Music Is Merely 12 Notes

November 15, 2009

Probably the single most important mantra for any composer – at any level – is that music is merely 12 notes. If you look at the piano, there are only 12 notes between any octave. After those 12 notes, the octave simply repeats all over again.
Why is it so important to keep reminding yourself of [...]

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Music Composition 7: Mixing Musical Styles

July 21, 2009

The basic vocabulary of music as we know it has been around for centuries, dating as far back as Medieval times. While we know ancient music existed, it hasn’t been well documented.
Since the early days of documented music, our melodies and harmonies have evolved to the point where virtually any combination of notes is accepted [...]

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Are You a Music Snob?

June 25, 2009

I was just reading a humorous debate on a music forum regarding the topic of “art music” versus “entertainment music.” I say it was “humorous” because I’m always amused by the certainty that some people have in their opinions about what the function of music should be and how it should sound.
Several of their arguments [...]

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Music Composition 6: Vocal Writing

June 13, 2009

A recent post asked about the basic approach to vocal composition. While this subject deserves more of a discussion than I can supply in this format, I can give you a few quick tips to get you started.
One simple way to approach vocal writing is to think of the choir as one body of sound. [...]

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Requests

June 6, 2009

I’ve been getting some letters and posts requesting I discuss various topics. I appreciate all your enthusiasm. Please use this page to post your requests. I can’t guarantee when or if I will get to them, but this will at least give me an idea of what topics you are most interested in.
Thanks!

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