Thoughts on Composing, Chord Melody and Voice Leading

In this informal conversation class, John Stowell and Kevin discuss and demonstrate their approaches to composing, chord melody, and voice leading. John plays several of his original compositions and breaks down the harmony of each piece chord by chord, while the two react to each other's playing and examples.

What's covered

• Breaking down John's originals: melodic minor voicings, parallel dominants, and altered dominant shapes moved in minor thirds
• Modes of the melodic and harmonic minor as they apply to altered dominant chords and harmony
• Using passing tones and the half-whole/minor-third approach over altered dominants
• Augmented triads with open strings — how a strong melody can mask dissonant minor seconds underneath
• John's composing process: letting a melody suggest itself, finding chords after, and connecting non-diatonic changes with chord tones
• Bass movement in composition, including a tune with the melody in the bass
• Learning new chords in the context of an arrangement so the voicings actually stick

A pragmatic class for students looking to expand their chord vocabulary and composing skills. Included is a 5-page PDF containing a number of original compositions from John. Video is 21 minutes.