Film Music Notes

Understanding the art of film music

New Course

Theme Writing 1: Emotions with 8-Bar Film Forms – NEW!

Learn how 8-bar forms shape the emotional expression of a theme. Go well beyond the classical forms of the sentence and period with 12 different 8-bar forms and their 16-bar versions as well. Examples of each form are drawn from major feature films and at the end of the course, sample compositions compare different forms with given opening ideas. Composition exercises with answers are included in MIDI format for DAWs, MusicXML for notation software, and PDF and MP3 for pencil and paper.

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Upcoming Course

Action-Music Harmony 3: Action-Chord Progressions, Dissonant-Bass Chords, & Polychords – COMING SOON!

In these lessons, we will learn how dissonant tonal action chords are used when freed from the context of a scale, and which dissonant-bass chords and polychords appear most often, all supported by dozens of examples from classic blockbuster films. Don’t miss this third installment of the four-course Action-Music Harmony series!

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Recent Course

Advanced Techniques with Rhythm and Meter in Film Music

Write memorable, meaningful music with classic rhythmic techniques. Discover rhythmic techniques from some of the best-known themes in film, learn a wealth of techniques for irregular meters from classic blockbuster films, and see how meter combines with mode and tempo to create emotional associations from Hollywood’s best composers! Enjoy this course at the special launch price (for a limited time).

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Music Theorist

Mark Richards, PhD

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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