer is just like you and me. In fact, I am one.

In this course I'll show you techniques I use for writing music in a variety of styles and situations. I've worked with major american orchestras, film studios, and video game designers, so I've got more than a little experience. I'm also a PhD in music composition and a university professor (of music composition).

Recently I was named as a semi-finalist for the Grammy Foundation's Music Educator of the Year award because of my in-person university classes. Now I'm taking those classes to Udemy in an online format in order to reach more students, and give them the joy of Music Theory.

I'm planning on making several "sections" of this class, and this is only part 1. As the class grows, we will go deeper and deeper into my techniques. This class is focused on the beginning: Generating ideas and getting started.

In this class, we will cover:

    My background, and listen to some of my music
    The different between music theory and music composition (highly opinionated!)
    Tools of the trade: Software
    Tools of the trade: Pencils and fine paper
    How do you start?
    The process
    Program music and metaphors
    Character sketches
    Writing through canon
    Form
    Binary, Ternary, and Rondo forms
    Starting with a plan
    Graphic form representations
    Triads, and basic rules of harmony
    Chord progressions
    Inversions
    Song analysis
    Melody writing
    Any much, much, more!

nJoy!