CHORD CONTROL

Music theory for catchy chords, melodies & song sketches

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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.

I made this course because too many producers are lost with theory.

So I want to make it easy and fun - something you'll actually use to write better music that sounds like you.

No MIDI packs or plugins required.

It's not about being theoretically perfect - it's about helping you feel excited and inspired whenever you open the piano roll.

It's what I wish I learned on day one. It would have helped me avoid a lot of stress, make a lot more music, and have a lot more fun.

This course will help you:

Write strong chord progressions, melodies, and “song sketches” from scratch
Expand those sketches into full productions with the sketch-to-production workflow
Move past “right and wrong" and start composing from emotion, flow, and excitement
Have a lot more fun every time you open the piano roll

Full course outline

Module 1: The Art of Song-Sketching & Workflow Foundations
7 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. Rhythm Fundamentals & "Feeling" Groove
6. Demonstrations of Common Grooves
7. Download: Purposeful Progressions 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
13 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. 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
Bonus Lessons
12 lessons
1. Hooktheory
2. Google Search for Chords
3. PRACTICE: How to Practice Your Songwriting In the DAW
4. How to Prepare Your Project for Efficiency & Workflow
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 Setup Custom Drum Kits for Fast Workflow
8. Sourcing Good Presets
9. Recommended Virtual Instruments
10. The Essential Mixing Tools
11. The Upsidedown Triangle
12. 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

A well organized pack of 100+ of my favorite chord progressions. You've heard these before, but didn't know what they were. Now let them inspire your music.