Music Student 101

It is again time to reminisce on some of the topics we've covered in past episodes. This, part 5 of our recaps, will cover episodes 101-130. These episodes cover a lot of ear training and extended advanced theory topics...

Departing from episode 148, Renaissance Music Pt.2 (Late), we now arrive at the Early Baroque period! Up for discussion will be some pioneer composers of this period such as Gabrieli, Monteverdi, Frescobaldi and...

Continuing from episode 144, Renaissance Music Pt.1 (Early-Mid), we will now get into the late Renaissance period! In this episode, we will cover the composition techniques and musical stylings of composers, such as...

We will now further our discussion of Shankerian analysis with linear intervalic progressions, compound melodies, transition between voices, more on the neighbor note and a continued effort to galvanize our...

It is time to dedicate another episode to the purpose of reviewing some of the topics we've covered. This episode, part 4 of our recaps, will cover episodes 71-100. By episode 100, we have covered the equivelent of a...

We've touched on music apps in past episodes. But we thought it might be nice to dedicate an episode to some great apps that cover ear training, rhythm, notation and practice. We will also share some of our own ear...

Continuing from episode 134, Middle Ages Music Pt.2, we will now get into the early to mid Renaissance period. In this episode, we will cover the composition techniques and musical stylings of composers, such as...

We decided to dedicate another episode to the purpose of reviewing some of the topics we've covered up to a certain point. This episode, part 3 of our recaps, will cover episodes 40-70! By episode 70, we have covered...

Melodic dictation, the act of transcribing and notating a melody by ear, is a crucial skill for a musician to cultivate. In this episode, we will focus on the ever elusive Locrian mode. Let's listen!

In episodes 64 and 89, we discussed the roots of blues and country and delta blues. Now we spread out from these genres to cover Texas blues and Piedmont blues. We will discuss how the sounds from these regions stand...

This, our 8th Listener Compositions episode, is all about our fine listeners and their fine talents. Let's hear what they've been up to! This episode will feature the original music of Soren Thomsen (Current Maso)...

Melodic sequences occur frequently in music. They are often accompanied by harmonic sequences. Certain harmonic sequence patterns are constructed to preserve good voice leading without breaking the pattern. In this...

Grief, and the emotions that come with it, can often effect how we listen to music and how we write music. However, music can be a good companion during the healing process. In this episode we will share our experiences...

In episode 132, we merely scratched the surface of Schenkerian analysis. We will now continue our discussion of prolongation and listen to a few more examples of horizontalization. We will then discuss how Schenker...

Percussion instruments are known to take a beating. Still, it's important to keep them safe, clean and properly maintained. In this episode, we will review the instruments of the percussion family and share some tips we...

Passing tones, appoggiaturas, pedal tones and suspensions are just a few of the non chord tones we discussed in Ep. 28. Now we will take a little more time training our ears to recognize them. After all that, we will...

Continuing from episode 75, Middle Ages Music Pt.1, we will now get into the later part of this era. Polyphony is now becoming commonplace. We will discuss composition tools such as oraganum, chant, the motet and the...

We, at Music Student 101, believe that music is truly a common language! We wonder how it effects our animal friends. We wonder if some form of music exists among our animal friends. Join us as we discuss elephants...

Schenkerian analysis is a deeper dive into the sea of theory discussions we've had so far. In this episode, we will merely dip our toes into this counterpoint based system. Get ready for another perspective of how...

Melodic dictation, the act of transcribing and notating a melody by ear, is a crucial skill for a musician to cultivate. In this episode, we will focus on the ever exotic Phrygian mode. Let's listen!

It is time for our 7th Listener Compositions episode. So let's enjoy the talents of our listeners! This episode will feature the original music of Fred Lancia, Mark Christie, Evan Bjork, Tom Richardson, Nikita Menkov...

One out of every 10,000 people have absolute pitch (a.k.a perfect pitch). Many more, epecially musicians, wish they could have it. It's time to discuss this phenomenon and how it differs from relative pitch!

Continuing our discussion from Ep.114, we will now focus on some of the more widely known forms of the Baroque period (1600-1750 CE). We will discuss the church and chamber sonatas, the French overture, the dance suites...

The Neapolitan chord is a great tool for modulation and for adding intrigue to any chord progression. In this episode, we will talk about it. We will listen to it. We will test our ears and their ability to identify it!

Today there are hundreds of Native American communities on the continents of North and South America. With each, their own cultures, cuisines, languages and rituals. But at the heart of all of these communities are...