Give your melody meaning in its first few notes! Discover a wide range of scale-degree combinations with expressive associations in film. These combinations, or “gestures”, are typically placed at the very beginning of themes, ensuring they are heard even if only the theme’s first couple of bars are played.

Most gestures in the course are divided into major and minor scales, with major ones including many positive associations like emotional warmth, childhood, and the aspirational. By contrast, minor-key gestures include such associations as burden or hardship, the militaristic, several forms of the mysterious, and many more. Some gestures occur in either major or minor keys and retain the same association, like the heroic, a vast expanse, and extraordinary power.

The course comes with a set of composition exercises that are in MIDI format for DAWs, MusicXML for notation software, and PDF for pencil and paper. You can also get feedback from the instructor by posting your answers in the site forums. And review content quickly and easily with the Quick References section.