Uploaded October 2018 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The Chord Progression Codex is NOW AVAILABLE! https://shorturl.at/bouLV
My pro theory + songwriting course bit.ly/2J2Nctn
Enroll in my Rhythm Training Course at ANY price! bit.ly/3wDacU4
David Bruce's Channel! youtube.com/user/davidbrucedotnet
My Patreon: bit.ly/2zFwzOO
Over 15 years of writing music, I've developed and borrowed a few philosophies on composing that have helped make my music more enjoyable and less frustrating. I find these principles to be more helpful, in sum, than music theory itself.
This is way outside of my normal kind of video and I was very apprehensive about posting it. I'm sure many will disagree with my opinions here but I don't see any harm in sharing what has helped me get to this point. Maybe one day I'll outgrow all these opinions and find they're flawed but for now I still consider them to be among several guiding tenets to songwriting, composing, art...
Here's the link to part of David Lynch's interview where he explains his puzzle analogy. youtu.be/ilPRXtkfZXw?list=RDQMl8QxwW18X5Y&t=87
A special thank you to my Patrons for making these videos possible, including these awesome folks:
Linas Orentas
Marek Pawlowski
John Arnold
Christopher Swanson
Marc Bulandr
twitter.com/signals_music
facebook.com/signalsmusicstudio
signalsmusicstudio.com
Free online guitar lessons for beginners, intermediate, and advanced players. Located in Crystal Lake, Jake Lizzio provides free jam tracks and video lessons for guitar players, as well as music theory videos and other music education content.
Table of Contents:
00:00 Intro
00:54 Importance of Music Theory
02:25 Improving Upon Your Writing
04:20 Hearing Over Writing
06:04 Wrapping Up
The Chord Progression Codex is NOW AVAILABLE! https://shorturl.at/bouLV
My pro theory + songwriting course bit.ly/2J2Nctn
Enroll in my Rhythm Training Course at ANY price! bit.ly/3wDacU4
David Bruce's Channel! youtube.com/user/davidbrucedotnet
My Patreon: bit.ly/2zFwzOO
Over 15 years of writing music, I've developed and borrowed a few philosophies on composing that have helped make my music more enjoyable and less frustrating. I find these principles to be more helpful, in sum, than music theory itself.
This is way outside of my normal kind of video and I was very apprehensive about posting it. I'm sure many will disagree with my opinions here but I don't see any harm in sharing what has helped me get to this point. Maybe one day I'll outgrow all these opinions and find they're flawed but for now I still consider them to be among several guiding tenets to songwriting, composing, art...
Here's the link to part of David Lynch's interview where he explains his puzzle analogy. youtu.be/ilPRXtkfZXw?list=RDQMl8QxwW18X5Y&t=87
A special thank you to my Patrons for making these videos possible, including these awesome folks:
Linas Orentas
Marek Pawlowski
John Arnold
Christopher Swanson
Marc Bulandr
twitter.com/signals_music
facebook.com/signalsmusicstudio
signalsmusicstudio.com
Free online guitar lessons for beginners, intermediate, and advanced players. Located in Crystal Lake, Jake Lizzio provides free jam tracks and video lessons for guitar players, as well as music theory videos and other music education content.
Table of Contents:
00:00 Intro
00:54 Importance of Music Theory
02:25 Improving Upon Your Writing
04:20 Hearing Over Writing
06:04 Wrapping Up
![What You Didnt Know About What A Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong [PERFECT PROGRESSIONS #5]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/yagFsYdbfE0/mqdefault.jpg "What You Didnt Know About What A Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong [PERFECT PROGRESSIONS #5]
My COMPLETE Music Theory Course for Songwriters: https://tinyurl.com/yv7uxjre
The Chord Progression Codex: https://tinyurl.com/yytbhyvh
Guitar Tab At My Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/signalsmusicstudio
This video is a music theory analysis of Louis Armstrongs What A Wonderful World. I deem the chords in this video to be PERFECT! And analyzing perfect progressions is always a good idea.
Follow along with the free chord charts at home. Theyre provided in the original key of F, and also in C for guitarists (so they can capo at the 5th fret). Heres the link: https://signalsmusic.studio/lessons/what-a-wonderful-world
In this instance, well see all of the following theory topics, which Ive discussed before:
Diatonic Triads In A Key: https://youtu.be/M8eItITv8QA?si=1OjsgLZaiAO2OOcy
Pedal Tones: https://signalsmusicstudio.com/musical-drones-and-pedal-tones/
Turning Triads Into 7th Chords: https://youtu.be/3JizNRwHYNY?si=zXOMDt6jjIDulbfd
Inverted Chords: https://youtu.be/LFN-eKved_8?si=pH94zMdChtpTdPhy
Secondary Dominants: https://youtu.be/py4HaueW50Q?si=DgTitKcm90x9dMrk
Borrowed Chords: https://youtu.be/7IdttvJSedg?si=bRbcYgHal-RzYmJ9
Augmented Chords: https://youtu.be/wNWDjhDo2Ak?si=vJNl5oMMNcOomWlQ
Diminished Chords: https://youtu.be/koulaYcijEE?si=OHNGrEAWjzS8G9V7
I dont have a video teaching Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Sorry!
Special thank you to my Patreon subscribers for supporting my work. These videos would not exist without their help!
Table of Contents:
00:00 Intro
00:30 REAL Chords vs Guitar Chords
01:30 Intro Chord Progression
02:21 Verse Chord Progression
05:12 The Hidden Melody Appears...
06:25 Augmented Transition
08:57 Bridge Progression
11:31 Outro Progression
14:55 The Tale Of Larry Newton")
![Motifs and Chords- The Fast and Easy Way to Make Music! [SONGWRITNG - MUSIC THEORY - LESSON]]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/z3Dy6Mnp5Og/mqdefault.jpg "Motifs and Chords- The Fast and Easy Way to Make Music! [SONGWRITNG - MUSIC THEORY - LESSON]]
The Chord Progression Codex is NOW AVAILABLE! https://shorturl.at/bouLV
My pro theory + songwriting course https://bit.ly/2J2Nctn
Enroll in my Rhythm Training Course at ANY price! https://bit.ly/3wDacU4
Get the ULTIMATE MODAL POSTER and support this channel!: https://bit.ly/2zhk9JV
My Patreon: https://bit.ly/2zFwzOO
This is a lesson on how to write music. There is, of course, no ONE way to write, but this technique is simple, effective, and versatile. At the very worst, you’ll come up with a good starting point off of which to build a piece or song.
The stuff you’ll pretty much need to know is linked below:
Writing Chords in Major https://youtu.be/M8eItITv8QA
Writing Chords in Minor https://youtu.be/j-j4g0ktPGw
Additionally, you’ll want to know a bit about borrowed chords to keep up with my rant at the end
Borrowed Chords: https://youtu.be/7IdttvJSedg
If you’d like to hear my song Generations that I discuss, you can watch the video here: https://youtu.be/5Z5Ljhbp3A0
Or listen here: https://signalsmusicstudio.bandcamp.com/track/generations
If this video was too simple for you, I suggest expanding on it by studying reharmonization techniques. It’s a fun and productive way to expand past the redundancy of repeating motifs. I don’t have any videos on the topic (yet) but there is plenty of great info out there from Adam Neely and Aimee Nolte.
Additional Rants:
I didn’t expand on it, but that Bb Augmented chord is basically formed/implied when that melody (E-F#-D) is played on top of a Bb, since Bb-D-F# forms an Aug triad. In the recorded version, the electric guitars play a Bb and an F#, so like an Augmented Powerchord if such a thing exists. The bVI+ itself could be thought of as being borrowed from D Mixolydian b6. It could also easily be assumed as an inverted D Augmented: the voice leading within the chords goes from A to A#/Bb to B, and playing an Aug on the tonic is a good way to move to any chord In the key that has a natural 6th note in it, since the movement from the fifth to the aug fifth will naturally pull the listener to the 6th.
At 06:09 I mention the distance between B and C as a minor 2nd. In this arrangement though, the C occurs an octave higher, meaning we’d call it a minor 9th instead. But in my mind, there is not a giant difference between a 9th and a 2nd. A minor 2nd and a minor 9th “feel”, not sound, the same to me and create the same effect. They have a LOT of the same qualities and characteristics and it’s helpful to think of the intervals as “somewhat the same” even across octaves. The main difference between a m9 and a m2 though is the vast distance between the two clashing notes. When they’re close together (m2) the dissonance is overwhelming, but spacing them apart (m9) an octave makes them more digestable. But in my mind, they are still cut from the same cloth thing- the b2, just different aspects of it.
Also worth meditating on the general awkwardness yet diatonic versatility of a low 7th (B) paired with the a high (C) and what that COULD be. It COULD be part of an inverted C major 7 chord (unlikely), it could be part of an inverted G with an added 4th/11th, or an inverted Emb6… Take away the key and it could imply much more- B7b9, CmMaj7, Ab7#9…
Thanks to my Patreon supporters for making this video possible. I had fun making it and I really am happy with how it turned out, hopefully it gets you writing and shows you a bit more of how easy it can be to get something going.
Special thanks to these fine folks for supporting videos like this one:
Linas Orentas
Joe Buote
Nick White
Patrick Ryan
Christopher Swanson
John Arnold
Jon Reddish
Brandon Combs
Sebastian
Morgan M.
Lord of the Chords
Billyshes
Phillip Sharp
Don Watters
Bradley Bower
Marek Pawlowski
Table of Contents:
00:00 Intro
00:47 Motifs
01:45 Writing With Motifs
05:13 Modifying The Motif
07:25 Reharmonizing The Motif
09:05 Writing an Ostinato
12:13 Advanced Applications
14:23 Wrapping Up")
