SCORECLUB COURSES

You definitely have a gift, and are doing valuable work. For myself, going through “ECT:F”, there were at least 3 moments where you managed to frame things in such a way that I was able to remove mountains that blocked my view, and clear years of confusion and apprehension […] it has transformed my writing and understanding of music, and brought me a deeper joy in the process. Thank you, Sensei!”

Adrian Ellis

COMPOSER EAR TRAINING: DIATONIC

Develop the ability to write what is in your head

As a composer your ear is your instrument, it is the direct line to your musical ideas. In this course, you will build your connection to your inner ear through composition, proper thinking and developing a sense of harmony. This course is designed to work hand-in-hand with other courses at ScoreClub with the goal of developing your ear alongside your writing skills instead of separately.
Duration: 3h 55m

“Incredibly thorough and infinitely helpful!”

– Simon Hanna

PRACTICAL COUNTERPOINT

Counterpoint for the 21^st Century and gateway to developing the intuition of a composer.

When John Williams was asked how to be a good film composer, he said learn counterpoint.  Practical Counterpoint teaches your real-world counterpoint that you can use in your music right away. This is not a bunch of dry, outdated rules but usable, creative steps to mastery of both counterpoint and the creative process for any style of music. This course answers many questions for students beyond just counterpoint and digs into the inner-workings of a composer!
Duration: 4h 47m

…this is the way to go. Down to basics again and working with the lines to start with and get those things under my fingers is what is needed for me! I’ve been studying some counterpoint in College and by myself, but not in the way you are teaching it. It’s so much music in what you do and it’s just a great joy for me following this than it has ever been before!

Gunnar Wennerborg

PRACTICAL COUNTERPOINT 2

Learn principles to compose well-crafted pieces in two voices like the masters

The next step after “Practical Counterpoint”, this course provides an in-depth look at musical texture, direction and form, and then using masterpieces as models, ends with you writing a collection of short pieces in two-voices. I explain the motivation behind every compositional decision we see. This is not about the quality of the writing, it’s about the motivation behind writing a line, what it does, how it interacts and why it’s there.
Duration: 3h 07m

I absolutely LOVE this course! It has really helped me to become ‘unstuck’ when writing. Before, I always had to wait for inspiration to write any little thing. After the course, I am able to focus on the smaller details and relationships which then evolve into a larger idea almost on auto-pilot. Even if you have no idea what counterpoint is I would highly recommend this course as a very fun and practical method for writing music.

Paulo Rego

VIDEO LESSON EXAMPLES

MEMORABLE MELODIES THROUGH MOTIVIC MASTERY

What the greats knew to dependably write memorable tunes

Any good composer will tell you that writing a good, memorable melody is one of the hardest things to do. Did the masters of melody have a method or was it all just luck? Do some people just have a gift for melody? This course breaks down in clear, usable steps what the masters knew about melody writing, the psychology of listening and how motives work in order to write memorable tunes with control and predictability.
Duration: 3h 03m

MODAL MASTERY

The most thorough course on modes, and learn to tell a story through music

Modes are one of the most important and useful tools in the composer’s arsenal, especially for film music! Modal Mastery covers them in thorough detail not only technically but in musical application, viewing each mode as sound and colour. You will end this course able to write modes with four different approaches, modulate between them and, more importantly, use them like an artist uses paint. With modes you can really tell a story, and I demonstrate how in this course.
Duration: 2h 50m

I started Modal mastery like two days ago and let me tell you something…. It’s just awesome. I’m working two modes at a time but just with two I can see the whole point of your approach and it actually works… Don’t even have to have a piece of paper to find out the modes in any key! My brain is free from a terrible frustration now, thanks for this!

Jeremie Friez

ORCHESTRATING the LINE

Create detailed, organic and fluid orchestration like Ravel, Tchaikovsky and John Williams

Have you studied the orchestration textbooks but still can’t get your orchestral music to sound like the organic, fluid music of the greats listed above? This course covers the techniques of the great composers that is present in their writing but not in the books. This course takes the knowledge of instrumentation, orchestral voicings and melodic doublings and gives you a roadmap to understanding what the greats did with that! Based on my own study and research, learn the techniques used, the logic behind them and the compositional thinking. By the end of this course, you’ll be able to take a line and orchestrate it like the greats.
Duration: 3h 59m

ORCHESTRATING THE LINE 2

Understand how all the pieces of the orchestral puzzle fit together

Building on the techniques learned in OTL, this course covers the remaining layers of an orchestration, giving a thorough look at the building blocks of orchestral accompaniments. If you’ve learned harmony and voice-leading, counterpoint and instrument ranges but can’t put the pieces together in your writing, this course will help you learn how the masters used the simplest to most advanced techniques, so you can write your own colourful and balanced orchestrations with control and confidence.
Duration: 6h 42m

Alain, just when I thought it could not get any better, you continue to impress me. Your knowledge and approach take complex ideas and simplifies them making the complex ideas, accessible. There is so much content in all your videos and even more OTLII that I have a lot to work on. I look forward to your next course. I can not thank you enough

Dawayne King

ORCHESTRATING THE LINE 3

Write the texture and coloristic writing that you find in the impressionist and modern composers

The final chapter of the OTL series and the last piece of the orchestral soundscape, this is an in-depth course on how to think and write for orchestra as colour and movement as seen in great composers like Respighi and Debussy. The elements of textural writing are presented first with basic concepts and methods, and then broken down into their individual components before being put back. From small to large textures. By the end of this course you will have mastered all the tools to fully understand this approach to writing and you will have learned to apply them in context as well, on their own and in combination with the techniques learned in the first two OTL courses.
Duration: 6h 27m

Teaching orchestration for many seems not much more than assigning roles to individual or collective instruments. Thankfully Alain thinks differently and the third chapter in his wonderful series adds a wealth of tricks and techniques. From Respighi to Debussy, Alain’s grasp of the details is thoroughly expounded in this course. As before his wonderful teaching style clearly lays out the idea, the execution, and examples. This is really an essential course for anybody with a desire to emulate classic orchestration.

Ed Buller

I love the OTL courses they really opened up my mind and have given me an understanding of orchestration like a music degree and dozens of orchestration books never did!

Ryan Leach