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28 articles grouped into 8 areas, from the notation fundamentals to orchestration and repertoire history.
- 01FundamentalsPitch, notation, intervals and scales — the vocabulary everything else on this site assumes. Start with Clefs and Transposition: What Players Actually Read.4 articles
- 02HarmonyChord function, voice leading, cadence and modulation: how tonal music moves from one place to another. Start with Borrowed Chords: Modal Mixture in Practice.8 articles
- 03CounterpointLine against line — species, imitation, canon and fugue, and the rules that keep independent voices independent. Start with First Species Counterpoint, Rule by Rule.3 articles
- 04Rhythm & MeterBeats, subdivisions, syncopation, hypermeter and the difference between a cross-rhythm and a polyrhythm. Start with Meter, Beat Hierarchy and Hypermeter in Performance.3 articles
- 05FormPhrases, periods and large-scale designs: how a piece of music tells you where you are. Start with Sonata Form: The Tonal Plot.1 articles
- 06Tuning & TemperamentJust intonation, meantone, well temperament and equal temperament — and the cents that separate them. Start with Equal Temperament: What It Costs and What It Buys.3 articles
- 07OrchestrationRegisters, ranges, weight and voicing: writing for instruments as they actually behave. Start with Instrument Ranges for Arrangers: Playable, Comfortable, Usable.2 articles
- 08Music HistoryRepertoire, notation and practice from the medieval period to the present, told through the documents. Start with From Ars Nova to the Renaissance: How Notation Changed Music.4 articles
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