Confused about perfect, plagal, imperfect, and deceptive cadences? What is a cadence in music theory? It’s the feeling of resolution to a particular chord. Depending on the context, when we arrive on a certain chord, the feeling can be different depending on the key. This is a cadence. There are […]
Does it matter which direction note stems are pointing? There are reasons why notes might point either up or down, and in this music theory lesson, we’ll explore the idea behind note stem direction. We will look at both single-line melodies and also polyphonic music with multiple voices or parts. […]
Why do musicians worry so much about playing wrong notes? Many musicians, especially those who begin improvising with jazz, worry about playing wrong notes. However, there’s no need to worry about playing wrong notes in music. In this video, I use the example of playing the guitar to show how […]
How can musicians use expressive markings such as tempo, dynamics and articulation to make the playing more expressive? Playing with feel and expression is one of the most important things for musicians. However, it can be very difficult to do when there are so many things to think about. What […]
