Instrumentality

Magic

The big build: anthemic choruses that stir the soul

One way to achieve a big emotional reaction from an audience is to repeat the same refrain over and over, building up and up until every frequency is filled and there's nowhere left to go. Here's to the anthemic chorus.

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Analysis

Analysed: Ed Sheeran’s Shivers

Ed Sheeran writes some of the most popular songs in the world. Shivers is the latest example - but why is it so good?

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Reviews

I bought another new guitar: an Epiphone Broadway

How many guitars does a guitarist need? The answer remains the same: one more. In this case an Epiphone Broadway archtop semi-acoustic.

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Analysis

Analysed: Radiohead’s Exit Music For a Film

Exit Music is a classic track from Radiohead's 1997 album OK Computer. It's also a fabulous song. But why is it such a classic and why does it sound so much like Chopin's Prelude in E minor?

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Comment

In praise of the humble harmonica

The harmonica is one of the most plaintive instruments available and also one of the least expensive. Perhaps it's time to give it another airing.

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Harmony

Walking with Pythagoras

Pythagoras is often thought of as the 'father of harmony.' He believed that mathematics could explain everything, including music. On the basis that playing with notes is just playing with audible numbers, I had a go at walking with Pythagoras.

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Comment

Music is not a sport

Do you find lightening fast guitar and piano playing just a turn off? Yes, so do I. Why? Because music is not a sport.

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Magic

Melodic phrases that give you goosebumps

Sometimes you're listening to a piece of music and something in the melody just stops you in your tracks. Here are some melodic phrases that did that to me.

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Progressions

The Chorale is OK by me

Music written in chorale form differs in that the chords change with nearly every note of the melody. This creates a dramatic, anthemic feel that is still relevant today.

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Analysis

Analysed: Cold Heart by Elton John and Dua Lipa

Cold Heart, the hit single from Elton John and Dua Lipa, takes classic songs and places them in a very different context. What's going on and how does it work?

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