Music Composing Course

Lesson 1 • Reading Standard Music Notation

Covers clefs, note values, rests, and time signatures. Establishes the written language composers use to record ideas.

Lesson 2 • Scales and Key Signatures

Introduces major and minor scales and their key signatures. Provides the tonal framework for all melodic and harmonic decisions.

Lesson 3 • Intervals and Their Sound

Defines melodic and harmonic intervals by size and quality. Trains the ear to recognize tension and resolution in music.

Lesson 4 • Rhythm and Meter Essentials

Covers beat division, syncopation, and compound meter. Rhythm literacy underpins every compositional style taught later.

Lesson 1 • Motives and Melodic Cells

Introduces the motive as the smallest meaningful melodic unit. Students develop motives into longer phrases through repetition and variation.

Lesson 2 • Phrase Structure and Cadences

Teaches antecedent-consequent phrase pairs and cadential endings. Phrase structure gives melodies a sense of question and answer.

Lesson 3 • Ornamentation and Embellishment

Covers passing tones, neighbor tones, and classical ornaments. Embellishment adds color and personality to a composed melody.

Lesson 4 • Melodic Rhythm and Pacing

Explores how note duration choices shape melodic energy and flow. Rhythmic variety prevents monotony and sustains listener interest.

Lesson 1 • Diatonic Harmony and Roman Numerals

Maps scale degrees to chord functions using Roman numeral analysis. Provides a universal system for understanding harmonic relationships.

Lesson 2 • Extended and Altered Chords

Covers ninths, elevenths, thirteenths, and altered dominant chords. These sonorities expand harmonic vocabulary for jazz and contemporary styles.

Lesson 3 • Voice Leading Principles

Teaches smooth part movement between chords to avoid parallel fifths and octaves. Good voice leading is the backbone of professional harmony.

Lesson 4 • Secondary Dominants and Tonicization

Introduces chords that temporarily emphasize non-tonic scale degrees. Tonicization adds harmonic color and forward momentum.

Lesson 1 • Texture Types in Composition

Contrasts monophony, homophony, polyphony, and heterophony as compositional tools. Texture choice shapes the emotional and stylistic character of a piece.

Lesson 2 • First Species Counterpoint

Introduces note-against-note writing with consonant intervals only. Establishes the rules of independent voice motion from the ground up.

Lesson 3 • Second Through Fifth Species

Adds passing tones, suspensions, and florid motion to counterpoint. Each species introduces new rhythmic and dissonance-handling techniques.

Lesson 4 • Fugue Exposition Writing

Teaches subject, answer, and countersubject construction for fugue expositions. Fugue writing synthesizes all counterpoint skills into a formal structure.

Lesson 1 • Binary and Ternary Forms

Analyzes two-part and three-part formal designs and their proportions. These are the building blocks of most short compositional forms.

Lesson 2 • Song Form and Popular Structures

Examines verse-chorus, AABA, and through-composed song forms. Connects classical formal thinking to contemporary songwriting practice.

Lesson 3 • Rondo and Arch Forms

Covers the recurring refrain structure of rondo and its symmetrical arch variant. These forms balance repetition with episodic contrast.

Lesson 4 • Theme and Variations

Teaches how a theme is systematically transformed across multiple variations. Variation technique develops compositional flexibility and creativity.

Lesson 1 • Brass Family Writing

Addresses horn, trumpet, trombone, and tuba ranges and articulation. Brass writing requires careful attention to stamina and transposition.

Lesson 2 • Blending and Balancing the Ensemble

Teaches doubling, spacing, and dynamic marking for ensemble balance. Proper balance ensures every musical line is heard as intended.

Lesson 3 • String Family Writing

Covers ranges, bowing techniques, and idiomatic string figurations. Strings are the core of the orchestra and demand precise notation.

Lesson 4 • Percussion and Keyboard Writing

Covers pitched and unpitched percussion plus piano and harp notation. These instruments add color, rhythm, and harmonic support to the ensemble.

Lesson 1 • Managing Creative Projects

Addresses deadlines, file organization, and version control for composers. Professional project management ensures timely, complete deliverables.

Lesson 2 • Sketching and Drafting Scores

Covers short-score sketching and full-score drafting conventions. Efficient drafting habits save time and reduce revision cycles.

Lesson 3 • Generating and Developing Ideas

Introduces brainstorming, sketching, and constraint-based ideation methods. A reliable idea-generation process prevents creative blocks.

Lesson 4 • Notation Software Proficiency

Builds practical skills in professional music notation applications. Clean, accurate scores are essential for performers and publishers.

Lesson 1 • Minimalism and Repetitive Structures

Explores phase shifting, additive process, and drone-based composition. Minimalist techniques offer powerful tools for building tension through repetition.

Lesson 2 • Atonality and Serialism Basics

Introduces pitch-class sets and twelve-tone row composition. These techniques free composers from tonal gravity for new expressive possibilities.

Lesson 3 • Jazz and Blues Compositional Language

Introduces blues form, jazz harmony, and rhythmic feel for composition. Jazz vocabulary enriches harmonic and melodic choices across all genres.

Lesson 4 • Romantic and Impressionist Techniques

Covers chromatic harmony, leitmotif, and coloristic orchestration. These techniques expand expressive range beyond common-practice norms.