So, after truth number I: the Melodic doesn't change its form when descending but the scale itself changes and 2: The parallel minor key...

One of the fundamental uses for the Harmonic minor scale is to add a IV minor chord into a Major key. In C Major it is F minor (from A...

I have always found playing in a Major key dull, especially over the V - I. In C Major, G7 - C Major. So then I started playing the...

Thinking about this recently, I came to this conclusion. In an A minor blues, the A blues scale is A C D Eb E G (1 b3 4 b5 5 b7). Looking...

So now we all know that the Melodic minor scale doesn't change its form when descending (see Melodic truths I), let's move on to one of...

The Enigmatic scale (1 b2 3 #4 #5 #6 7) is actually mode II of another scale but has gained notoriety for being difficult to use. That is...

Yes you read that correctly. I have come across two examples of the use of 8 notes in pieces from the baroque period and wondered if...

I was recently asked to analyse this piece from the WTC I as it had been mistifying a pianist friend of mine for years. I thought it...

I recently had a conversation with someone about music for a single line instrument such as a flute. Their argument was that because only...

Bach wrote the WTC I preludes and fugues covering all keys to show how the well tempered system excelled all others. But why do it all...

This little piece for flute is rarely heard and often dismissed as a mere trifle, being six pages in length and comprised of four...

The otherworldly feel of this movement comes from the scale choices Bach used, which are as follows: Major, Harmonic minor, Melodic,...

This fugue is standard repertoire for guitarists. The scales Bach used in it are as follows: Major, Melodic, Harmonic Major, Harmonic...

This most famous of piano pieces by J. S. Bach is more subtle and complex than it is given credit for. It contains harmonies from seven...

Not as complex as the prelude but still uses: Major, Harmonic minor, Melodic, Neapolitan Major, Neapolitan minor, Neapolitan Major b5,...

It is a really basic change, the key of C major to the key of A minor, but so many of my students didn't know how to so I have made a...

A piece like this is often regarded as a collection of random notes, so unfathomable is its structure. How far from the truth that is....

The prelude in D minor is a favourite of guitar students as it is relatively easy to play for students, but in its 43 bars lies a hidden...

The Neapolitan Major scale is sorely misunderstood nowadays, and I am hoping to change that. One of the best ways of using it is while...

This was a question I was asked recently by a student. The answer is not what you might think it would be. Something from WTC I or II, or...