Exploring the Quartal harmony

What is a quartal harmony? Quartal harmony involves building chords by stacking 4th intervals. This approach differs from the “tertian” harmony (building chords in 3rds) that is typical of traditional Western music. Quartal harmony tends to sound modern, often sidestepping the emotional connotations carried by major and minor chords. In addition, the notes of a quartal … Read more

creating realistic legato strings using sampled instruments

In this episode, we share tips for creating realistic legato strings using sampled instruments. Presented by our guest lecturer Robert Davis. CREATING REALISTIC LEGATO STRINGS Here we are mainly focusing on four different techniques. Each technique may not make a big difference to the overall sound, but when combined, you will be surprised at how … Read more

Compose dreamy music – unlocking the magic of two major chords (Pt.2)

Major chord progressions – dreamy, upward music [EX.2-2-C] This post was brought to you in collaboration with our partner site Behind the Score. Discover the Harmony Secrets of Modern Film and Video Games. View the music scores (PDF) and audio files used in this article. In this follow-up to Dreamy, Upward music: Major Chords a … Read more

Compose dreamy music – unlocking the magic of two major chords (Pt.1)

Major Chord Progressions – Dreamy, Upward Music This is an excerpt lesson taken from Behind the Score. Full video lessons, PDF scores, and MP3 audio files on this topic can be found here: Creating Mood Instantly with Two-Chord Structures Click here to access the music scores (PDF) and audio files used in this article. In this … Read more

Suspense, High Tension: Minor Chords a Half-Step Apart – Pt.2

Create Suspense Using Two Chords Continuing from part 1, we’ll take a look at how we can build a bigger ensemble piece using the previous two-chord structure of Em-Fm. Minor Chords Min. 2nd Apart Ⅱ  (EX. 2-1-B) This is an excerpt lesson taken from Behind the Score. Full video lessons, PDF scores, and MP3 audio files … Read more

Suspense, High Tension: Minor Chords a Half-Step Apart – Pt.1

Create Suspense Using Two Chords This is an excerpt lesson taken from Behind the Score. Full video lessons, PDF scores, and MP3 audio files on this topic can be found here: Creating Mood Instantly with Two-Chord Structures Click here to access the music scores (PDF) and audio files used in this article. Our first structure consists … Read more