Designed to dovetail with THE ROOTS songwriting curriculum, Music Theory & Ear Training Level 1 equips the songwriter with a foundational understanding of harmony, melody, rhythm, and phrasing in the construction of songs. Learn to recognize chord changes and intervals by ear and come to understand how the songs you love fit together and how the songs you write might better become the songs you love.
Want to understand why certain chords and notes of melody create the feelings they do?
Want to better understand how the music in songs you love moves you?
Want to learn to more reliably make moving choices in your own music?
These are some of the goals and outcomes of Music Theory & Ear Training for Songwriters, the companion curriculum to The ROOTS songwriting class.
Level 1 is all “diatonic harmony”—notes and chords in the key--all about how to build strong, emotional, impactful harmony/melody/phrasing choices in our songs.
Level 1 Curriculum
- The Major Scale: construction, intervals, building blocks of chords
- Understanding and recognizing Intervals
- Chords & Chord Function: forming Diatonic Harmony
- Developing Effective Chord Progressions
- Cadences
- Melody as comprised of 4 Component Parts
- Writing from a Motif: 4 Strategies Once You Have a Simple Idea
- Melody-Harmony Relationship: Creating emotional, strong melodies and chord progressions
- Rhythm, Time Signatures, Feel, & Phrasing
- Scansion & Prosody in a Lyric/Melody
- Major & Minor Relationships
- 7th Chords
- Hinting at Level 2: What Lies Beyond the Key
- Regular assignments with feedback to integrate concepts of class
Notes
- There are assignments to get you writing/composing/creating each week, with the chance to get feedback in this small-class setting. All materials are archived for you in a private site--video, audio, and all handouts.
- ONLINE STUDENTS: Class includes regular homework feedback opportunities and individual and small group video conferencing to get feedback on your songs and have your questions answered.
This course is available for "remote" learning and will be available to anyone with access to an internet device with a microphone (this includes most models of computers, tablets). Classes will take place with a "Live" instructor at the date/times listed below.
Upon registration, the instructor will send along additional information about how to log-on and participate in the class.
School Notes: For new students, there will be a $35 one-time registration fee, payable in person at the start of the class.