There's A Better Way to ANALYZE MUSIC (+FREE Study Guide)

Most music analysis focuses too much on "what" and not enough on "why".
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#musictheory #musicanalysis #composition

[@myroslavsaratovkin6868]

It's one of the best channel for composers. I really like what you do for us. One of the reason it's how you structure your vid. I'll be glad to see a vid about your way of developing musical ear.

[@RyanLeach]

Thanks so much! I’ll have to think about ear training, I took multiple semesters of it at music school so it would be interesting to come up with a self-study method.

[@wetshartspray]

^ what he said Amazing work, keep up the great video. Subscribed

[@whatislove4587]

@@RyanLeach Really hope to see this!

[@wernervannuffel2608]

I agree. For me personal this is the best composer KZbin channel for learning to understand the vocabulary of music and to focus in analysis and in synthesis time on the right musical particles and to find out how the entire musical piece is build up or should build up when I'm composing a new musical piece from scratch. Great stuff here, like always in all your videos. Thank you, Ryan. 👌✋🙋

[@Gwen3344]

It would be fantastic to find a resource like this for non-musicians. I am sure I am not alone as someone who: wants to deepen an appreciation for music; who hears something that we love, but can't articulate what it is beyond what instrument we think we are hearing; or who struggle to communicate thd emotional experience of the music beyond vague generalities like exciting, sad, etc. Something like that template already filled out seems to hit the sheer spot. It explains what we see, hear and feel and what the music is "doing". I imagine what I am seeking is the kind of education received in a Music Appreciation course. After years of trying, I have not been fortunate enough to find anything truly helpful. Much of what's on KZbin (that I've encountered) assumes knowledge of music theory, or how to read a music score. Still, I vow to keep trying! Should anyone stumble upon my comment who can point me towards a much-needed and desired resource *for non-musicians*, you will have my undying gratitude 🥰 !!

[@jtolberto]

This is so useful. Thank you, Ryan. I always feel compelled to do a "full" analysis of a piece (or section of a piece), but focusing on just the two or three things that really grab your attention makes so much more sense, and makes the process much more usable for us busy people. Your videos are always so helpful. Keep up the amazing work!

[@cowatt502]

I have learned so god damn much in just the two weeks I discovered your channel.

[@majormercator]

This is similar to how I analyze music, but I aim more for “ingredients” rather than several questions on a single idea. I like to consider the most atomic ideas that I’m hearing, and create a note for each one. For example, I would make a note for [[decrescendo]], or [[band enters]], or [[harmonized vocals]]. Then I go into each note and view the backlinks (I use Obsidian, but I’m pretty sure Notion has those). This lets me see connections between songs that use the same constellation of techniques, which can be very eye opening. That said, I’m noticing something lacking, and I think your approach of specifically relating the ideas to your feelings is great. Definitely going to incorporate that into my analysis in the future. Also, I have that same Tele! Such a gorgeous blue.

[@Wilkins325]

I like Obsidian but im always paranoid that I will lose everything should something happen to my PC. Is there any way to upload backups to a cloud like Google Drive or Dropbox?

[@majormercator]

@@Wilkins325 You can do that, but they also have a paid sync service that transfers settings as well as files across devices (which I use). They recommend not mixing cloud services to avoid sync conflicts, i.e. Google Drive and their sync service. Making separate hard drive backups of the digital stuff you care about is something you should probably do regardless, though

[@noahfeazell3336]

You're an excellent teacher and your production is great. Keep it up! :D

[@carpenterhillstudios8327]

This is huge! Thank you for your hard work and vision. Isn't the goal of music to be visceral? First thing: This is exactly what the listening experience could be also on a general level. (Music Appreciation that gives something to the listener we we mostly all are) Second thing. The "moment" will be different for every individual. Third thing. Even if we both choose the same moment (The climax) we will focus on different things. (For me it is that "tolling bell" motif-repeating 5th which goes all the way to the very last bars. And it is here that composers get to meet other composers).

[@jeduardolopezo]

That´s a great method! I´ll try the notion stuff... seems really useful! (I wouldn´t mind a "5 ways to use notion for composers' video..." 😅).

[@RyanLeach]

Step 1, don’t let it become an excuse to procrastinate “getting organized”

[@jeduardolopezo]

@@RyanLeach Damm! 😅

[@gregmilka7452]

This video was absolutely class. Thanks so much for putting this information out there! You're amazing!

[@hk1053]

Love your videos Ryan! Does anyone else have the problem that the Notion Page looses the lines at the top for the information on the piece when duplicated?

[@TheCalebSchultz]

Your channel has seriously helped me a lot. Thank you.

[@joeldcanfield_spinhead]

@1:47 is that a Godin Seagull S6 behind you? I love mine so much. Cedar top ftw. (Also astounded by how much I'm learning from your videos; you're a marvelous teacher, and your videos are usually just above my current comfort level. Thanks muchly.)

[@musiceclipse]

Wonderful detailed granular approach. Thanks

[@coolcitymusicUS]

I guess we have a lot in common! I LOVE Notion and also have that score. Peter was a great guy! Missing him a lot! Thanks for all your videos! Love em!

[@emilywilcock4039]

This is so incredibly helpful. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

[@GoldMojo]

Upjpj oh u oh h oh ho ihr Zug ho ich khh Kk uhr z BH j

[@GoldMojo]

H Gig gs HH

[@GoldMojo]

Gehts

[@maxbeutlin6077]

Wow, thanks A LOT for the explanation and the template. This is so tremendously helpful ! :)

[@persiandrunkard]

Great channel indeed, really enjoying it thanks

[@KutiaMoyoMusic]

SO helpful! Thanks so much!

[@xaido7139]

Hi, that‘s a really interesting method that I’ll try out. However, isn’t it still necessary to do a technical analysis of a piece, especially for beginners? Maybe to get a sense of form? I’m a beginner myself, so that’s why I’m asking.

[@adamtullymusic]

This is fantastic...thanks for sharing it

[@BernardMcLaughlin-ty1cc]

as usual really useful info and great teaching.

[@pavelmanEC]

¡¡¡Dude!!! greatings from Ecuador, I really enjoy your content, but, please,.. here I´m broking my head trying to understand how you created the header section of the template, that part that is like a form (composer, genre, etc) please, can you help me to create it .... I´m doing it in spanish

[@jonathanwingmusic]

You need to create a database first, adding those properties manually, and then copy in Ryan's template as a new template in your database.

[@maestro2033]

Yes the study guide is amazing like you🤫.

[@tristanleitz6630]

I recently stumbled across one of your videos and I’ve been binging ever since! Keep up the awesome content! One question, though: as a beginner only familiar with diatonic chord progressions, how could I get better at analyzing unfamiliar chord progressions and structures?

[@RyanLeach]

Probably a good next step would be to learn modes and the chords that go with them

[@tristanleitz6630]

@@RyanLeach thank you!

[@stephanebelizaire3627]

Very Good !

[@lespieces9614]

Thank you!

[@The_Musical_Cartograph]

Ravel is Disney before Disney That's my head cannon 🤣 great vid as always ^^

[@RyanLeach]

Ha, I like it. Maybe Disney encountered his music while he served in France and got inspired.

[@musical_lolu4811]

Disney was not a musician. He sure had good musicians on his payroll.

[@wizendweaver]

Thank you. I don't recognise the notation software. I have Sibelius. This looks intriguing...

[@RyanLeach]

Dorico! I made the switch from Sibelius this year. I made a video about it of my first impressions and wasn't fully convinced, but after spending more time with it I'm very happy I made the switch!

[@wizendweaver]

@@RyanLeach Thank you Ryan. I got Dorico 3.5 but didn't recognise it on here. I need to get past seeing a single bar at start up. Knowing it can look like this spurs me on. I'll look for the video you mentioned. Loving your stuff... Musescore 4 looks like it will keep everyone pushing the midi/score integration views as a main topic.. Hooray.

[@XXIII_89]

I love your shirt!

[@edbuller4435]

awesome stuff.....your Notion chops are great...can you recomend a good youtube for that ?

[@RyanLeach]

I probably picked up Notion about a year ago so I’m not sure about specific videos but Marie Poulin and Ali Abdaal have excellent Notion content.

[@TheClu3lessDrummer]

Hi! I can't seem to figure out how to make the info panels before the questions (date studied, composer, genre, year, URL). Thought that also was included in the Notion template, but am I missing something?

[@jonathanwingmusic]

Hi there, I was a little confused about this at first myself. I soon realized that Ryan only provided the actual database template, and not the database. All good, basically you just need to create your own database from scratch (adding all those properties manually yourself; I added the same ones you see listed in Ryan's template, and a few more custom to my own workflow). The next step is a little tricky and took some trial and error for me to figure out, since I couldn't find any straightforward "import database template" method after googling. Basically once you have your database created, go create a new empty template. It may help to switch this view to side peek. Then find the duplicated Music Study Template from Ryan, hover over the 3 dots on the side, and drag it into the page area of the new empty template. It will initially appear as just a link - then hover over the 3 dots, and select Turn Into > Text. This will then basically import Ryan's template into your empty one. You'll have to do some manual extras to add the cover, icon, and title yourself - but basically all the rest will appear as his template and it will be linked to whatever database properties you've created. The final step is to set this default to your template (arrow under the 'new' template button). Thereby moving forward all you have to do is click that New button and you get this page ready to go for study, exactly how Ryan illustrates in the video. Hope that helps, I was pulling my hair out trying to figure it out and scrolling through all these comments lol.

[@algorix8420]

@@jonathanwingmusic so is there no way of directly importing that template to my notion?

[@jonathanwingmusic]

@@algorix8420 I haven't been using Notion the past few months but I know they recently did a big update, so perhaps they fixed this. But if not - no, the only way I discovered to bring in another template is to manually do the steps I described above. Yeah, it's annoying, though if I recall it only had to be done one time.

[@OsGamersdoBrasil]

What do you think about orchestral reductions?

[@RyanLeach]

I think they’re crucial! Looking at a full score it can be hard to grasp everything, especially if transpositions are involved. Here’s a video on my other channel where I did a score reduction and then applied that orchestration to a different melody: kzbin.info/www/bejne/p2rTiHiih9hmbc0

[@basirtune]

thank u, it was great

[@josephndungu6762]

thank you so much

[@gabrielreis7319]

How do I add sheet music to Notion?

[@rithvik2817]

where can I get the questions for analyzations?

[@adriendecroy7254]

I wish I had a dollar for every video out there claiming to analyze a piece, and all it does is figure out the chords. It's completely meaningless. Almost as if there's some implied meaning from the chords that I am supposed to just get, but I don't see it.

[@PaulJonesy]

Yes, it’s like analysing a painting by listing all the pigments used by weight.

[@danpoolemusic]

Hello @Ryan Leach :) Thank you for your excellent video! I found it refreshing and very helpful Hoping to still access your template you've got there on notion? Any current links? I think it may be broken? not sure, sorry :)

[@RyanLeach]

Thanks for the heads up, I just tried it and it worked for me. Email me ryanleachmusic at gmail.com and I can send you a direct link.

[@danpoolemusic]

@@RyanLeach Thank you very much Ryan, I really appreciate it! :)

[@beebeequail]

Did I hear the AC blasting?

[@cesar_m.p.]

It is his mini-fan on his desk!! lol

[@charlieparsons3047]

How does Dorico customer service compare with Finale and Sibelius?

[@RyanLeach]

I've never had a problem so I can't specifically answer how customer service is, however I have seen them very active on their support forums and they are constantly making updates and improvements. I guess it would be the same as customer service for other Steinberg products like Cubase?

[@pedrocatoira2695]

💛

[@warrenraftshol1995]

the AI writes 2d for tutti

[@electricsuitbatman]

Use Danny Elfman!

[@musical_lolu4811]

A little long-winded (the typing of everything, that is). I guess it's good exercise for students.

[@lownotesinc1962]

Thanks!

[@RyanLeach]

Thank you!

[@JohnFackenthal]

Thanks!

[@RyanLeach]

Thank you!