Composition & Harmony Course

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What you will learn in this course

If you want to learn how to compose and arrange music without relying solely on your ear, then this is the right course for you!
Through a logical and progressive learning path, you will finally be able to compose music in a wide variety of styles and genres. In particular, you will learn how to:

compose different types of melodies
use chords effectively
build the harmonic structure of a piece of music
understand the types of notes that make a composition highly expressive
develop your own practical method for composing
use harmony to make your compositions even more engaging
arrange a piece of music for piano

Please note: These lessons are designed for EVERYONE (beginners and professionals alike), regardless of the instrument they play.
The piano examples used in some of the videos are included purely for greater clarity. Their use does NOT require any knowledge of piano technique on the part of the student.

Here is the list of video lessons for the course

Part 1: Scale and tonality

Part 2: The role of notes in different tonalities

Part 3: Chords and tonality

Part 1: How to develop our musical rational side

Part 2: The study of harmony and the analysis of music in composition

Part 3: Is there a method for writing music?

Part 4: The ability to listen to yourself

Part 1: What is a Musical Interval?

Part 2: The Half Tone and the Whole Tone

Part 3: How to Find the Notes of All Major Scales

Part 4: Practice with G Major Scale and E-Flat Major Scale

Part 1: Melodic intervals and harmonic intervals

Part 2: How to determine the 'Generale Name' of an interval

Part 3: How to find the 'Generale Name' in case of sharps or flats

Part 1: How to Build Chords on a Major Scale

Part 2: Finding All Chords in E Major

Part 3: The Importance of the Scale and the Key in Building and Using Chords

Part 1: The relationship between harmony and melody

Part 2: Composing a melody on a sequence of chords

Part 3: The non-harmonic tones

Part 1: The accidentals (sharp and flat)

Part 2: Diatonic half tones and chromatic half tones

Part 3: The A major scale case

Part 1: First off.. What are the chord tones?

Part 2: The passing tones

Part 3: Let's learn to use the passing tones

Part 1: Where did we leave off last time?

Part 2: Temporary accidentals and permanent accidentals – How to alter current alterations?

Part 3: What double accidentals?

Part 1: First method: chords built on major scales

Part 2: Second method, four steps to find chords in a few seconds

Part 3: Four examples to practice what we’ve learned

Part 1: How to use chromatisms to achieve a wider assortment in passing tones

Part 2: Two secrets to have a wider variety

Part 3: Learn to create a short melody

Part 1: the relative minor scale

Part 2: the natural minor scale and the harmonic minor scale

Part 3: the melodic minor scale

Part 2: Building chords in a minor key

Part 3: How to build chords using the harmonic and melodic minor scale

Part 4: How to use all these chords in a very effective way

Part 2: The auxiliary tones

Part 3: The double aux. tones

Part 4: The aux. chords

Part 5: The chromatic aux. tones

Part 6: How to compose a melody by using passing tone and aux. tones pt.1

Part 7: How to compose a melody by using passing tone and aux. tones pt.2

Part 2: How to find all the notes of minor scales pt.1

Part 3: How to find all the notes of minor scales pt.2

Part 4: Two examples of applying this method

Part 5: The minor keys

Part 6: The relations between major and minor scales

Part 2: Dominant chord and fifth degree chord

Part 3: How to reach a strong tonal sense or a tonal ambiguity.

Part 4: Mixing chords of different minor scales, practice 1

Part 5: Mixing chords of different minor scales, practice 2

Part 2: the specific name of an interval

Part 3: major intervals

Part 4: perfect intervals

Part 2: We introduce a new and crucial element

Part 3: The overtones theory and its importance in harmony

Part 4: Triad inversions

Part 5: How inversions allow us to have many new tools

Part 1: Composing exercises

Part 2: The step by step composing method

Part 3: The 5 benefits of this composing practice

Part 4: How to practice

Part 2: Above and below major intervals

Part 3: Above and below perfect intervals

Part 4: Practice

Part 5: How to find the specific name for intervals wider than one octave

Part 2: The sonor features of inversions

Part 3: The first benefit

Part 4: The second benefit

Part 5: The third benefit

Part 6: The names of the inversions and how they are represented grafically 1

Part 7: The names of the inversions and how they are represented grafically 2

Part 2: The three possible characteristics which the melody we are composing must have

Part 3: How to vary the melodies 1

Part 4: How to vary the melodies 2

Part 5: How to vary the melodies 3

Part 6: Video summary of the 4 examples

Part 1: Twist and Shout - Beatles

Part 2: Enola Gay - OMD

Part 3: Let it be - Beatles (Part one)

Part 4: Let it be - Beatles (Part two)

Part 1: Why disjunct motions are so important?

Part 2: Anticipations: what they are and how to use them

Part 3: A further element of variety for our melodies: indirect anticipations

Part 4: How to compose a melody using anticipations

Part 1: The Sound of Silence - Simon and Gurfunkel (part 1)

Part 2: The Sound of Silence - Simon and Gurfunkel (part 2)

Part 3: What are the cadences

Part 4: The first four types of cadences

Part 1: Principal features of the two new non harmonic tones which allow disjunct motion

Part 2: Escape tones: what they are and when to use them

Part 3: We learn about escape tones in-depth and the advantages in using them

Part 4: The reaching tone: how to skip to a non harmonic notes and obtain a very particular effect

Part 1: What consonances and dissonances are

Part 2: The way to classify intervals in consonances and dissonances

Part 3: Practical examples of consonances and dissonances

Part 4: What is 'resolution' and its important consequences in studying harmony

Part 1: The interrupted cadence, the decepted cadence, the mixed cadence

Part 2: The use of the first three cadences in minor keys

Part 3: The use of the other cadences in minor keys and the phrygian cadence

Part 4: We look for cadences in famous songs that we have already studied

Part 1: How to widen disjunct motions to make a melodic frame more pleasant

Part 2: We learn to compose a melody using escape tones in all their combinations

Part 3: Compose a melody with the reaching tones

Part 4: We compose a melody using all the non harmonic tones we know

Part 1: Consonant and dissonant chords

Part 2: Consonant triads in major scales

Part 3: Dissonant triads in major scales

Part 4: Consonant and dissonant chords in minor scales

Part 5: Here is how to obtain other dissonant chords

Part 1: The problem of black keys and how to determine the pitch of notes

Part 2: The first two musical systems

Part 3: How can G sharp and E flat have a different pitch?

Part 4: The equal tempered system and the main consequence of its introduction

Part 1: What you will learn in these lessons

Part 2: How do you build a harmonic structure of a piece?

Part 3: Introducing functional harmony

Part 4: Harmonic groups in major key and their characteristics

Part 5: We look for harmonic groups at the keyboard - some observation on chords of various harmonic groups

Part 1: How to build 4 notes chords

Part 2: The seventh chord on the major scale

Part 3: Learn to call all notes of the chord in a correct way

Part 4: The seventh chords on other degrees of a major scale- Various examples

Part 1: Introduction of the new lesson

Part 2: How to build chord progressions alternating chords from different groups

Part 3: Harmonic progressions with other features

Part 4: How to use harmonic patterns in order to obtain a very effective musical effect

Part 5: Building patterns with the use of chords of the same harmonic group

Part 1: Equal tempered scale and harmonic relation

Part 2: What are enharmonic equivalents

Part 3: The first consequence of using of enharmonic relation

Part 4: The second consequence of using of enharmonic relation

Part 5: The third consequence of using enharmonic relation

Part 1: The characteristics of seventh chords

Part 2: The first 4 types of seventh chords

Part 3: The other three types of seventh chords

Part 4: How to name seventh chords

Part 1: How to obtain major variety in the building of harmonic structure

Part 2: We learn to use the lowered sixth degree

Part 3: Examples of harmonic progressions with lowered sixth degree

Part 4: How to use in an effective way inversions

Part 5: Other examples of chords progressions

Part 6: How to vary harmonic patterns using inversions

Part 1: The world of seventh chords

Part 2: How do we resolve the seventh in seventh chords?

Part 3: How to play seventh chords at the piano/keyboard

Part 4: A rapid way to find seventh chords at the piano

Part 5: The first resolution of the dominant seventh chord

Part 6: The second resolution of the dominant seventh chord

Part 7: Two considerations on the resolution with interrupted cadence and some practical

Part 1: How to use the seventh degree

Part 2: The characteristics of the chord on the third degree

Part 3: How to use the chord on the third degree 1

Part 4: How to use the chord on the third degree 2

Part 5: The harmonic groups on harmonic minor scale

Part 1: Why music is motion

Part 2: What are downbeat and upbeat

Part 3: Binary, ternary and quaternary rhythmn

Part 4: Rhythmic accents: strong beat and weak beat

Part 5: Two considerations about the importance of strong beat

Part 1: The dominant seventh in harmonic minor scale

Part 2: The inversions of dominant seventh chord

Part 3: How to call inversions of dominant seventh chord

Part 4: The resolution of inversions of dominant seventh chord

Part 5: How to resolve inversions in harmonic minor scale and some practical examples

Part 6: The passing seventh

Part 1: We build harmonic progressions using the harmonic minor scale

Part 2: How to use effectively harmonic patterns

Part 3: The seventh degree chord (minor harmonic scale)

Part 4: Other ways of using inversions in harmonic minor scale

Part 5: Which other chord characteristics can be varied?

Part 1: When to use dominant seventh chord and why it has a strong tension

Part 2: Seventh chords on the seventh degree

Part 3: The leading tone seventh chord and how to play it at the piano

Part 4: Resolutions of leading tone seventh chord

Part 5: Inversions of leading tone seventh chord

Part 1: The new features of the chords which we can vary

Part 2: How to alternate 'different type' of chords

Part 3: How to create different harmonic areas

Part 4: The importance of the bass motion in the choice of harmony

Part 1: The relations between tonalities

Part 2: Different keys, common notes

Part 3: A characteristic feature of tonalities, the key signature

Part 4: Flat keys

Part 5: The key signature for minor keys: permanent and temporary accidentals

Part 6: Relations between major and minor keys

Part 1: Leading tone seventh chord and half-diminshed seventh chord

Part 2: The diminished seventh chord

Part 3: Why the diminished seventh chord has such a strong tension

Part 4: Extended use of the chord

Part 5: The case of third minors: any part we look at it, the chord is exactly the same

Part 6: How enharmonic relation allows the change of the chord

Part 7: The diminished seventh chord: not only one, but... four different chords

Part 1: How we can find the harmonic progressions using the natural minor scale.

Part 2: What is the extended key

Part 3: The harmonic groups of the extended key: the tonic and dominant group

Part 4: The harmonic groups of the extended key: the subdominant group

Part 5: Some considerations about the extended key

Part 1: A simple and rapid way to pass from natural minor scale to the extended key and find all the chords

Part 2: Examples of chord progressions in the extended key

Part 3: How to use inversions in the extended key

Part 4: We learn to use the lowered sixth degree also in the extended key

Part 1: Secondary seventh chords

Part 2: Natural seventh chords and the overtones theory

Part 3: Dominant ninth chord

Part 4: Difference between natural and secondary seventh chords

Part 1: Introduction to the lesson

Part 2: The fifth relation between major keys

Part 3: The fifth relation between minor keys

Part 4: Key signature and fifth relation

Part 5: A very easy method to find the key signature for any tonality

Part 1: Introduction to the lesson

Part 2: The “Preparation” of secondary seventh chords

Part 3: The three phases of secondary seventh chords

Part 4: Minor seventh chords

Part 5: Application of minor seventh chords

Part 1: How we can alternate the natural and augmented seventh degree

Part 2: Introduce a major chord on the third degree of the extended key

Part 3: Building new chord progressions using the extended key

Part 4: Analyse a song which we know very well from a different point of view

Part 5: How to avoid a very common mistake

Part 6: Building the harmonic structure of a music piece: the two fundamental cases

Part 1: Introduction to the lesson

Part 2: Minor seventh chords in minor key

Part 3: Half-diminished seventh chords

Part 4: How to build half-diminished seventh chords in major scales

Part 5: Practical exercises

Part 1: 1st case: we use very small 'bricks' to build chord progressions

Part 2: A secret to make progressions more effective in this way .....

Part 3: ...with inversions which may modify them further

Part 4: We try to use 'bricks' which are a little bigger

Part 5: 2nd case: one big 'brick' to form the harmonic structure

Part 6: How do we build the harmony if the music piece is divided into several parts?

Part 1: Introduction to the lesson

Part 2: The fifth relation and the circle of fifths

Part 3: How can we obtain the circle of fifths

Part 4: Closely related keys and distantly related keys

Part 5: How to understand modulations through the circle of fifths

Part 6: The major scale degrees and closely related keys: a very strong relation

Part 1: Minor major seventh chords

Part 2: Augmented major seventh chords

Part 3: The passage seventh: a case in which 'preparation' is not necessary

Part 4: Seventh chords, a way to obtain different harmonic colours

Part 5: How to modify chord progressions thanks to the use of the seventh

Part 6: How to represent graphically seventh chords.

Part 7: The notation of seventh chords in pop music.

Part 1: How to differentiate harmony in the case of a piece divided into 2 parts

Part 2: The first way to differentiate chord progressions

Part 3: The second way

Part 4: The third way

Part 5: The fourth way and a look at future lessons

Part 1: Introduction to the new cycle of videolessons

Part 2: Non harmonic tones and strong beats

Part 3: What is the 'appoggiatura'?

Part 4: How to use 'appoggiatura' on secondary strong beats

Part 5: Ascending 'appoggiatura'

Part 6: Hot to mix different kinds of 'appoggiatura'

Part 1: Introduction to the new lesson

Part 2: Examples in different tonalities. How to switch from a chord to an ‘appoggiatura’

Part 3: How to use appoggiatura with particular chords (lowered sixth degree)

Part 4: The ‘leading-tone appoggiatura’

Part 5: The chromatic ‘appoggiatura’

Part 6: How to mix different kinds of ‘appoggiatura’

Part 1: The Challenge of Modulation

Part 2: Practical Tips to Start Modulating

Part 3: The Different Types of Modulation

Part 4: The Three Phases of Modulation (Part 1)

Part 5: The Three Phases of Modulation (Part 2)

Part 1: Introduction to the new lesson

Part 2: How ‘appoggiatura’ changes the harmonic perception

Part 3: Other ways of changing harmony by using ‘appoggiatura’

Part 4: How to use ‘appoggiatura’ by step

Part 5: How to use ‘appoggiatura’ by skip

Part 1: The Critical Phase of Modulation

Part 2: The Importance of Cadences in Modulation

Part 3: The Pivot Chord

Part 4: How to Use the Pivot Chord

Part 1: How to apply ‘appoggiatura’ to the world of chords

Part 2: Simultaneous ‘appoggiatura’ and double ‘appoggiatura’

Part 3: How to change a chord by using ‘appoggiatura’

Part 4: Changing chords with simultaneous ‘appoggiatura’

Part 5: How to use chromatic appoggiatura to change chords

Part 1: The Second Method of Modulation

Part 2: Examples of Applying the Second Method

Part 3: Chromatic Alteration and Changing a Chord Note: How to Achieve an Even More Interesting Result

Part 4: More Examples of Modulations with Alterations in Other Keys

Part 5: The Third Method of Modulation

Part 1: How to compose in a progressive way

Part 2: Other chords with ‘appoggiatura’. Descending chromatic ‘appoggiatura’

Part 3: Other chords with ‘appoggiatura’. Using inversions.

Part 4: How to change seventh chords with ‘appoggiatura’

Part 5: How to write a very fascinating melody by using ‘appoggiatura’ (part 1)

Part 6: How to write a very fascinating melody by using ‘appoggiatura’ (part 2)

Part 1: Modulation between Relative Keys

Part 2: Examples of Modulations from the Major Key to Its Relative Minor

Part 3: The Use of the Dominant Seventh in Modulations

Part 4: Examples of Modulations from the Minor Key to Its Relative Major

Part 1: Introduction to the new lesson

Part 2: What are suspensions?

Part 3: The four most effective kinds of suspensions

Part 4: How to compose some short melodies by using suspensions

Part 5: Other exemples

Part 1: The Crucial Chords of the New Key

Part 2: Crucial Chords – What They Are and How to Find Them

Part 3: Using Minor Chords as Crucial Chords in the New Key (1)

Part 4: Using Minor Chords as Crucial Chords in the New Key (2)

Part 5: Major Chords Used as Crucial Chords

Part 6: How a Major Chord Can Become the Dominant of the New Key

Part 1: ‘Appoggiatura’ and suspensions

Part 2: How to resolve a suspension on other weak beats, obtaining a great result

Part 3: Let’s start using ascending suspensions

Part 4: Simultaneous suspensions

Part 5: How to change a chord by using suspensions

Part 1: How to Transform Minor Chords for Modulation

Part 2: How to Transform Major Chords for Modulation

Part 3: Other Ways to Transform Minor Chords in Modulation

Part 4: Other Ways to Transform Major Chords in Modulation

Part 1: How to change seventh chords with suspensions

Part 2: Other chord progressions with suspensions

Part 3: The ‘suspension chord’

Part 4: How to compose an effective melody by using suspensions (part 1)

Part 5: How to compose an effective melody by using suspensions (part 2)

Part 1: Why rhythm is so important to compose a melody

Part 2: The tie between two bars: an essential new tool

Part 3: How to compose a melody by using the tie (part 1)

Part 4: How to compose a melody by using the tie (part 2)

Part 5: The tie between many bars

Part 1: Introduction to the new lesson

Part 2: What is the pedal tone

Part 3: The tonic pedal tone

Part 4: The dominant pedal tone

Part 5: The double pedal tone

Part 1: Introduction to the new lesson

Part 2: How to use chord tones in the case of seventh chords

Part 3: Let’s learn to compose a melody by using seventh chords

Part 4: Other melodies with seventh chords

Part 5: Chord tones, non-harmonic tones and…a new kind of notes

Part 1: Introduction to the lesson

Part 2: What are ‘free notes’ - How to use them to compose a melody

Part 3: How ‘free notes’ can change our chords

Part 1: Analysis of ‘Let it be’ – Beatles

Part 2: Analysis of ‘Save a Prayer’ – Duran Duran

Part 3: Analysis of ‘For Elise’ – L. van Beethoven

Part 4: Analysis of ‘Nessun dorma’ from ‘Turandot’ – G. Puccini

Part 5: Famous examples of pedal tone

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Lingua: english
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