Music Composition with the Piano

Unleash your composing & songwriting with tools to unblock the writing process and generate material at the piano with ease, whether you're a beginner or intermediate at piano & music theory. 

The course consists of four core elements: 

• Piano technique, theory & arrangement.
• Fundamental & advanced harmony & music theory.
• Compositional techniques and strategies 
• Piano chords, progressions and songwriting

What you will learn. 

• Express yourself and your musical ideas fluently, at the keyboard and DAW
• Use extended music theory without reading a line of music
• Compose different styles of music; filmic, classical, jazz and mainstream through a fundamental understanding of harmony
• Build interesting chord progressions

• Introduction
• Overview of the Course
• Resources
• The Grid
• The Chromatic Scale
• Creating a Major Key
• Creating Chords Inside of a Key
• Naming Notes on the Piano
• Ambient Track Assignment
• Ambient Track Example
• Establishing 'Gravity' With Keys
• The Circle of fifths Major Key Gravity
• Creating a Minor Scale and Key
• Circle of fifths Minor Key Gravity
• Learning all Keys
• Assignment Transposing Chords & Melodies
• Get Composing!
• Technique & Fluency at the Piano
• Hand positions & Fingerings
• Wandering Hands Backing Tracks
• Assignment - Wandering Hands Track
• Wandering Hands Example Track
• Introduction to Chords in a Key - Diatonic Harmony
• Analysing 1000+ Tunes
• Common Chord Progressions and Conventions
• 30% Different - Changing Standard Chord Progressions
• Chord 5 in a Minor Key
• Harmony Cheat Sheet: Stage 1
• Tension & Resolution
• Chord tones
• Non Chord Tones
• The Feelings of Different Intervals
• Layering & Overlapping
• Non diatonic Tones
• The Pentatonic Scale
• Patterns - The Way to think about your music
• Assignment - Melody Writing
• Example - Melody Writing
• Roman Numerals in Analysis
• Harmonic Structure
• Repeating Harmony
• Repeating Harmony Example
• Small Changes in Harmony
• Varying Your Bass Lines
• Modulation - New Centres of Gravity
• Assignment - Composing 3 different sections
• 3 Different Sections Example Track
• Introduction to Voicing
• Arpeggiation
• Examples of Arpeggiation in Context
• Closed & Open Position Chords
• Chord Inversions
• Doubling Notes
• Dropping Notes
• Voice Leading
• Grace Notes
• Accompaniment Singers Assignment
• Accompaniment for Singers Example
• Orchestral String Writing Assignment
• Orchestral String Writing Example
• Example of Voice Leading
• Harmony Cheat Sheet Level 2
• Bass Lines Introduction Supporting the Harmony
• Voice Leading & Passing Notes
• Bass Line Riffs
• Introduction to Chords from Scratch
• In Depth Chords from Scratch
• How to Create Triads from Scratch
• Suspension Chords
• Working out the Key of a Song
• Modulation & Secondary Dominants
• Pushing Out of the Key Example Track
• Introduction to Upper Structures
• Creating 7th Chords from Scratch
• Diminished & Augmented & 7th Chords
• Creating 9th Chords from Scratch
• Creating 11ths 13th Chords from Scratch
• Upper Structure Assignments
• Upper Structure Composing Example
• How to Read Chords and Chord Symbols
• Harmony Cheat sheet Level 3
• Where do I Start? Generating material with rules
• Patterns, Patterns, Patterns
• Problem Solving
• Introduction to Harmonic Rhythm
• Passing chords & Reharmonisation
• Reharmonisation Assignment
• Melodic Rhythm
• Phrasing & Space
• Phrasing and Melodic Rhythm Assignment
• Standard Accompaniment Patterns (with commentary)
• Standard Accompaniment Patterns (no commentary)
• Musical Layers & Alignment
• Musical Alignment Example
• The Chord Progression Bible
• What Scales go with What Chords?
• The Blues Scale
• Harmonic & Melodic Minor Scale
• The Scale Omnibus
• Paired Pentatonics
• Modes
• Introduction to Chord Relationships
• Chord Relationship & Arpeggiation Assignment
• Chord Relationship & Arpeggiation Example
• Writing Themes
• Conclusion of the Course