Film Music Notes

Understanding the art of film music

Courses

Learn about the musical languages of well-known film scores and add techniques to your toolbelt whether you are a composer, teacher, performer, researcher, journalist, or enthusiast.

Complexity Made Simple

Former professor of music theory, Mark Richards, breaks film music down into its basic elements, making even the most complex techniques easy to understand.

Exclusive Course Material

Courses always include original research that cannot be found in other sources, whether they are online analyses, composition manuals, or academic writings.

Learn at Your Own Pace

Every course comes with lifetime access, allowing you to absorb course material with as much time as you need and at the pace that suits you best.

New Course

Associations of Harmony in Film Themes
(Film Harmony 1) – Now Available!

By studying many of the greatest themes to come out of Hollywood, this three-lesson course will teach you the most common harmonic progressions in Hollywood film music and the emotional and musical associations they tend to have. Learn how to use harmony to evoke the perfect emotions in your themes!

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Upcoming Course

Classical Diatonic Harmony in Film Context

Learn the rules of classical harmony with examples drawn from film music whenever possible. First we lay out progression types according to where they occur in a phrase. Then we start with simple progressions and gradually make them more complex, with assignments and answers provided as you go. And if you need to brush up on reading music, there will be a bonus comprehensive course on reading music that includes online flashcards, assignments with answers, and online quizzes so you always know how you’re doing.

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Other Courses

Action-Music Harmony in Classic Blockbuster Films

The action music of classic blockbuster films is some of the most harmonically complex in all of film music. Its fast chord changes, busy textures, and dissonant harmonies make it notoriously difficult to analyze. This course breaks down action music into a network of easy-to-understand concepts that reveal the harmonic systems behind the action writing. And enrolling in a course bundle lets you save big on lessons!

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Music Theorist

I worked as a Professor of Music Theory for several years in universities, specializing in film music, Beethoven, and rock music in my teaching and research. For more than two decades, I have taught music theory and analysis to all ages and at all levels from the community music school to the large university. I have published articles on film music and have a new chapter on John Williams’ Star Wars themes forthcoming in 2022.

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