Channel Title: Pierce Porterfield Channel Description: Breaking down the most jargon filled and unintuitive topics in music making. Everyone should feel empowered to create without gatekeepers talking down to them. Subscribe for more music theory and music production breakdowns. <video> How Chord Progressions Influence Emotions Description: This video was requested by a few people and while making it I found out why there aren’t a ton of videos discussing this. It can be really hard to pinpoint the exact emotions a chord progression invokes. This is my best shot at illustrating how one can use music theory to move their chord progression in the manner that they intend to. In my view, it’s not really about what key or what chord you are playing but the chord you played right before the chord you’re hearing - and then how that leads into the one coming next. These are actual techniques I use when developing emotion during the songwriting progress. I don’t always call it out in my head so much, but what I’m hearing more than anything is upward and downward movements. This becomes even more nuanced when you use chord inversions and extended chords to manipulate the innate upward and downward movements of a musical key. Support the channel: Wear a hat with an animal on it: https://anmls.us/collections/all Buy me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/pierceengineer Get the Circle of fifths poster: https://anmls.us/products/circe-of-fifths-pierce-engineer Other videos to watch: https://youtu.be/FvOzjlJw9LM https://youtu.be/fCNuaubi95Q https://youtu.be/bFY4Az15uKQ </video> <video> How ADSR & Envelopes Work Description: Synth Basics 1 Attack, Decay, Sustain, and Release are the four main components of an envelope. Synthesizers rely on envelopes to shape sounds as time moves forward. In this video we'll learn how to understand and use ADSR controls to shape the synth's sound to our liking. Most people start out using only presets but hopefully this tutorial will help you create your own custom patches to use in your productions. It's been two years since I last posted but I've been inspired lately to keep making videos for my channel! Look out for more very soon - AND get animal hat with my code: "BLACKFRIDAY" https://anmls.us/collections/all Btw - I use Ableton Live 10 Suite & Adobe After Effects to create and edit these videos. If there is enough interest I may explain some of the visual techniques I use in my videos later down the road :) Buy me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/pierceengineer </video> <video> The Most Popular Chord Progression of All Time Description: There are a lot of famous chord progressions out there, the 1-5-6-4 being probably the most pervasive. If nothing else, I hope this video inspires you to be less concerned with coming up with your own completely “original” chord progression. While coming up with our own progressions is great, we can use the tried and true formulas of popular genre’s as an un-molded piece of clay. The music theory behind the popular progressions allows us to shape something in our own image without getting bogged down in the minutiae. Buy me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/pierceengineer I’m considering doing this type of video for other popular progressions like the 2-5-1 so let me know if this was at all helpful. The feedback I’ve been getting lately has been really helpful, I appreciate all the love I’ve been getting after my 2 year hiatus :) Support the channel by purchasing a hat with an animal on it: https://anmls.us </video> <video> The Circle of Fifths Explained Description: I wish someone would have demystified the circle of fifths earlier for me. For two years I’ve been planning to animate this video and I finally decided that 2021 was the year that to tackle it. You do not have to memorize the circle of fifths to understand it. You do not have to know the circle of fifths to be a good musician. As many others will attest to - the circle of fifths is a tool that makes making musical decisions easier. If you have ay follow p questions please let me know in the comments. I don’t think that the main takeaway here should be: “Now I know music theory”. The goal here is to show you how this jargon filled concept is actually pretty simple and attainable. The circle of fifths is kind of at the center of music theory and chord progressions in general. As a follow up we will be going over the practical applications of the circle! In my next video I am going to go over how to use this knowledge in order to find the key of any song. I hope to expand the other practical uses of the circle of fifths from from there. Want to support my channel? - Order my Circle of Fifths poster here: https://anmls.us/products/circe-of-fifths-pierce-engineer Buy me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/pierceengineer </video> <video> Introduction to Musical Modes Description: Modes are such a deep topic - I’m kind of bummed that I didn’t get to dive deeper in this first video. I plan on really getting into more practical use cases in the next few videos however. I was always turned off by modes because they seemed overly complicated. In actuality, they open up the full spectrum of music theory while also fitting in with the other topics that we already understand. When we only look at minor & major scales we are missing out on a majority of musical relationships. Let me know if this video was helpful in framing the true nature of modes. More to come soon! Support the channel: Wear a hat with an animal on it: https://anmls.us/collections/all Buy me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/pierceengineer Get the Circle of fifths poster: https://anmls.us/products/circe-of-fifths-pierce-engineer Other videos to watch: https://youtu.be/FvOzjlJw9LM https://youtu.be/fCNuaubi95Q https://youtu.be/bFY4Az15uKQ </video> <video> Understanding Extended Chords Description: www.pierceporterfield.work </video> <video> Songs to Finish and Release // a short album by Pierce Engineer Description: Find this on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/pierce-engineer/sets/songs-to-finish-and-release I've been slow to post new videos but I've been working on a lot of interesting stuff since moving to New York, learning a lot and collecting knowledge that I hope to share with the world soon. This little album is a collection of songs that I felt like I wanted other people to listen to. I hope you all like it. </video> <video> How to Find the Key of Any Song Description: I already talked about how the circle of fifths works, but this is how you actually use the circle of fifths practically. Maybe you want to use the key of your favorite song in your own chord progressions – or maybe you want to key your autotune without waiting for your producer to reply. Whatever the use case, being able to figure out the key of a song is an extremely useful skill. Heres a recap: • Play along with the song • Figure out how many sharps or flats • Consult the circle of fifths • Find out which key has the correct number • Determine sharp or flat • Play around with major or minor • Go crazy Support the channel: Wear a hat with an animal on it: https://anmls.us/collections/all Buy me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/pierceengineer Get the Circle of fifths poster: https://anmls.us/products/circe-of-fifths-pierce-engineer Other videos to watch: https://youtu.be/FvOzjlJw9LM https://youtu.be/fCNuaubi95Q https://youtu.be/bFY4Az15uKQ </video> <video> How Audio Compressors Work Description: I would encourage you to check out this article from patches.zone in which I also helped create the graphics: https://patches.zone/compression-guide/ </video> <video> Translating Guitar to Piano Description: I started learning music on the guitar and it took me forever before I really tried to understand how my instrument fit into the broader spectrum of music theory. Once I DID everything opened up for me. If you're a guitar player thinking about diving into the keyboard - know this: It's more important to UNDERSTAND the piano roll than to actually be good at playing it. In this video I translate where the fretboard and piano roll overlap :) Support the channel by getting an animal hat: https://anmls.us/ Let me know in the comments what else you'd like me to make videos about. </video> <video> How to Use Sidechain Description: As far as modern music production techniques go, this one is arguably the most prevalent. In no way does sidechain only apply to compressors and gates - a a lot of various effects/plugins will have a sidechain feature. Once you know the general concept, you'll be able to experiment in new creative ways. Note: I showed the built in Gate & Compressor audio effects that come with Ableton Live but most any compressor or gate you find will function this exact same way. To make this I used: Ableton Live 10 & Adobe After Effects CC Support the channel: Wear a hat with an animal on it: https://anmls.us/collections/all Buy me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/pierceengineer Get the Circle of fifths poster: https://anmls.us/products/circe-of-fifths-pierce-engineer Other videos to watch: https://youtu.be/FvOzjlJw9LM https://youtu.be/fCNuaubi95Q https://youtu.be/bFY4Az15uKQ </video> <video> I dropped a new song Description: Work life balance can be a struggle but recently I was able to get into my creative zone and make something that felt worth sharing. I know that I havent posted a new explainer in a while but it would mean a lot if you would give "All my friends left Texas" a listen on Spotify Check it out here: https://open.spotify.com/track/0EtblH4Wy4TNs93GoVJD9n?si=7647be52bb134cd1 </video> <video> OUTLIER - Pierce Engineer Description: Happy valentines day everyone! Doing my own thang this weekend but I'll be back next weekend with a new tutorial. It would be awesome if you would give this track a like on Soundcloud https://soundcloud.com/pierce-engineer/outlier As much as I talk about chord progressions I specifically set out to make something that was not centered around them for this track. </video> <video> How to use rhythm beyond drum programming Description: It turns out that Rhythm goes beyond just drums and percussion. The concept thrives in this capacity yet what most listeners take away from a song is how it's elements coexist together. Using Ableton Live 10, I have broken down the intrinsic rhythmic element of song writing. Empty space is the key factor in making each track work together. For every part of your song that demands attention you need an opposite non-attentive force to balance it out. This is a different style of video than I am used to making. If you've enjoyed it or found it helpful I would love to know.I found the process of of creating this to be natural and enjoyable. Don't be shy to leave a comment. Support me and my channel by purchasing a hat with an animal on it. https://anmls.us/ Thank you. </video> <video> How to Use Vocal harmony Description: Your voice is just another part of your musical arrangement. Multiple voices create harmony he same way playing multiple keys on the piano creates harmony. Most people think they can’t sing but this is simply not true. All you have to do is isolate the exact notes that you want each voice to sing - and then sing along with it. I’m not saying you are going to get it on the first take, but having patience and figuring out your voice will pay off big time. Hopefully this video is insightful. Let me know in the comments if you’d like to go deeper into this topic. Challenge: Make a four chord progression and then isolate each voice. Sing each voice along with the isolated MIDI note, then stack them on top of each other. + This video was an idea from the comments section. Let me know what other topics in music theory or music production challenge you the most! Support the channel: Wear a hat with an animal on it: https://anmls.us/collections/all Buy me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/pierceengineer Get the Circle of fifths poster: https://anmls.us/products/circe-of-fifths-pierce-engineer Other videos to watch: https://youtu.be/FvOzjlJw9LM https://youtu.be/fCNuaubi95Q https://youtu.be/bFY4Az15uKQ </video>

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Breaking down the most jargon filled and unintuitive topics in music making. Everyone should feel empowered to create without gatekeepers talking down to them. Subscribe for more music theory and music production breakdowns.

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