Sound & Perception - Learn the Wisdom of Music

What TWO songs use the chord progression I'm playing in this video?
Write your answers in the comments below, and bear in mind that one of the songs is pretty easy to guess. But can you guess the other?
Perhaps you know of more than two?

As to the chords I've played, I'll leave them for you to decipher by ear, and in the next video, I'll spell them out for you, analyzing the progression.

In the meantime, if recognizing chords by earinterestst you, you are welcome to check out my Udemy course: The Right Chord, where in 10 lessons I teach you the art of extracting chords by ear.
https://www.udemy.com/course/the-right-chord/?referralCode=EF7CBC7CB539068E74E3

Finding the right chords for all your favorite songs - all by yourself....by ear.

Enroll now to The Right Chord
On Udemy

https://www.udemy.com/course/the-right-chord/?referralCode=EF7CBC7CB539068E74E3

2 interesting facts about "Bones" by Imagine Dragons and the chords the group uses in this song...

The focus is, of course harmony and finding chords by ear.

For a full proficiency in finding chords no books/sites needed, please check out my course on Udemy - The Right Chord
https://www.udemy.com/course/the-right-chord/?referralCode=EF7CBC7CB539068E74E3

You're a musician but you're stuck?
Do you wish for a breakthrough in all matters concerning chords?
Check out my Udemy course The Right Chord and become center in all musical situations...
https://www.udemy.com/course/the-right-chord/?referralCode=EF7CBC7CB539068E74E3

(Thanks to the late Adoniran Barbosa for this mythic Bossa Nova song...)

Having a hard time finding the right chord?
Dreaming about being able to accompany with great harmonies on the spot, when people begin to sing?
Try now my Udemy course THE RIGHT CHORD and become the center of every musical gathering!
https://www.udemy.com/course/the-right-chord/?referralCode=EF7CBC7CB539068E74E3

A little but useful free tip for you guys.
Enjoy!

But if you really want to improve your skills in finding the right chords for your music, by ear (!) - check out my Udemy course:
The Right Chord https://www.udemy.com/course/the-right-chord/?referralCode=EF7CBC7CB539068E74E3

How's about becoming the main attraction, in any musical gathering, by knowing how to find and play the right chords by ear?

Join me in The Right Chord:
https://www.udemy.com/course/the-right-chord/?referralCode=EF7CBC7CB539068E74E3

Finding the right chord could be a challenge but learning it could be fun if the method is good.
Join me in TRC (The Right Chord) on Udemy and learn to use your ears to find the right harmony for any song!
Including Let it Be 😉
IN TEN LESSONS!!!
https://www.udemy.com/course/the-right-chord/?referralCode=EF7CBC7CB539068E74E3

Got 100 likes in my posts in the last 30 days...thanks fellas!. ‏🙏‏ ‏🤗‏ ‏🎉‏

Five days free offer!!!!

The course -"The Right Chord (TRC) - Harmonizing Music by Ear", is now available FOR FREE on Udemy.
All you have to do is click this link, and whenever people sing or play, YOU WILL KNOW how to find the right chords by ear, without having to download anything or use books or charts.

In ten easy to understand video lectures, along with exercises, you will master harmonizing melodies in a few seconds.

This coupon lasts for 5 days, starting from today!
https://www.udemy.com/course/the-right-chord/?couponCode=844F295FF97E399191D3

See you there!
Eran

Coming back at last, after a long absence...with a little musical gift and some very thrilling news!

So so proud and happy to announce:

Music Theory for Dummies Stage 2 has just been published!!!!

in that course in Udemy, you will learn the concept of scales:
1. How to determine the scale of any given melody
2. How to construct and recognize all major scales by ear and in writing.
3. The use of The Circle of Fifths
4. Other methods for determining scales' accidentals (sharps # and flats ♭)

In 7 short very clear videos, with quizzes and exercises - I make sure that you get the hang of it all!

As a GIFT I now give away here - 10 coupons (grab'em within 30 days as of today...!) for free access to the course.

So click the link - and don't forget entering this coupon in the appropriate place:
32BA21483430D20097B4

https://www.udemy.com/course/music-theory-for-dummies-stage-2/?referralCode=E930FFD37AC5F8A8EAEE

Knowing the accidentals (flats & sharps) of each major scale is very important for playing correctly and of course for improvising and composing.
One may find the right accidentals through groping over an instrument - interval by interval, creating the major scale structure: tone tone semi-tone tone tone tone semi-tone.
however, that's a very slow method, and there are situations that we have to be quick about it, even before we are acquainted with all the scales by heart through years of practice.
For example, when we need to know which exact chords we have in any given scale, we have to know what sharps and flats are there, get the right chords, and get going - playing, accompanying or improvising.
For that we have a cool tool called The Circle of Fifths, the use of which I teach in this video.
I have my reservations about its usage, as you may well know if you've been following my stuff on the web.
But as it is so commonly used, I've decided not to leave it out, and teach it first, before I go over to my preferred method.
The main flaw in the usage of The Circle of Fifths is that one becomes dependent on a chart, and I don't like it.
However, it gives a good overall view on all the scales and their relationships, in a graphical way.

So - watch this and be the wiser.

For more theory with me (through private lessons tailored especially for you) you may check out my gig on Fiverr here:
https://www.fiverr.com/share/joo7YL

And anyway - I'd love to hear from you!

Yours
Eran Solomon

Two terms which have a lot to do with moving from scale to scale, are Modulation and Transposition.
However, though obviously not meaning the same thing, people often confuse one term with the other.

This video clarifies the difference between the two.
Watch and enjoy!

***

As I've said in the video - for more music theory with me, you can check my Fiverr gig https://www.fiverr.com/share/joo7YL (private lessons tailored after your liking) or have a look at my online courses on Udemy https://www.udemy.com/course/music-theory-for-dummies-stage-1/?referralCode=F5691A6846E76573AEA1.

Away with Music Theory trauma!!!

Yours
Eran

We're moving on... After understanding and recognizing the tonic, it's time to talk about the musical structure that we call - The Scale.
The complete course will soon be available on Udemy, but if you like this style of learning and wish it tailored especially for you, and your needs, I'm available for Zoom lessons through my gig on Fiverr - check it out!
https://www.fiverr.com/share/lveEN2

Yours
Eran Solomon

Once we've understood what a tonic is, we must learn how to recognize it in a piece or song.
It is actually only a single note, but we have to distinguish it from all other tones in our music - here we learn how.
Watch this!

Coming up soon the full course - on Udemy.

In the meanwhile, if you like this kind of learning (and teaching...) you can hire me as your tutor on my Fiverr gig - https://www.fiverr.com/share/lveEN2

Yours
Eran Solomon

Music Theory for Dummies - Stage 2 sets sail at last!
In this stage we will begin learning about music scales.
But we have to start with a prior notion, which is essential to the understanding of scales, and that's - The Tonic.
The Tonic is the central note, which every tonal melody has to have and leads to, and recognizing it by ear as well as on the page is the basis for determining the scale of any musical piece.
Watch this video and become the wiser!

A Musical Quiz:
Do you know of a piece where there's a "deceptive cadence" (going from v to vi instead of to i ) with the vi in 1st inversion?
If you do, share it with us in the comments, and I will soon post my own answer to this in the next video....

Yours
Eran Solomon

One of the most traumatic subjects in basic Music Theory is the harmonic phenomenon of inversions.
This is a great example, of how wrong teaching methods lead - to trauma with the pupils.
In this case, the subject is taught wrong because the teachers themselves have apparently leaned it the wrong way - and indeed there is a great misconception about what inversions really are.
In this video I try to fix this.
Watch and benifit!

For more on theory of music, from the basics to the basics of Jazz, check out my Fiverr gig https://www.fiverr.com/share/3ev7Y9 for one on one online lessons with me.

And there's something new, too - an online course for Music Theory on Udemy: https://www.udemy.com/course/music-theory-for-dummies-stage-1

I talk a lot about creativity and its importence in life, but I feel I do not do enough of it myself.
And indeed I am mostly known as a music instructor rather than composer - my real métier...
so it's a real celebration for me having finally completed a full scale symphonic work - the 1st movement of my G minor Symphony, so I'd thought I'd share it with you.
Despite the fact that the piece is yet incomplete - there will probably be two or three movements to it - and despite the fact that no real orchestra has yet performed it.
Because I believe that sharing it would encourage me, I hope, to get on with it - and finish it at last.
I'll tell you a little secret - I have begun writing it nine years ago, and most of the time - it lay untouched be. Shame on me!
So, hoping to finish it soon, and hoping to hear it played by a real orchesrta finally, and hoping too, that the world will have its concerts returned to it at last - I give you this taste of the piece.
I hope you'll enjoy it, and I'll be happy to hear your feedback!

In this video I take you step by step into building chords on the piano - I stick here to triad chords only, but they are really the basis for all western music harmony.
Right - there are chords with more notes in them, but these are mainly additions (in Jazz language they're called "extensions") which add additional flavour to the harmony.
But the main functions are, always, based on the triads.

So if you have songs with chords, and you wish to accompany yourself, but still don't know how to decipher the signs - watch this video!

You need nothing but your keyboard and the written chords to start, so let's begin!!

Now I've mentiones my Fiverr gig, for more chord understanding, and other Music Theory issues - so here it is, check it out!

https://www.fiverr.com/share/Bb5yBl

Enharmonics is the phenomenon where each note has at least two different names!

For example, the note E is sometimes called an F flat.
Question is, WHAT DOES IT MATTER as long as one hits the right key???
This is just about the question of - Why is it important to study Music Theory...
And for us teachers, it's sometimes quite a headache to convince people.
But IT IS IMPORTANT!!!

In this video I show why without "spelling" the notes correctly, without understanding enharmonic procedures, you can't understand what's going on in your music.

All this started from a question a pupil asked me, and the answer I gave him...

For more Music Theory from the basics to the basics of Jazz, you can check out my Fiverr Gig:
https://www.fiverr.com/share/Q285ew

So watch this and don't forget to give a thumbs up to this page too...:)

Yours
Eran Solomon

Many pupils ask me about the circle of fifths.

In this video I explain how the Circle of Fifths works, but take care - somewhere in the middle of the video there is a little jump-scare I've concocted from one of my favorite movies (comment here if you know which movie...)

Anyway, The Circle of Fifths is actually a chart, a diagram, in which one can find all the most used major and minor scales, arranged in the shape of a clock.
(Get it for free here https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RyYS1WECHrNiwfLHg_Elyd2d3E5W64KR/view?usp=sharing)
The scales are arranged so that the interval between each scale on the circle is exactly - a perfect 5th.
It so happens (and the reason for that is a subject for a separate video ) that when arranged in this manner, the number of accidentals (sharps and flats) will differ only one sign between any adjacent key.

So the Circle of Fifths becomes an easy to use tool, through which one can determine which accidentals are there in any given scale, and discover by given accidentals - which scale or scales this may be.

I don't like using it, though.
I've never did, and I know of people who loath it, and have nightmares because of it.
Because it makes you dependent on a chart.
And you don't always have a chart with you.

So I prefer, and always teach, a method which enables you to CALCULATE, rather than memorize, or be enslaved to a scrap of paper.

You can learn with me this unique method here:
https://www.fiverr.com/share/jymxza

But don't feel bad if you use the circle; after all the goal is to finally know all the scales by heart, and if it gets you there with no nightmares - then this video was obviuosly helpful.

Anyway - Let me know: What methods do you use, in order to know what accidentals there are?
Do you use the Circle of Fifths?

Yours,
Eran solomon