It’s my great pleasure to impart a multitude of musical skills on a wide variety of students of all ages, backgrounds, and musical inclinations. There’s no subject in music we can’t cover and no person is beyond the reach of musical growth. I help you put one foot in front of the other, always meeting you where you are at and leading you to the next level in your musical journey. It’s easy when we work together going Step By Step!
Sincerely,
Alex Atwood
I'm going to let you in on a big secret...all western music is pretty much the same! I'm talking about Rock, Jazz, Blues, Country, Rap, Punk, Reggae, Gospel...you name it! It's all the same stuff just repackaged and repurposed to your musical taste. All the melodies come from scales and arpeggios, all the chords come from the major scale and its modes, and all the rhythms are based on 3s and 4s (yes, even when it's in 5 or 7; Tool and Rush, I'm talking to you). Once you understand the foundations of music and the basic signatures of the various styles, you can make the music do whatever you want it to. It's almost like cheating!
For me, the most exciting part of music is writing it. Nothing gives me a thrill like blending instruments together with melody and harmony, carefully crafting every note until it behaves exactly the way I want it to. Whether you're writing a simple melody, a bass line, or an entire symphony, it always starts in your ears. You hear it first. Then you use your knowledge to craft what it is you heard in your mind. You find chords that blend with what you've created and use them to help you tell your musical story. You weave in instruments such as strings, horns, or layered guitar parts to give context and texture to your composition. You use countermelodies to move the piece along or as a call-and-response technique. You sculpt the music using methods you were taught until it's exactly what you want it to be.
So what do you need to get started? Well, not much. You can compose music with a pencil and paper, although you can't really hear it unless someone plays it. Ideally you would get yourself a DAW (digital audio workstation). I use Studio One to produce recordings as well as to flesh out ideas. Their free version is actually quite good, or you can rent the professional version for a very low monthly rate. This will come with a lot of sounds you can use to write and record music. If you want to record using an electronic instrument or microphone (guitar, bass, keyboard, etc.) you will need an audio interface, starting around $100. And you generally won't need a very fancy computer unless you are running lots of tracks. You can spend lots of time and money chasing the perfect sounds, but you can also get started for next to nothing. Don't let the equipment stop you! Writing the music is the important part.
Everything you always wanted to know
about writing music but didn't know to ask...
Major and minor
Modes
Synthetic scales
Scale degrees
Octatonic, whole tone
Identifying keys
Roman numerals
Diatonic function
Harmonic function
Secondary dominants Extended dominants Substitute dominants
Modal interchange
Contiguous ii-Vs
Non-functioning dominants
Deceptive resolution
Delayed resolution
Arpeggios
Triads
6th & 7th chords
Suspended chords
Extended chords
Voicings
Alternate bass notes
Chord tones
Non-chord tones
Melodic motion
5-to-1 resolution
Transition notes
Voice leading
Ostinato
Progressions
Chord substitution
Bass function
Counterpoint
Melody
Countermelody
Melodic theme
4-part voice leading
Strings
Horns
Woodwinds
Range
Doubling
