Study Music Theory
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About the Blog
Rock & Pop
- Radiohead: What IS that note? ⭐
- Radiohead and the Lament Bass ⭐
- The (Actual) Evolution of Cool ⭐
- Yes, ‘Stairway’ Was Stolen…Just Like Everything Else ⭐
- What Happens When “Happy” Goes Minor? ⭐
- Isn’t it Iconic? (Nirvana) ⭐
- The Long Exile in Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah
- The Greatest Mashup Ever: Why it Works
- Surfin’ UAE
- A Minor Detour to Jethro Tull
- Yabbut…Why THOSE Four Chords?
- The Fifth Beatle Was a Robot
Classical
- The music that broke my heart (Barber’s Adagio) ⭐
- THE LIST
- 1. Chopin and the Chopinuplets
- 2. And You Thought You Knew Scarlatti
- 3. Hildegard’s Spooky, Dangerous Little Note
- 4. The Most Elegant Two Measures in the History of Oh My Gawd (Bach ‘Air’) ⭐
- 5. Chopin Had Just One Request (Impromptu No. 4)
- 6. Look, It’s Just Cool (Reich Sextet)
- 7. What Is It About This Aria? (Delibes, Flower Duet)
- 8. Ravel in Two Colors (Le Tombeau de Couperin) ⭐
- 9. Impossible Ravel (Alborada del Gracioso)
- 10. The Tragic Silence of Lili Boulanger
- 11. A Velvet Revolution (Debussy, Afternoon of a Faun)
- 12. Dance of the Atonal Cowboy (Ginastera)
- 13. Mozart in Eight Sobs (Lacrimosa) ⭐
- 14. Slow Your Roll (Reich, Electric Counterpoint)
- 15. A Cricket in the Renaissance (Josquin, El Grillo)
- A Minor Detour to Bach
- Porn for Music Theoryheads (Amadeus)
- The Masterpiece I’ve Never Heard Of
Film & TV
- Hiding in Plain Sight: The Greatest Musical Easter Egg Ever ⭐
- When Truman Touches the Wall ⭐
- Mr. Rogers and that Mind-Blowing Jazz Piano
- 3 Ways the ‘Office’ Theme IS Michael Scott ⭐
- House of Cards: Screw Your Happy Ending
- When Film Music is a Mickey Mouse Operation
- When the Music Doesn’t Trust You
- Yeeeah, Something’s Gonna Harm You – Sweeney Todd
- I’m Not Saying Aliens Wrote This House of Cards Cue…
- The Real Inspiration for The Simpsons Theme – And No, It’s Not ‘Maria’
- Could it Be? Yes It Could! Simpsons Coming, Simpsons Good
Just Enough Theory
- Theory Skills Inventory (for prospective students)
- 1. Overtones: Every note is a chord
- 2. Pitch: Slicing up infinity
- 3. Scales! Wait. Come back.
- 4. Consonance is Nice. Dissonance is Delicious.
- 5. Home and the Neon Arrow
- 6. A (Melodic) Minor Detour
- 7. Harmony is What Happens to the Hero
- 8. The Hidden Grammar of Music
- 9. The Long Exile in ‘Hallelujah’ (cadences)
- (More to come)
Random Various
- The Most Hopeful Music in the World ⭐
- On Solving the Musical Mystery of My Life ⭐
- Lou Rawls and the Christmas Clams
- Friends Don’t Let Friends Clap on 1 and 3
- No One Owns the Worst Song in the World
- The Pitch Ceiling: You Make It to Break It
- Song Breaking Your Heart? It’s (Mostly) Not the Words
- The Most Essential Element of Music ⭐
- The Case Against the Star-Spangled Banner
- The Greatest Christmas Song, in Theory
- Why is That iPhone “Don’t Blink” Ad So Damn Cool?
- How One Note Turned David Cameron to the Dark Side
- Seeing Music