Thoughts on Composing, Chord Melody and Voice Leading

In this class, John and Kevin discuss and demonstrate their approaches to composing, chord melody and voice leading. In the course of their conversation, John plays several of his original compositions and breaks down the harmony of each piece. Both men emphasize the necessity of learning new chords in the context of an arrangement to be able retain new voicings. Also covered in the discussion are modes of the melodic and harmonic minor as they apply to altered dominant chords and harmony. In their informal conversation and reaction to each other’s playing and examples, John and Kevin provide many pragmatic tools for the student to expand and develop new vocabulary and composing skills. Included in the class is a pdf containing a number of original compositions from John.

• 21 min
• 5 pages of pdf