Music Theory for Songwriters

Last episode we discussed Whole Steps and Half Steps and the pattern of steps to create a C Major Scale. In this episode, we shift the perspective to refer to each note of the scale (scale degree) as ...

Whole Steps, Half Steps, and the C Major Scale. We use a pattern of Whole and Half steps to build a C major Scale. C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C. W-W-H-W-W-W-H. Note the half steps between E-F and B-C.

In this episode we dissect how to arrange a beat for a strum pattern and discuss syncopation–the technique of playing between the beats.

The previous episode discussed simple meter and tempo, and this episode talks about compound meter and 6/8 time.

The beat of a song is usually what catches our attention before anything else. This episode will help us understand rhythm, tempo, and meter in order to construct the beat to our new song.

Do you need to know music theory and how to read music to be a good musician?