Theory & Songwriting
Write better songs. Approachable music theory and songwriting craft, covering chords, scales, melody, structure and the ideas that make tracks connect.Start here: The Circle of Fifths Explained for Songwriters · Music Intervals Explained for Beginners · Seventh Chords Explained: Maj7, Min7, and Dominant 7 · Song Structure Explained: Verse, Chorus, Bridge and More.
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What Is a Mode in Music?
What is a mode in music? A clear, beginner-friendly guide to the seven modes, how they are built from the…
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Major vs Minor Key Explained
Major vs minor key explained simply: the one note that flips the mood, the scales and chords behind each, and…
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What Is a Scale in Music?
What is a scale in music? A clear beginner guide to scales, major and minor, how they are built from…
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What Is a Chord Inversion?
What is a chord inversion? A plain-English guide to root position, first and second inversions, slash chords and using them…
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How to Use the Circle of Fifths
Learn how to use the circle of fifths to find keys, spell scales, build chord progressions and modulate — a…
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What Is a Key Signature?
What is a key signature? It’s the sharps or flats printed after the clef that set a piece’s key. Learn…
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What Is a Time Signature?
What is a time signature? A plain-English guide to reading the top and bottom numbers, counting 4/4, 3/4, and 6/8,…
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Music Note Values Explained
Music note values explained simply: how whole, half, quarter and eighth notes work, what dotted notes, ties and rests mean,…
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Music Symbols Explained
Music symbols explained in plain English: clefs, notes, rests, sharps, flats, dynamics, articulation and repeat signs, and what each mark…
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Music Terms and Definitions: A Glossary
A clear glossary of music terms and definitions for producers and songwriters — pitch, scales, chords, intervals, tempo, dynamics and…