I’m excited to announce that I will be giving a virtual guest talk on harmony in John Williams’ action music. The talk is with the Academy of Scoring Arts this Sunday, Sep. 10th, from 10am-12pm Pacific Time (they’re based in L.A.). I’ll be breaking down two cues from the original Star Wars trilogy: “Attacking a Star Destroyer” from The Empire Strikes Back, and “Den of the Rancor” from Return of the Jedi. The idea is to give a sense not only of the kinds of chords Williams often uses, but also how he tends to use them in an action scene. You must be a member to attend, but you can sign up ent ..read more

Here’s a video I put together giving a detailed look at the new course on Rhythm and Meter. Visit the course page for a preview and to enroll in the course ..read more

In this video, I explore how John Williams adds memorability and interest to some of his most famous themes with a rhythmic technique I call “Cell Repetition with Divider”. Enjoy ..read more

Write memorable, meaningful music with classic rhythmic techniques in this three-lesson course. Discover rhythmic techniques from some of the best-known themes in film, learn a wealth of techniques for irregular meters from classic blockbuster films, and see how meter combines with mode and tempo to create emotional associations from Hollywood’s best composers! Enjoy this course at the special launch price of $119 (for a limited time). Visit the course page to view lesson details, watch a course preview, and enroll in the course ..read more

I’m excited to let you know that the next course for Film Music Notes is already being built, and this one is called Advanced Techniques with Rhythm and Meter in Film Music, due out in late summer/early fall. In typical Film Music Notes style, the course has three lessons, and here are their titles: Lesson 1 – Special Uses of Repetition, Hemiola, and Syncopation Lesson 2 – Irregular Meters in Action Music Lesson 3 – Associations of Meters with Emotional Expressions And here’s a sneak peek into the breakdown of Lesson 1: Ensure you don’t miss out by signing up for an email notification when ..read more

Film Music Notes is happy to announce the launch of a new course, Associations of Harmony in Film Themes at the super-sale price of $89 with the use of this coupon code: LEQ2F271SS. After Dec. 27, the price will go to the launch price of $99 (full regular price is $109). By studying many of the greatest themes to come out of Hollywood, this three-lesson course will teach you the most common harmonic progressions in Hollywood film music and the emotional and musical associations they tend to have. Learn how to use harmony to evoke the perfect emotions in your themes! Watch a preview of the cou ..read more

Last chance to get Lessons 4-6 at the launch price of $99 – sale ends this Friday, Oct. 15! Learn the most common harmonies for the two action scales of hexatonic and Hungarian minor. Then see how scales interact with planing harmonies and how octatonic, hexatonic, and Hungarian minor scales combine in sophisticated action music. Find out more on the courses page, where you can navigate to each group of lessons to see their contents, watch a preview, and enrol in the course ..read more

Announcing the next set of lessons for Action-Music Harmony in Classic Blockbuster Films at the launch sale price of $99. Through these lessons, learn the most common harmonies for the two action scales of hexatonic and Hungarian minor. Then see how scales interact with planing harmonies and how octatonic, hexatonic, and Hungarian minor scales combine in sophisticated action music. Find out more on the courses page, where you can navigate to each group of lessons to see their contents, watch a preview, and enroll in the course. Hurry, sale ends Oct. 15 ..read more

With our re-launch, we are excited to announce our very first online course, Action-Music Harmony in Classic Blockbuster Films. What’s in the course? Watch the video below and find out more on the course page, where you can view lesson contents, watch a lesson preview, and enroll in the course! Please Note: To avoid copyright infringement, this course contains no score excerpts or audio from film scores. Students are directed to find and listen to soundtrack excerpts while the course content consists of: 1. Music theory connecting the techniques to be discussed 2. Analysis describing the tech ..read more

Hi all, Here’s the second video in my series on John Williams themes, this one on the Star Wars main title. It argues that one of the reasons the cue is so powerful is that it’s highly unified by melody, harmony, and rhythm. Enjoy, and if you like it, please subscribe ..read more