Music Theory & Technique Workshops: Master Your Craft
Stop just playing notes and start understanding the 'why' behind the music. Join our intensive, hands-on workshops in Bangalore and online to sharpen your ear, technique, and musicality.
In this tutorial, I demonstrate how to reharmonize a song using 10 different techniques. We take Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" and embellish it with concepts like passing chords, tritone substitution, and borrowed chords to give it a fresh, new sound.
Our "Music Factory" module is all about the harmonic analysis of popular songs. This workshop covers unique music theory concepts found in the music of The Beatles, Queen, Adele, and more, such as the line-cliche, the augmented climb, and the Andalusian cadence.
We love to get creative with our lesson series. This graphic announces our Rowan Atkinson-themed workshops, where we analyze the theme music from shows like "Mr. Bean" and "Blackadder" and even hold a choral session for "Ecce Homo Qui Est Faba."
This weekend in our "Music Factory" workshop, we're dissecting the epic rock anthem "Layla" by Eric Clapton. We'll be transcribing its harmonic progressions, melody, and iconic guitar solo using both our ears and theoretical analysis.
Our "Music Factory" workshops stay current and relevant. Here, we're offering a one-off class to explore and transcribe the hit songs from the 2024 Paris Olympics, focusing on melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic transcription.
This is a submission from our "Music Gym" module. Our intermediate piano student, Naman, demonstrates a series of arpeggio patterns with different speed variations and rhythmic patterns, a key exercise for building technical proficiency.
Here, our guitar faculty demonstrates a 3-note-per-string legato exercise. This is a fundamental technique for improving speed and fluidity on the guitar, and it's the kind of targeted drill we use to help students advance their skills.
Our guitar faculty explains the fingerstyle technique known as tremolo picking. This exercise helps create the sound of two guitars playing at once, with the thumb playing an arpeggio while the index and middle fingers handle a repetitive melody on the first string.
In this tutorial, our guitar faculty demonstrates two-hand tapping. He breaks down how to coordinate both hands to play different notes from the A minor pentatonic scale, creating a complex and impressive sound.
Learn to play chords in the creative style of Jimi Hendrix. Our guitar faculty shows how to use your thumb for the bass note on a G major chord, freeing up your other fingers to add melodic embellishments and create variations like add9, sus, and 6th chords.
About Deepen Your Skills: Technique & Theory Workshops
Most theory classes feel like dry lectures, but we treat them like hands-on training sessions. In our 'Music Gym' and 'Music Factory' modules, we don't just talk about concepts; we actively dissect iconic tracks or teach you to reharmonize songs using passing chords and substitutions, giving you real tools you can apply to your instrument immediately.
Learning music is about more than hitting the right keys or frets. It is about understanding the harmony, rhythm, and mechanics that make a song work.
Our Training Approach We move away from traditional rote learning. Our workshops are designed to help you build a complete musician's skillset.
- Music Factory: We take your favorite songs—from rock anthems like Clapton’s 'Layla' to the themes of Mr. Bean—and break them down. You will learn to transcribe melodies, harmonies, and rhythms by ear, and understand the specific theory concepts that make them tick.
- Music Gym: This is for the technical side of your playing. Whether you are a guitarist working on legato, tapping, or tremolo picking, or a pianist refining your arpeggios, these sessions provide the drills and exercises to build speed, dexterity, and control.
- Theory & Composition: Understand scales, chord substitutions, and time signatures. We encourage you to explore different traditions, including Carnatic scales, to add unique textures to your solos and compositions.
Who Are These For? Whether you are a beginner looking to get the fundamentals right, or an advanced player wanting to break through a plateau, our modules are designed to meet you where you are. We provide HD recordings and handwritten notes for every session, so you can revisit the material whenever you practice. Join us at our studios in Langford Town or Sahakar Nagar, or connect with us live from anywhere online.
Nathaniel School of Music
I'm Jason Zac, and at Nathaniel School of Music, we focus on helping you think like a musician, not just follow instructions. Whether you join us at our Bangalore studios or tune in online, expect to get into the real nuts and bolts of rhythm, harmony, and ear training.
Looking for a specific music skill?
Search our workshops and courses by instrument or technique.
More from Instrument & Vocal Certificate Programs by Nathaniel School of Music
More services by Nathaniel School of Music