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Open your Ears to some Rocking Blues
For this active listening exercise I chose a 5-song set influenced by the blues. I always think of the blues as the great grandfather of modern music. Since it started in the late 1800s in...
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Hearing Chord Progressions: I, IV, V in Major Keys
With the ability to hear and identify chord progressions, you can walk into a host of musical situations and play along by ear. Last time we took the first step by learning to identify the chord roots...
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About the I, IV, V and vi Chords
Chords sometimes referred to with numbers, and chord progressions as a series of numbers, such as I-IV-V or 1-4-5. Find out what these numbers mean, how to build chords on any note in any key, and how...
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About the 12-Bar Blues
Without the 12-bar blues, we wouldn’t have rock ‘n’ roll… or, come to think of it, much of the Western music we have today! In this episode of the Musicality Podcast, we’ll look at the simple chord...
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Introduction to Chord Progressions
Behind countless unforgettable songs is a simple chord progression. There is definite embellishment: a melody sung overtop, some musical bells and whistles added, and a beat to round out the song....
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Exploring Common Chord Progressions
Harmony in Western music would not exist without chord progressions – much of Western music, especially pop, rock, blues, jazz, and classical, is built on sequences of chords. Creating a chord...
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Meet vi, the sad twin of the chord family
Are you looking to play pop songs by ear or improve your music transcription skills? Want to spice up your song-writing? Have you heard of a ‘four chord song’ and wondered what that means? My recent...
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Why you should learn the I-IV-V chord progression
Once you’ve decided that you want to learn to play by ear, you’re going to be spending quite a bit of time at your instrument, be it keyboard, guitar, or even the tubax… Maybe there’s a particular song...
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Don’t get stuck writing ‘four-chord songs’
If you’ve started to write your own songs, you’ve probably been faced with the same type of ‘blank page’ syndrome all writers face. You know how to play your instrument but whenever you try writing...
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Chord Ear Training 101
Dream sequence: you’re preparing to audition for your favorite band. Feeling super-confident, you show up at the rehearsal space and knock on the door. The door opens, and they invite you to join in...
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