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Adaptive music, in practice
Technique, Wwise/FMOD alternative comparisons, AI composition notes, and what we learn building game audio without middleware.
Minor Jazz: Three Scales, One Chord
Jazz minor harmony is more complex than major because the same minor chord can be part of three different scales. Here's how to hear the difference.
What Is Swing? The Rhythmic Heart of Jazz
Swing is not just a tempo marking — it's a specific way of playing eighth notes unequally. Without it, jazz becomes technically correct but rhythmically inert.
Shell Voicings: Why Jazz Pianists Only Play Two Notes
Jazz chord voicings often leave out the root and fifth entirely, keeping only the 3rd and 7th. These 'guide tones' carry the full harmonic information of the chord in two notes.
The Tritone Substitution: Jazz's Most Useful Trick
A tritone substitution replaces any dominant seventh chord with one whose root is a tritone away. The mechanics are simple; the effect is striking.
ii-V-I: The Three Chords That Define Jazz
Every jazz musician learns the ii-V-I progression on day one. Here's why it's so harmonically powerful — and why every style of jazz uses some version of it.
The Walking Bass Line: Jazz's Most Important Invention
The walking bass moves on every quarter beat, outlines chord tones, and creates forward momentum without a drummer. Here's how it works and why it matters.
Crystal Morning: Composing a Kiraro-Style Piano Piece from Scratch
A walk through every compositional decision in Crystal Morning — from key selection to the peak moment at G5, and why the piece ends on a held C instead of a cadential figure.
Starfield: Writing New Age Music for Synthesizers
Most New Age piano uses acoustic instruments. Starfield uses a synth-lead and sustained strings. Here's why, and what changes when you remove the piano from the centre of the texture.
Forest Rain and River's Edge: Composing with Water in Mind
Two pieces in the New Age collection use water as a compositional model — one for rain, one for a river. They share an arpeggio texture but feel completely different. Here's why.
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