Drum Feels (With Hi-Hat and Snare)

June 24, 2008



Tiny changes in a drummer's playing can create dramatic shifts in a song's feel. Pandora dance music analyst and session drummer Jeff Anthony gets into his trick bag to show some of the little variations he throws in to boost a song's energy going into the chorus. He also breaks down the difference between the two-handed Britpop hi-hat style and the looser, one-handed Yankee hi-hat style. The audio on the outro, by the way, is from a session Jeff played on -- an album for singer-songwriter Stephen Ashbrook. (8 mins.)

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Melodic Construction: Pitch and Contour

June 11, 2008

Melody is so central to much of the music we love. This week, singer and composer Melody Parker stops by to describe how pitches can be strung together to form a melody, and the ways in which a melody can quickly burst out, slowly develop, or gradually expand over the course of a whole section. There's a delicate art at play in the placement of pitches, from the use of motives in a sequence to the deployment of broad leaps and arpeggi. (10 mins.)

On the next page, check out clips from brilliantly composed songs that employ different melodic techniques, and hear for yourself how scalar motion can increase catchiness, how a line can be monotonous without being boring, and how simple motives can sound rich and full.

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Types of Metal

May 28, 2008



WARNING: this episode is not for the faint of heart. We tear into the gristle, meat and grisly bones of Metal on this one. Our guests are guitarist Ava Mendoza, bassist Kurt Kotheimer and drummer Weasel Walter, and they show us the musical components of various metal genres: grindcore, metalcore, black metal, death metal, thrash, hair metal, and more. If you've ever wondered about the dark side but were too afraid to ask, dive in here and get your hands dirty. (12 mins.)

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Singing

Recording Vocals with Ariah Firefly

Mixing Vocals with Ariah Firefly

The Basics of Vocal Harmony with Greg Giles and Kelly Atkins from 20 Minute Loop

Singing Intervals with Melody Parker

Melodic Construction with Melody Parker

Song Lyrics with Michael Zapruder

Word Choice In Lyrics with Michael Zapruder

Rhythm

Drums and Drumming, Part I with Jeff Anthony

Drums and Drumming, Part II with Jeff Anthony

Percussion Without Borders with Sameer Gupta

Hip Hop Rhyme Schemes with Darian Gray

Meters and Time Signatures with Adam Blum

Metric Modulation with Chris Horgan

Drum Feels (With Toms and Kick) with Jeff Anthony

Drum Feels (With Hi-Hat and Snare) with Jeff Anthony

Styles

Elements of Salsa with Marina Garza and Orquesta D'Soul

Reggae, Ska, Rocksteady and Dub with Vic Wong, Ray Jacildo, and the Soul Captives

Electronic Dance Music, Part I with Chris Horgan, Christian Runge, and Beatropolis

Electronic Dance Music, Part II with Chris Horgan and Beatropolis

Holiday Music with Todd Haemmerle

Types of Metal with Kurt Kotheimer, Ava Mendoza and Weasel Walter

Composition

Major & Minor with Scott Pinkmountain

Pedal Point with Michelle Alexander

Three Chords with Russell Johnson

Quiet & Loud with Matt Cannon

The Blues Scale with Bob Coons

Building A Song From The Ground Up with Scott Pinkmountain

Instruments

Electric Guitar Effects with Patrick Greene

Upright Bass with Seth Ford-Young

The Guitar Riff with Will Redmond

Synthesis with Steve Hogan

The Trumpet with Gene V. Baker

Strings with Alan L. Lin and Yair Evnine