Knowledge base
Music Theory and Composition
What Is Modulation in Music, and How Does a Composer Establish a New Key?
Modulation Explained: How Music Moves from One Key to AnotherA piece of music does not have to remain in the same key from beginning to end. Composers can move between tonal centres, creating contrast, expanding the… read more
How Can Electronic Musicians Use Voice Leading to Create Smooth, Coherent and Generative Music?
Voice Leading in Electronic and Generative Music: Creating Movement Between LayersVoice leading is traditionally associated with the movement of individual melodic lines in tonal harmony. But… read more
What Are Musical Suspensions and the Cadential 6/4, and How Do They Strengthen a Cadence?
Suspensions and the Cadential 6/4: Delaying Resolution to Increase TensionA cadence does not always become more powerful by arriving quickly. Sometimes its impact comes from delaying the expected… read more
Why Does the Final Soprano Note Matter in Perfect and Imperfect Authentic Cadences?
The Soprano and Cadence Types: How the Final Melody Shapes Musical ClosureWhen we listen to a musical cadence, we hear more than the movement between two chords. We also hear the final melodic gesture that… read more
How Do the Leading Tone and Bass Create a Strong Authentic Cadence in Tonal Music?
The Leading Tone and the Bass: Two Foundations of Strong CadencesA cadence is more than the arrival of one chord after another. It is a carefully prepared musical event in which individual notes create… read more
What Is Voice Leading in Music, and How Does It Make Chord Progressions Sound Smooth and Connected?
Voice Leading: How Individual Notes Create Harmonic MovementHarmony describes the relationship between chords. Voice leading describes how the individual notes within those chords move from… read more
How Can Electronic Musicians Use Musical Phrases, Cadences and Generative Rules to Structure Compositions?
Phrase Structure and Cadences in Electronic Music: From Harmonic Form to Generative CompositionUnderstanding musical phrases and cadences is not only useful for classical composition.… read more
What Is Cadential Hierarchy and How Do Composers Use Different Cadence Strengths to Structure Music?
Cadential Hierarchy: How Composers Control Musical Closure and Structural TensionNot every cadence in a composition should have the same strength.
If every phrase ends with a powerful… read more
What Are Binary, Ternary and Sonata Forms?
How Musical Sections and Cadences Organise a Composition
Musical Form Explained: Binary, Ternary and Sonata FormMusical compositions are rarely just collections of unrelated melodies and chord progressions. They are usually organised… read more
What Are Musical Periods and Sentences?
Understanding Antecedent, Consequent and Basic Idea Structures
Periods and Sentences in Music: Understanding Question-and-Answer Phrase StructuresMusical phrases are often combined into larger units. Two particularly important structures in… read more