Quartal harmony – a chance to throw away the rule book
Quartal harmony is based on 4th intervals rather than 3rds. Want to know what that sounds like in practice? Step right in.
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Raising the odds – from 7ths to 13ths
When you extend chords, with 9ths, 11ths and 13ths, you can obtain some rich harmonies that inspire innovative melodies. Time to give them a try?
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Is music just mathematical patterns in sound?
I set myself a challenge. How many 7th chords could I cram into a single composition? The result is as much maths as it is music.
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Ascending to seventh heaven
Chord progressions provide the notes from which melodies are created. This sequence of seventh chords prompted an interesting experiment.
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Five rules for creating three-part harmonies
You can't beat the impact made by three or more voices singing in harmony. But how do you work out what the harmonies should be? Time to find out.
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Two-part harmony usually does the trick
Two-part vocal and instrumental harmonising is so widespread we take it for granted. But what should the harmony be? Do we calculate it or just do it?
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Jazz progressions don’t need jazz
I found a cool site to take me through 10 classic jazz chord progressions. I tried two of them out with new compositions of my own.
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Augmented chords: simply irresistible
Augmented chords don't get much of a look-in these days but they're easy to play and use, and they create an irresistible tension. Time to take a look.
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When diminishing is a good thing
The idea of chords that are diminished in some way might put you off, but they are easy to play and take your compositions into sophisticated territory.
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The lazy person’s tour of the triads
Six, three-note chords form the foundation of nearly all Western music. If you're a keyboard player, you need move only one finger at a time to find them.
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