Posts Tagged ‘theory’
Q+A: What is musical phrasing?
Recently, a couple people have asked questions about musical phrasing, so I figured it’d be a good idea to do a quick Q+A on the topic. As always, feel free to leave any questions in the comments and I’ll try to answer them as best as I can!
Read MoreHow to play chords: 7th chord, Major 7th and Minor 7th
To expand on a previous video on major and minor chords, today we’re also going to look at how to play chords – the various 7th chords. These are very common in music of all kinds, whether you’re printing off some pop from the internet, or reading through Beethoven – so let’s jump into it!
Read MoreWhat is a Cadence? The Basics
What is a cadence? It’s defined as “a melodic or harmonic configuration that creates a sense of resolution”. They’re composed of at least 2 notes or chords, and are extremely common in music from the Baroque and Classical eras (but still show up in pop music!). In today’s video and blog post, we’re going to…
Read MoreThe Devil in Music (AKA the Tritone)
Hi and welcome to the final Halloween installment this week, all about the tritone, or as it was often called in the past, “the devil in music”. This is a tone that has offended people for centuries, though our modern ears are much more desensitised to it.
Read MoreWhat is a diminished Chord? Beginner Piano
Today for PianoTV’s Halloween Week, we’re going to talk about the question “What is a diminished chord?”, especially the diminished 7th, because it’s a very dark, tense, dissonant chord.
Read MoreWhat is a Concerto? 4 Famous Examples
So what is a concerto, anyway? Concertos were a super popular song form back in the day, so I wanted to take a bit of time to delve into what they are, when they were popular, and what to expect if you choose to listen to one (or play one!).
Read MoreHow to Play “Portato” on Piano
[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCj2rjfd4Tc[/embedyt] In today’s video, we discuss the portato – which is sort of like legato, sort of like staccato, and sort of rhymes with potato. And just for reference’s sake, it’s pronounced “por-TAH-to”.
Read MoreHow dotted notes work, part 2
Hey there! Today’s video is the second part of our short two-part series on dotted notes. If you missed the first video, you can check it out here: How dotted notes work, part 1. This video addresses the more difficult dots – the dotted eighth, and dotted 16th notes. Enjoy!
Read MoreHow dotted notes work, part 1
[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8DLFPcrjk0[/embedyt] Hello! Welcome to the first part of a two-parter on how to read dotted notes in music. Today’s video focuses on the simpler dots (dotted whole note, half note and quarter note), while the next video tackles the smaller, more difficult dots (dotted eighth and sixteenth notes). Enjoy!
Read MoreRitardando and A Tempo
Howdy! Today’s video is a quick one on two Italian music terms – ritardando, and a tempo. We talk about what they mean and how to play them, with some examples thrown in there for good measure.
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