Music Composition with the Piano: Ultimate Keyboard Theory

Introduction 3 lectures 11:16 Introduction Overview of the Course Preliminary things Introduction 3 lectures 11:16 Introduction Overview of the Course Preliminary things Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction Overview of the Course Overview of the Course Overview of the Course Overview of the Course Preliminary things Preliminary things Preliminary things Preliminary things Up & Running with Chords & Melodies 7 lectures 34:43 The Grid The fundamental starting point for all music theory: the grid represents pitch and time on a pattern-based structure which we can get our head around without having to read music. In this video we introduce this concept and its foundational importance for all of the music theory and “complexity” to come. For those who are beginners with music theory, starting with something simple like the grid vastly improves your learning abilities and musical retention. The reason is because we can immediately start to understand the fundamental elements of music and think about how the building blocks fit together immediately. When we get to the later parts of the course, this thinking will help you - because even complex theory remains just as simple in terms of the building blocks. Everything you learn and compose will fit into this idea of the grid, so get your head round it before continuing. The Chromatic Scale If we are to think of things on a grid, we need to know the basic building blocks of that grid. The chromatic scale is the next stage in our journey into music theory. The chromatic scale is simply all notes in order and in this video we go over it’s theory and how to play around with it on the piano. We also touch on intervals briefly and explore jumping spaces that are made up of more than 1 square or small interval (otherwise known as a semitone). Creating a Major Key Now that we understand the structure of the grid, what we can do is start learning new patterns or “formulas” and apply that pattern all over the piano and keyboard to create that structure wherever we want. The first formula or structure we will learn is the major scale which will eventually lead us to creating all chords inside of every single key and then onto minor keys as well. It’s a great starting point for music theory!By learning the major scale formula we also encounter tones and semitones and start becoming more familiar with these basic building block intervals. We then look at creating three major scales: G Major Scale, C Major Scale and F Major Scale. Creating Chords Inside of a Key In this video we cover how to create chords inside of a major scale. We understand the concept of root notes, thirds and fifths. We play chords on every degree of the scale and start to understand the numerical nature of chords and the concept of playing chord 1, chord 2, chord 3 etc… Naming Notes on the Piano You can actually compose without knowing the note names, because really all music is is patterns. However, to learn other people’s music, write your own and work with anyone - you have to be able to refer to notes with names. In this video we start learning all of the note names and assign a practice to make every single note an orientation point. We also learn sharp and flat notes. This is a vital step for your learning in music theory and one you should definitely do full heartedly! Do not skip this or do it partially, it will come to bite you again in the future if you do. ASSIGNMENT: Simple Ambient Track In this exercise, we put our new knowledge to work in an un-pressured project/assignment through writing a simple ambient piece of music. This allows us to just play simple chords in our left hand and a simple melody in our right - letting us truly explore the idea of ‘composing in a key’ otherwise known as ‘diatonic’. EXAMPLE: Simple Ambient Track In this video I talk a little about why it’s so important to be planning and composing at the piano and also a little bit more instruction on how I would think about creating this simple ambient track. We then go into the DAW (Logic Pro X) and look at an uber simple production of this track. Up & Running with Chords & Melodies. 7 lectures 34:43 The Grid The fundamental starting point for all music theory: the grid represents pitch and time on a pattern-based structure which we can get our head around without having to read music. In this video we introduce this concept and its foundational importance for all of the music theory and “complexity” to come. For those who are beginners with music theory, starting with something simple like the grid vastly improves your learning abilities and musical retention. The reason is because we can immediately start to understand the fundamental elements of music and think about how the building blocks fit together immediately. When we get to the later parts of the course, this thinking will help you - because even complex theory remains just as simple in terms of the building blocks. Everything you learn and compose will fit into this idea of the grid, so get your head round it before continuing. The Chromatic Scale If we are to think of things on a grid, we need to know the basic building blocks of that grid. The chromatic scale is the next stage in our journey into music theory. The chromatic scale is simply all notes in order and in this video we go over it’s theory and how to play around with it on the piano. We also touch on intervals briefly and explore jumping spaces that are made up of more than 1 square or small interval (otherwise known as a semitone). Creating a Major Key Now that we understand the structure of the grid, what we can do is start learning new patterns or “formulas” and apply that pattern all over the piano and keyboard to create that structure wherever we want. The first formula or structure we will learn is the major scale which will eventually lead us to creating all chords inside of every single key and then onto minor keys as well. It’s a great starting point for music theory!By learning the major scale formula we also encounter tones and semitones and start becoming more familiar with these basic building block intervals. We then look at creating three major scales: G Major Scale, C Major Scale and F Major Scale. Creating Chords Inside of a Key In this video we cover how to create chords inside of a major scale. We understand the concept of root notes, thirds and fifths. We play chords on every degree of the scale and start to understand the numerical nature of chords and the concept of playing chord 1, chord 2, chord 3 etc… Naming Notes on the Piano You can actually compose without knowing the note names, because really all music is is patterns. However, to learn other people’s music, write your own and work with anyone - you have to be able to refer to notes with names. In this video we start learning all of the note names and assign a practice to make every single note an orientation point. We also learn sharp and flat notes. This is a vital step for your learning in music theory and one you should definitely do full heartedly! Do not skip this or do it partially, it will come to bite you again in the future if you do. ASSIGNMENT: Simple Ambient Track In this exercise, we put our new knowledge to work in an un-pressured project/assignment through writing a simple ambient piece of music. This allows us to just play simple chords in our left hand and a simple melody in our right - letting us truly explore the idea of ‘composing in a key’ otherwise known as ‘diatonic’. EXAMPLE: Simple Ambient Track In this video I talk a little about why it’s so important to be planning and composing at the piano and also a little bit more instruction on how I would think about creating this simple ambient track. We then go into the DAW (Logic Pro X) and look at an uber simple production of this track. The Grid The fundamental starting point for all music theory: the grid represents pitch and time on a pattern-based structure which we can get our head around without having to read music. In this video we introduce this concept and its foundational importance for all of the music theory and “complexity” to come. For those who are beginners with music theory, starting with something simple like the grid vastly improves your learning abilities and musical retention. The reason is because we can immediately start to understand the fundamental elements of music and think about how the building blocks fit together immediately. When we get to the later parts of the course, this thinking will help you - because even complex theory remains just as simple in terms of the building blocks. Everything you learn and compose will fit into this idea of the grid, so get your head round it before continuing. The Grid The fundamental starting point for all music theory: the grid represents pitch and time on a pattern-based structure which we can get our head around without having to read music. In this video we introduce this concept and its foundational importance for all of the music theory and “complexity” to come. For those who are beginners with music theory, starting with something simple like the grid vastly improves your learning abilities and musical retention. The reason is because we can immediately start to understand the fundamental elements of music and think about how the building blocks fit together immediately. When we get to the later parts of the course, this thinking will help you - because even complex theory remains just as simple in terms of the building blocks. Everything you learn and compose will fit into this idea of the grid, so get your head round it before continuing. The Grid The fundamental starting point for all music theory: the grid represents pitch and time on a pattern-based structure which we can get our head around without having to read music. In this video we introduce this concept and its foundational importance for all of the music theory and “complexity” to come. For those who are beginners with music theory, starting with something simple like the grid vastly improves your learning abilities and musical retention. The reason is because we can immediately start to understand the fundamental elements of music and think about how the building blocks fit together immediately. When we get to the later parts of the course, this thinking will help you - because even complex theory remains just as simple in terms of the building blocks. Everything you learn and compose will fit into this idea of the grid, so get your head round it before continuing. The Grid The fundamental starting point for all music theory: the grid represents pitch and time on a pattern-based structure which we can get our head around without having to read music. In this video we introduce this concept and its foundational importance for all of the music theory and “complexity” to come. For those who are beginners with music theory, starting with something simple like the grid vastly improves your learning abilities and musical retention. The reason is because we can immediately start to understand the fundamental elements of music and think about how the building blocks fit together immediately. When we get to the later parts of the course, this thinking will help you - because even complex theory remains just as simple in terms of the building blocks. Everything you learn and compose will fit into this idea of the grid, so get your head round it before continuing. The fundamental starting point for all music theory: the grid represents pitch and time on a pattern-based structure which we can get our head around without having to read music. In this video we introduce this concept and its foundational importance for all of the music theory and “complexity” to come. For those who are beginners with music theory, starting with something simple like the grid vastly improves your learning abilities and musical retention. The reason is because we can immediately start to understand the fundamental elements of music and think about how the building blocks fit together immediately. When we get to the later parts of the course, this thinking will help you - because even complex theory remains just as simple in terms of the building blocks. Everything you learn and compose will fit into this idea of the grid, so get your head round it before continuing. The fundamental starting point for all music theory: the grid represents pitch and time on a pattern-based structure which we can get our head around without having to read music. In this video we introduce this concept and its foundational importance for all of the music theory and “complexity” to come. For those who are beginners with music theory, starting with something simple like the grid vastly improves your learning abilities and musical retention. The reason is because we can immediately start to understand the fundamental elements of music and think about how the building blocks fit together immediately. When we get to the later parts of the course, this thinking will help you - because even complex theory remains just as simple in terms of the building blocks. Everything you learn and compose will fit into this idea of the grid, so get your head round it before continuing...