This post provides a comprehensive overview of what functional harmony is. It covers key topics such as chord progressions, chord functions, voice leading, cadences, and modulation. The post highlights the importance of understanding functional harmony in order to analyse, compose, and perform music effectively and deepen one's appreciation of music ..read more

It is safe to assume that inspiration doesn’t come out of nowhere. With that said, we need to prepare and plan for creativity, be it musical or related to any other activity.  ..read more

An example of how chromatic mediant relationships can sound by creating unexpected harmonies and also some tips on things you can do with rhythm to surprise your listeners. The post Chromatic Mediants and Metric Modulation appeared first on BEYOND MUSIC THEORY ..read more

In this post we will be looking at some tips that you can use to create chord progressions and start making your next song. I also did a little bit of that, as you will listen throughout the post. It was the result of mirroring technique, diatonic and chromatic voice-leading all put together using common… Read More »Tips to Create Chord Progressions The post Tips to Create Chord Progressions appeared first on BEYOND MUSIC THEORY ..read more

     Considering that melody and chords are one of the great building blocks of songwriting, one can wonder where to start first: chords or melody? Each approach can bring something different to the table so, read on: Melody-First Approach      A melody-first songwriting process implies that the first step in our music composition is to compose a… Read More »Chords or Melody, What Comes First? The post Chords or Melody, What Comes First? appeared first on BEYOND MUSIC THEORY ..read more

     In this post I’ll be looking at some ways that you can use to create tension in music by using harmony, rhythm or form and how controlling tension and release cycles can greatly contribute to music expressiveness. Some of them may be more obvious than others but it all comes down to what you are… Read More »How to Create Tension in Music The post How to Create Tension in Music appeared first on BEYOND MUSIC THEORY ..read more

     In this post I will be showing you different ways of using tonal and chromatic polychord structures in your music. But first, a thing or two about polychords. It consists of two or more chords played together and such chords may be originated from the same or different tonalities – usually the latter is applied.      Generally, the… Read More »How to Use Polychords in Your Music The post How to Use Polychords in Your Music appeared first on BEYOND MUSIC THEORY ..read more

Knowing how to go from a melody with chords played on the guitar or piano to a full song arrangement can be daunting. How do you go about this process? In this post I will try to give you some tips on how you can approach a song arrangement. So, now that you have a… Read More »Arrangement Planning Tips For Songwriters The post Arrangement Planning Tips For Songwriters appeared first on BEYOND MUSIC THEORY ..read more

     To start making music, you shouldn’t have to wait until you have graduated from music university and know all about music theory inside out. In fact, it is quite possible, and highly advisable, to start making your own music with the little that you may already know. But the question is, how much of what… Read More »How Much Music Theory Do You Need to Start Making Music? The post How Much Music Theory Do You Need to Start Making Music? appeared first on BEYOND MUSIC THEORY ..read more

     When we talk about form in music, we are referring to the song structure. Or in other words, the different sections that make up the whole song. Each section usually pertains to a moment in your storytelling and that is what we will be taking a closer look at.      Sometimes you may struggle with the… Read More »The Basics of Song Form The post The Basics of Song Form appeared first on BEYOND MUSIC THEORY ..read more