Band Musicianship 1: The four-chord trick

In this lesson, we will learn all about chords and their role in a piece of music. We will learn how to construct a triad, the difference between major and minor chords, and how to play Am and Em chords on a variety of instruments. Finally, we will be able to show off what we have learned by playing along to a backing track.

In this lesson, we will learn how to identify reggae music by the rhythm in which the chords are played. We will also learn about the music of two reggae artists, and learn how to play chords in a reggae style. We will then add the G major chord to our repertoire, and end the lesson by playing along to a more challenging backing track on our instruments.

In this lesson, we will learn about primary chords and how these can be used to harmonise melodies. We will explore how to play chords in syncopated rhythms, and learn how to harmonise our own melodies.

In this lesson, we will learn about the secondary chords and how these can be used to add interest to chord progressions. We will learn how to create our own chord progressions and explore how to make them more rhythmically exciting.

In this lesson, we will consolidate our learning so far by creating two contrasting chord progressions. We will learn how to input these into a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) and compose other parts to play in our virtual bands.

In this lesson, we will learn all about the different sections in a song structure. We will learn how to play a complete pop song, and then structure our own pop songs in a digital audio workstation.

In this lesson, we will explore the different parts of the drum kit, and five of the most important drum patterns in popular music. We will learn how to identify these patterns by ear and play them on a home-made drum kit.

In this lesson, we will learn how and why the band set-up has changed since the 1950s. We will explore how to create our own band set-up on a DAW and learn how to create an appropriate drum beat for our 'bands'.

In this lesson, we will learn all about how members of a band play in time together, and how they can pull off a great performance. We will learn about balance, why it is important, and how musicians address balance in performances and recordings. We will also explore how to fix balance issues using a DAW.

In this lesson, we will learn all about inversions - how and why do we play the pitches of a chord in a different order. We will explore voice leading and the importance of moving smoothly between chords. This will culminate in the crafting of a chord sequence with inversions and excellent voice leading.

In this lesson, we will learn how to add interest to a chord sequence through the use of extended chords, varying rhythms and accompaniment patterns. We will put this into practice on a DAW (digital audio workstation).

In this lesson, we will learn about the different ways words can be set to music and how verses and choruses are structured. We will learn how to generate ideas and write our own verse of a song. We will then explore various ways to refine our ideas.