CHORD CONTROL:

The chord, melody & song-sketching course for producers

$297 $97 USD

Struggle with music theory in the piano roll? Not anymore.

By the end of this course you’ll be composing melodies, chord progressions & "song sketches" that sound great for life - from scratch - or your money back.

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For any DAW

The course uses Logic, but is compatible for any DAW. All you need is a piano roll.

For any genre

No matter what you want to make, it will probably be built around your chords & melodies.

For your authentic expression

The best way to sound like you? Learn how to express yourself with the notes.

Turn your empty piano roll into an exciting canvas you can confidently fill with great musical ideas.

How would you feel if every time you opened your DAW you knew you could write strong chord progressions and melodies - no MIDI packs or plugins needed?

What if your process wasn't about "stumbling into a good idea", but picking which great chord progression and melody intervals to explore to best express your emotions?

What if you could compose simple but effective "song sketches" in nothing but a basic piano sound, then bring them to life by splitting up the MIDI and bringing it into different sounds?

That's the focus of this unique music theory course - and what makes it different.

Because most theory lessons are just that - theory. Great for knowledge - but often lacking the application of it. And that's where all the fun is! After all, do you really care what each chord is for the sake of it? Or do you want to know how to use them to compose?

From scales to triads to modes to extended chords to melody writing and more, this course is a deep resource that leaves no stone unturned and will leave you feeling inspired to create after each lesson.

Perfect for beginners, essential for intermediates and inspiring for professionals - as long as you want to compose with more control in the DAW, you'll be glad you took the time on this one.

Taught 100% in the piano roll helping you see - and use - theory in exciting new ways.

Join me on this exciting journey to unleash a more expressive version of your musical voice through the art of composing chord progressions, melodies & "song sketches!"

Full course outline

Module 1: The Art of Song-Sketching & Workflow Foundations
13 lessons
1. Intro to Chord Control
2. The 4 Steps to Music Production
3. Sketch to Production Workflow
4. Song Sketching Part 2 (More demonstrations of Song Sketching)
5. How to Analyze a Reference Track to Give Yourself a Template for Music Making
6. Song Recomposition to Learn From Your Favorite Music
7. How to Prepare Your Project for Efficiency & Workflow
8. How to Setup Custom Drum Kits for Fast Workflow
9. Recommended Virtual Instruments
10. Sourcing Good Presets
11. The Essential Mixing Tools
12. The Upsidedown Triangle
13. My MIDI Pack
Module 2: Where Chords Come From
5 lessons
1. Chords In The Major Scale
2. Chords In The Minor Scale
3. Double Harminonic Minor Arabic Scale
4. Major Minor Mindblow
5. Hearing Scales
Module 3: How to Write Timelessly Great Chord Progressions
14 lessons
1. Chords & Progressions PDF Lesson
2. 1. Tonic Subdominanant Dominant Functions
3. TIP Start on 1 6 or 4
4. 2. Substitute Chords
5. 3. Substitute Chords In Action
6. 4. Writing Longer Progressions With Substitutes
7. 5. Writing Progressions In Minor
8. 6. Substitutions In Minor
9. 7. 3 Chord Voicing Tips
10. 8. Bass Inversions
11. 9. A Few Practical Voicings
12. 10. The Magic of I V vi IV
13. 11. The Magic of the i III VI VII
14. [Bonus] Passing Chord lesson with Thomas Anthony
Module 4: How to Add Color to your Chords with 7ths & Extensions
8 lessons
1. 12. Building 7th Chords
2. 13. Building Extended Chords
3. 14. Sharp and Flat Extended Chords
4. 15. Diads
5. 16. Writing Progressions With 7th Extended and Suspended
6. 17. Playing on the Keyboard
7. 18. 7th and Extensions under an Ostinato Examples
8. Sus Chords vs Add Chords
Module 5: Add a "Mature" Sound with Secondary Dominant Chords
3 lessons
1. Intro to Secondary Dominant Chords
2. Secondary Dominants In Action
3. The Most Common Secondary Dominant Major V in Minor Progressions
Module 6: Writing Soul & Jazz Influenced Chords
9 lessons
1. IMPORTANT NOTE BEFORE WE START
2. Instant Soul - Minor 7 9 Major 7 9 Trick
3. Tritone Substitution
4. Passing Diminished Chords
5. Augmented b9 Dominant Chords
6. Comparing SD TS PD
7. Soul Progressions
8. Chords In 5 Levels
9. Tweaking a I vi IV V
Module 7: Modes to Unlock New Worlds
10 lessons
1. Mode Chord Chart PDFs & Lesson
2. Introduction to Modes
3. Major vs Minor Modes
4. Dorian
5. Phrygian
6. Lydian
7. Mixolydian
8. Locrian
9. Modal Interchange
10. Major Minor Interchange
Module 8: All About Writing Good Melodies
14 lessons
1. Setup Repeat Vary Destroy
2. Magic of the Pentatonic Scale
3. Listening to the Personality of Intervals AKA get to know what notes feel like
4. Emotion of Notes (FROM STUDENT SESSION)
5. Rhythm Melodies
6. Writing Melodies on Chords
7. What is an Ostinato
8. Ostinatos PDF
9. What is an Arpeggio
10. What is a Riff
11. How to Develop a Melodic Idea
12. Chords Under an Accapella
13. PRACTICE: How to Practice Your Songwriting In the DAW
14. STUDENT SESSION: Writing Melodies with Intention
Module 9: Turning "Block Chords" Into Song Concepts
11 lessons
1. Live 10 Minute Sketch Mindset Walkthrough
2. Beatmaking Ideas for Chords
3. Future House Template
4. Folk Template
5. Orchestral Template
6. Trap Template
7. Synthwave
8. Trance Template
9. How to Produce an EDM Song
10. Inside Look At An Action Trailer Composition Built Off Mostly 4 Chords
11. Hans Zimmer - Time Breakdown
Extra Resources
3 lessons
1. Google Search for Chords
2. Hooktheory
3. Avery's Ultimate Popular Music Writing Cheatsheet

Sample a lesson

Sample the first 5 minutes from "The Sketch to Production" lesson in Module 1.

Bonus: Purposeful progressions MIDI pack

This is a well organized pack of 100+ chord progressions you will use over and over again to start songs. No duplicates. No mess. All proven and ready to inspire.