Landings

• THEORY-GYM: We analyzed "Just the Two of Us" (Bill Withers / Grover Washington Jr.) as a vehicle for understanding tritone substitution, secondary dominants, the two-five-one motion as a pivot into the subdominant, and passing chords. The chord progression — identical between verse and chorus — was worked through in the key of C for clarity, with the key bass motion and chromatic inner voice movement identified. We closed by building a set of extended chord voicings (minor 9, minor 7, dominant 13) derived from the song's chromatic passing sequence, with the A minor → A♭ minor → G minor 7 → C pattern as a practical keyboard exercise.
• INSTRUMENT-GYM: Covered the Barry Harris sixth diminished (octatonic) scale — a standard C major scale with an added flat-six (A♭) — and worked through its modes, harmonic implications, and four-voice chord stacks built from it. Demonstrated how stacking thirds through the scale produces a cycle of chords (C6, D minor7♭5, A minor7, F diminished) that embed diminished motion and ii–V–I harmonic logic without explicit chord changes. Practiced the scale ascending from each degree and explored its relationship to dominant chords, diminished chords, and the circle of fourths.
• WEEKLY-BEAT-CHALLENGE: We reviewed beats submitted by three students, working through syncopation and rhythmic contrast, harmonic clashes and chord voicing, and guitar tone and recording workflow. Each piece got individualized feedback, and we pulled out broader production principles around ostinato, juxtaposition of rhythmic elements, and the mechanics of committing to a sound while building.
• WEEKLY-BEAT-CHALLENGE: Reviewed two submitted pieces this morning — a cassette-recorded rap by Jon and an anxiety-themed instrumental by Alessandra. Feedback centered on rhythmic phrasing, rhyme placement, melodic theme development, the use of stereo space, and the creative and practical tradeoffs of committing to a lo-fi cassette recording workflow.
• THEORY-GYM: We worked through the harmonic structure of "Maneater" (Hall & Oates), tracing a chromatic descending bass line through the chorus and identifying the chords that wrap around it — including a first-inversion five chord, a flat-seven major chord, and a secondary dominant functioning as the five of two. The session also covered the Picardy third that appears at the end of the song's A-section, how diminished chords function as rootless dominant seventh chords, and what a line cliché looks like in practice. Ear-training work ran throughout: participants sang and voted on bass motion (up/down, half step/whole step/jump) before identifying chords.
• THEORY-GYM: Covered the harmonic series as the origin of the diatonic scale, then explored what happens when you construct a scale by descending through circle-of-fifths logic rather than ascending — arriving at the Phrygian mode as a "south-facing" mirror of the standard Ionian construction. Used that framework to reframe negative harmony: less as a direct chord-mirroring trick and more as a way to locate distant harmonic colors, particularly the leading-tone relationship in descending scalar motion. Also touched on the Dorian mode as a palindrome (W-H-W-W-W-H-W), tetrachord construction as a tool for building and comparing scales, and briefly demonstrated an online scale/chord reference tool. A chord matrix Josephine had built was reviewed and discussed.
• OFFICE HOURS: Covered mastering fundamentals in an office hours context, including peak limiting, LUFS targets, loudness matching across an album, and multiband compression for mid-side and frequency-specific control. Also worked through a specific guitar rhythm challenge — the train beat feel — with Alee, demonstrating how the upstroke placement on beats two and four creates the characteristic gallop pattern, and discussed drum recording pass-by-pass versus full-kit capture. Additional topics included ear health, hearing protection, tape saturation plugins, and professional portfolio practices for mix and mastering engineers.
• PRODUCTION-GYM: We discussed the 1991 hit, Loosing My Religion by REM. We talked bout arrangement choices driving production choices and vice versa. The song has an interesting structure, and is 4:53 long so- unconventional by pop standards, with a mandolin solo in the middle. Participants were challenged to discern the structure, arrangement, and mix choices, as well as discussions around what it would be like if this song were made today, and how might the production choices differer? What is stylistically appropriate for one genre could make or break a song and the development of those sensibilities.
• OFFICE HOURS: Covered pre-mastering mix preparation, including gain staging, LUFS metering, true peak reading, and strategies for managing dynamic peaks in choruses. Discussed top-down mixing with a mastering chain in place, the value of separating the mix and mastering stages into distinct sessions, and plugin installation troubleshooting on macOS (Ventura and Tahoe), including AAX path resolution, security/privacy settings, and risks associated with unvetted plugins.
• EAR-TRAINING-GYM: We worked through "I Can't Go for That" by Hall & Oates, using it as a vehicle for ear training and harmonic analysis — identifying chord extensions, cadence types, bass-line behavior, and groove mechanics. Covered how to hear stacked thirds as extended chord structures, how to distinguish perfect from plagal cadences by ear, and how modal interchange and line clichés function in a soul/R&B context. Also spent time on the rhythm section: hi-hat patterns, syncopation in the bass line, kick placement, and the relationship between where the bass plays and where it stops.

Show more… Learn more about Residency

• 
  Weekly Beat Challenge: Nathan
  Sep. 14,
• 
  Office Hours: Kallie
  Sep. 14,
• 
  Ear Training: Jam
  Sep. 15,
• 
  Office Hours: Alex Poselski
  Sep. 15,
• 
  Theory Gym: Jon Mattox
  Sep. 15,
• 
  Production Gym: Scott Hampton
  Sep. 16,

Learn more about Residency

• Apr 19, 2026 Theory: Musician Basics
• Apr 22, 2026 Mixing: Effects, Synths & Tools
• Apr 27, 2026 DAW Core Skills
• Apr 27, 2026 FL Studio
• May 23, 2026 Logic Pro 1-Day Intensive
• Jun 10, 2026 Hardware & Recording Primer
• Jul 8, 2026 Hardware & Recording Primer
• Jul 12, 2026 DAW Core Skills

See All Courses