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CHORD CONTROL:

Music Theory for Composing In The Piano Roll

Write Chords, Melodies & Sketches from Scratch - For Any Genre

If you’ve ever opened a blank piano roll and felt stuck - this course will fix that.

Start First 7 Lessons Free
 

What You Get

90+ Structured Lessons

Learn directly on the piano roll. Each lesson will give you new tools & inspiration to create.

"Purposeful Progressions" MIDI Pack

A collection of flexible progressions you can use over and over for starting compositions.

Answers To Your Questions

Have a question? Send me a message - happy to help if I can.

Note:

This course is for any skill level - all you need is a DAW and a desire to improve your ability to write music from scratch.

 

I made this course because learning these ideas changed everything for me - they made the piano roll fun.

For years I felt stuck with theory, and I knew it was holding me back.

So I started really studying it.

I worked with a jazz instructor who helped me see music differently.
I brought songs into my DAW from across genres, rebuilt them, and made notes about what I learned.
And I practiced writing in the piano roll every day.

With each idea I wrote, I started to notice creative rules I could follow to get to music that felt good.

And then one day... the theory disappeared.

Writing music just felt natural. Not because I was the best, but because it felt good - like I could sit down and compose endlessly.

That feeling - the freedom to bring music from your head to life within minutes - is one of the best I know.

That’s the feeling I want to lead you toward in this course.

You’ll learn fundamentals and practical theory workflows to write chords, melodies, and full sketches from scratch.

If I could only teach one thing, it would be this - what I wish I’d learned on day one.

If you write in a piano roll and want to understand theory in a way that makes you feel free instead of boxed in, let’s begin.

Included:
Purposeful Progressions MIDI pack

I built this pack of 100+ progressions to start my own tracks from a proven starting place.

Each progression is organized by type and named with emotion. It helps you pick chords with more intention, not just drag in random stuff.

Included:
Chord Progression Database

I don’t like to think of chord progressions as “good or bad.” Each one has something unique to offer - it’s just about connecting with that and making it yours.

This database is part of my personal practice. Every progression here has earned its place - I’ve heard it in the world, used it in a song, and found it worth exploring.

Full course outline (90+ lessons)

  1. THE SKETCH TO PRODUCTION WORKFLOW

    1 lesson
    1. Sketch to Production Workflow

  2. THEORY FUNDAMENTALS

    6 lessons
    1. Chords In The Major Scale & Intro to Roman Numerals System
    2. Chords In The Minor Scale & Roman Numerals
    3. Major vs Minor: It's Just Perspective!
    4. How to Get the Chords In ANY Scale (Featuring Double Harmonic Minor Scale)
    5. How to "Hear" Emotion in Scales
    6. Rhythm Fundamentals & "Feeling" Groove

  3. HOW TO WRITE CHORD PROGRESSIONS

    17 lessons
    1. DOWNLOADS: MIDI Pack & Chord Progression Database
    2. How to Use Tonic, Subdominant & Dominant Functions
    3. Tip: Start from I vi or IV
    4. How to use "Substitute Chords"
    5. Substitute Chords In Action
    6. Writing Longer Progressions With Substitutes
    7. Writing Progressions In Minor
    8. Substitutions In Minor
    9. How To Use "Bass Inversions"
    10. How to Use Chord "Voicing" for Storytelling
    11. A Few Practical Voicings
    12. The Magic of I V vi IV
    13. The Magic of the i III VI VII
    14. "Diads" - How to Make Less into More
    15. STUDENT RECORDING: What are "passing chords?"
    16. Hooktheory
    17. Google Search for Chords

  4. HOW TO ADD COLOR WITH CHORD EXTENSIONS

    7 lessons
    1. Building 7th Chords
    2. Building Extended Chords
    3. Sharp and Flat Extended Chords
    4. Writing Progressions With 7th Extended and Suspended
    5. Playing on the Keyboard
    6. 7th and Extensions under an Ostinato Examples
    7. Quick Tip: Suspended Chords vs Add Chords

  5. HOW TO USE MODES: THE DOORWAY TO NEW WORLDS

    10 lessons
    1. Mode Chord Chart PDFs & Lesson
    2. Introduction to Modes
    3. Major vs Minor Modes
    4. Dorian
    5. Phrygian
    6. Lydian
    7. Mixolydian
    8. Locrian
    9. Modal Interchange
    10. Major Minor Interchange

  6. HOW TO CREATE ADVANCED CHORDS & JAZZ-INFLUENCED MOVEMENT

    12 lessons
    1. IMPORTANT NOTE BEFORE WE START
    2. Intro to Secondary Dominant Chords
    3. Secondary Dominants In Action
    4. The Most Common Secondary Dominant Major V in Minor Progressions
    5. Instant Soul - Minor 7 9 Major 7 9 Trick
    6. Tritone Substitution
    7. Passing Diminished Chords
    8. Augmented b9 Dominant Chords
    9. Comparing SD TS PD
    10. Soul Progressions
    11. Chords In 5 Levels
    12. Tweaking a I vi IV V

  7. HOW TO WRITE MELODIES: FRAMEWORKS & FORMULAS

    15 lessons
    1. Setup Repeat Vary Destroy
    2. Magic of the Pentatonic Scale
    3. How to Hear the "Personality" of Notes
    4. STUDENT RECORDING: Emotion of Notes
    5. How to write "Rhythm Melodies"
    6. How to Write Melodies on Chords
    7. What is an Ostinato & How to Build Them
    8. Ostinatos PDF
    9. What is an Arpeggio & How to Build Them
    10. What is a Riff & Tips to Build Them
    11. How to Evolve a Melodic Idea
    12. Live 10 Minute Sketch Mindset Walkthrough
    13. STUDENT RECORDING: Melody Critique & Writing with Intention
    14. STUDENT RECORDING: Demonstration to help see "chords" as "melodies"
    15. STUDENT RECORDING: "Sky Full of Stars" - Coldplay (Theory & Recomposition)

  8. THE ART OF SKETCHING IDEAS

    11 lessons
    1. What is a Sketch & Elements of an Effective Sketch
    2. The Piano Sketch - An Unlimited Canvas
    3. Sketches in Strings & Guitar + Thinking About Sound Choices
    4. Quick Start Guide: How to Sketch with Synths
    5. Sketch Sessions: Where Idea Generation Meets Practice
    6. Sketch Session: Going From a Voice Memo to Developed Sketch
    7. Sketch Session: Sketching to a Drum Loop
    8. Sketch Session: Setting a Target (EDM Melody Writing Example)
    9. Sketch Session: VST Practice (East Asia Example)
    10. Sketch Session: "Sketching" An Album (Epic Orchestral Hybrid Example)
    11. Case Study: From Sketching to Exported Professional Track

  9. INTENTIONALITY TIPS

    6 lessons
    1. How to Analyze a Reference Track to Give Yourself a Template for Music Making
    2. How to Prepare Your Project for Efficiency & Workflow
    3. Song Recomposition to Learn From Your Favorite Music
    4. How to Setup Custom Drum Kits for Fast Workflow
    5. The Upsidedown Triangle
    6. Avery's Ultimate Popular Music Writing Cheatsheet

CHORD CONTROL:

Music Theory for Composing In The Piano Roll

Feel Unlocked In The Piano Roll - Or Your Money Back

  • 90+ structured lessons
  • "Purposeful Progressions" MIDI pack
  • Chord progression database
  • Direct message for questions
Get Chord Control - $97

Consider my course bundle to get all courses for a discount.

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Frequently asked questions

Got another question? Send an email: [email protected]

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