On this special episode, we share the third and final batch of listener answers to our 2022 songwriting challenge to write a song with the title Why Do You Cry? We talked about: Every possible Chord Symbol EXPLAINED video Jacob Collier Answers Music Theory Questions From Twitter video (and why a tritone is called a tritone) Chord …
theory
Songwriting as a duo with Three at Home
If Bruce Springsteen and Sara Bareilles formed a duo, put it through a Black Keys fuzz pedal, and added the blues and harmonies that made Fleetwood Mac famous, you would get Boston-area rock band Three At Home. Two voices with one guitar, a full band with horn section, or any permutation in between, Three At …
All About the Circle of Fifths
On this special episode, we decode the ins and outs of the Circle of Fifths and how to use it to create interesting chord progressions. We talked about: Why the fifth is so important in music What does diatonic mean? How to expand your musical palette Which chord is your “home” chord Samples songs we …
The Hosts Take on Their First Songwriting Challenge
About three months ago, we asked our listeners to suggest a songwriting challenge or prompt for us to explore. Organizations like the Toronto Songwriting Association often prompt their members with challenges such as “Take a cliche and turn it on its head”, or “Write a song about a home appliance.” Singer-songwriter and former Song Talk …
Steve Koven – Play Piano, See The World
This week, SongTalk welcomed jazz pianist and teacher Steve Koven. Steve is a composer, performer, producer and educator. He has one of the longest standing trios in Canada, performing, touring and recording together for over 26 year. Aside from performing and recording with his trio – Steve Koven Trio – Steve also has other recording …
Learning an Instrument for Songwriting: What You Need To Know
There are many benefits to your musicianship when you learn and master playing an instrument. You increase coordination, cognitive skills that include better memory, and create a higher level of social awareness. The piano works as a wonderful starting point for most musicians, as it provides a good base in music theory, and it helps …
All about Modes with Jeff Alan Greenway
Composer, singer-songwriter, and piano virtuoso Jeff Alan Greenway joined us to talk about musical modes — what they are and how they are used in songs. Jeff went through each mode and sang a well-known song live with his piano. Listen to the whole show: Additional resources about modes: https://ledgernote.com/columns/music-theory/musical-modes-explained/ http://openmusictheory.com/scales2.html http://openmusictheory.com/popRockHarmony-EverettSystem2.html Here’s an easy to …
The Perfection of the Perfect Fifth
The question of the perfect fifth has been simmering in my mind for some time now. It started when we started investigating chord substitutions on Song Talk Radio in 2016. For that show, I looked at the Circle of Fifths as a great tool for making chord choices when writing a song. The Circle of …