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Bundle Summary
In Action-Music Harmony 1, learn how the octatonic scale is one of the most commonly-used resources in classic action music and the power of its versatility in three lessons.
Action-Music Harmony 2 focuses on the three main scales of classic action music: octatonic, hexatonic, and Hungarian minor. Learn how to extract sophisticated action writing from them with easy-to-understand techniques like planing of chords through a scale and mixing the action scales together.
In Action-Music Harmony 3, learn the classic blockbuster sound of chords with more than one tonic. Also learn how a large number of action chords are built from a consistent set of notes called “action extensions”.
In Action-Music Harmony 4, learn how to construct classic atonal and quartal action chords. We break down two complete classic action cues and watch a new action cue composed with harmonies from all four Action-Music Harmony courses. Exercises are included in this course.
Action-Music Harmony 1 – Breakdown
Lesson 1 – Octatonic Harmonies
- Octatonic Scales
- Overview
- Possible Chords
- Traditional Chords from Octatonic Scales
- Major Chords
- Minor Chords
- The Alpha Chord and Its Dissonant Subsets
- Overview
- Large Subset Chords – 5 or 6 notes
- Major and Minor Subset Chords – with one dissonance
- Atonal Subset Chords – 3 notes
Lesson 2 – Drawing Octatonic Materials Out
- Octatonic Melodies
- The Whole-Tone Octatonic Mode
- The (0134) Chord
- Connective Scale Runs
- Dyads Composed of 3rds
- Drawing Out Octatonic Harmony
- Repeated Chord with Octatonic Melody
- Transposed Chord with Octatonic Melody
- Multiple Octatonic Scales
- Successive Scales
- Simultaneous Scales
Lesson 3 – Advanced Octatonic Techniques
- Combining Octatonic Elements
- Melody/Bass Intervals
- Unmoving Bass
- Moving Bass
- Melodic Bass
- Melody and Accompaniment
- Freely-Written Chords
- Multiple-Strand Accompaniments
- Melody/Bass Intervals
- Varying Octatonic Harmonies
- Through Motives
- Through a Common Subset
- Octatonic Elements at Larger Scales
- Through Returning Music
- Through Returning Intervals
Action-Music Harmony 2 – Breakdown
Lesson 4 – Hexatonic and Hungarian Minor Scales
- Hexatonic Scales
- Overview
- Tonal Chords, 3 notes (major and minor)
- Tonal Chords, 4 notes (mM7 and augM7)
- Atonal Chords, 5 and 6 notes
- Melodies and Flourishes
- Hungarian Minor Scales
- Overview + Tonal Chords (3 and 4 notes)
- Main Chord, 5 notes
- Tonal Chords, 5 notes (add2 chords)
- Atonal Chords, 5 to 7 notes
- Atonal Chords, 3 notes, (the (014) chord)
- Melodies and Flourishes
Lesson 5 – Planing and Pedal Point
- Planing as a Concept
- Overview
- Typical Planed Chords
- Planing a Chord through a Scale
- Minor Scales
- Modes
- Octatonic Melodies Harmonized by Planed Chords
- Minor Chords
- Major Chords
- With One Scale Note Changed
- Planing and Pedal Points
- Combined Melody-Bass “Chords”
- Increasing the Dissonance between Planed Chords and Pedals
Lesson 6 – Combining Scales Together
- Juxtaposing Action Scales
- Octatonic + Hungarian Minor
- Hexatonic + Hungarian Minor
- Octatonic + Hexatonic
- Mixing Action Scales with Non-Scale Notes
- Octatonic + 1 Note
- Octatonic Melody Harmonized by Chords of a Single Type
- Simultaneous Action Scales
- Octatonic as Gap Filler for Hexatonic
- Harmonies from One Scale Organized by Another
Action-Music Harmony 3 – Breakdown
Lesson 7 – Composing with Dissonant-Tonal Chords
- Understanding How Action Chords Are Used
- Expanding a Single Chord with “Action Extensions”
- Overview
- The m(b6), M(b6) and augM7(#9)
- Polytonal Voicings of Action Chords
- Overview
- The m(b6)
- The mM7(b6)
- The mM9(b6)
- The mM7(add#4)
- The mM9(add#4)
- The Mm(M7,b6)
- Unifying Action Chords
- Progressions with Chords from Different Action Scales
- Composing Out a Chord
- Composing Out a Scale
Lesson 8 – Dissonant-Bass Chords
- Preliminaries
- What Are Dissonant-Bass Chords?
- How Dissonant-Bass Chords Are Used
- Major Chord + Dissonant Bass
- +1 Major
- +4 Major
- +6 Major
- +9 Major
- +11 Major
- Minor Chord + Dissonant Bass
- +1 Minor
- +3 Minor
- +6 Minor
- +8 Minor
- +10 Minor
- +11 Minor
- Dissonant-Tonal Chord + Dissonant Bass
- Overview
- A Final Example
Lesson 9 – Polychords
- Overview
- Defining Polychords
- Common Polychords and Their Component Chords
- Typical Associations
- Pedal Point with Polychords
- Quiet-Tension Polychords Next to Action Music
- +11 Polychords
- +6 Polychords
- Polychords for Mystery in Action Scenes
- +4 Polychords
- Other Hexatonic Polychords
- Other Associations of Polychords
- Mortal Dread
- Brutal Strength
Action-Music Harmony 4 – Breakdown
Lesson 10 – Tonalizing Atonal Chords
- “Action-Tonic” Chords
- As a Dyad
- As 3-Note Chords
- As 4- or 5-Note Chords
- Mirroring Tonal Practices
- Separating a 3rd
- Resembling a Tonic Chord
- Organizing with a Diatonic Melody
- Extending Atonal Chords
- Breaking Up (0134) Chords
- Combining (0134) Chords
- Varying a Single Atonal Chord
Lesson 11 – Expressive Quartal Chords
- Perfect Quartal Chords and Their Re-Voicings
- Overview
- Strong, Powerful – Rising 4ths
- In Trouble – Falling 2nds
- Intensifying – Rising 2nds
- Varying Quartal Chords
- Imperfect Quartal Chords
- Gapped Quartal Chords and “Secundal Harmony”
- Augmented Triads in Action Music
- Overview
- Expressions of Augmented Triads
Lesson 12 – Putting It All Together
- Summarizing Action Harmony
- Harmony Types and Their Expressive Uses
- Melody and Accompaniment
- Action Cue Analyses
- Joining Sections with Similarities in Material
- Complete Cue 1
- Dyads of 3rds as the Basis of a Cue
- Complete Cue 2
- Composing an Action Cue
- Planning Material According to the Scene
- Cue, Section 1 – The Chase Begins
- Cue, Section 2 – Into the Cave
- Cue, Section 3 – Starting an Avalanche
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