Why does the music of the Beatles sound different from the Rolling Stones? How do musicians improvise? What makes Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony so memorable?

In this new six video lecture series, musician, musicologist and lecturer Dr. Mike Daley (The Beatles and Their World, The 1960s in Sixty Songs) will be joined by Jill Daley, full-time pianist at Canada's National Ballet School and musician-in-residence at Church of the Redeemer for a series of dialogues and demonstrations to answer these questions and more. Mike and Jill will explain the inner workings of rhythm, melody, harmony, texture and timbre, composition and improvisation with the aid of live musical examples on guitar, piano, violin and voice from the world of rock, jazz, classical, folk and more.

Here are the details: When you register, you'll be prompted to download a pdf document containing links to the lectures released so far. Please hang on to this document and keep it on your desktop for easy access.

Monday, October 5: You will receive an email in the morning with a private link to our third lecture, focusing on harmony. In this lecture, we will discuss tonality, intervals, triad chords and modulation (lecture length is 1 hour 5 minutes). We will also include a second video where we answer your questions from the previous week's lecture.

Monday, October 12: You will receive an email in the morning with a private link to our fourth lecture, focusing on texture and timbre. In this lecture, we will discuss the relationship of melody and harmony, instrument and vocal sounds and musical ensembles (lecture length is 1 hour 31 minutes). We will also include a second video where we answer your questions from the previous week's lecture.

Monday, October 19: You will receive an email in the morning with a private link to our fifth lecture, focusing on composition. In this lecture, we will bring together much of the material from the first four lectures to describe the ways that songs and pieces are constructed and organized and why some music is memorable (lecture length is 1 hour). We will also include a second video where we answer your questions from the previous week's lecture.

Monday, October 26: You will receive an email in the morning with a private link to our sixth lecture, focusing on improvisation. In this lecture, we will discuss the ways that musicians create music spontaneously, with examples from jazz, blues, rock and classical music (lecture length is 1 hour 2 minutes). We will also include a second video where we answer your questions from the previous week's lecture.

How it works:

When you register, my website will cue you to download a PDF document containing links to the lectures released so far. You can view these lectures at any time.

This is an ongoing course with the first lecture released on Sept. 21, 2020. When you register, the PDF will contain links to the videos released so far, and you will be added to a email distribution list (via Mailchimp) for me to send out the video links each week. I won't use your email address for any other purposes, but you can always join my general newsletter at http://mikedaleymusic.com.

If you have any questions or problems, please email Mike at mikedaley@gmail.com.

Dr. Mike Daley Presents: The 1960s in Sixty Songs, a ten lecture series

About this Event In this NEW ten lecture series, Dr. Mike Daley tells the story of 1960s popular music through a selection of sixty songs that cover Motown, girl groups, the Brill Building, the British Invasion, soul music, the Canadian scene, country music, psychedelic rock, folk-rock, and more. In each video, Mike covers a year from 1960 to 1969 through six songs that tell the story of musical trends, world events and popular culture in that year. As always, Mike’s well-researched commentary is illustrated with video clips, recorded music and live musical demonstrations. The 1960s In Sixty Songs has never been offered before and is exclusively available through mikedaleymusic.com.

How it works:

When you register, you will be able to download a PDF document containing links to all ten lectures. You can view these lectures at any time.

If you have any questions or problems, please email Mike at mikedaley@gmail.com.

Dr. Mike Daley presents The Folk Revival as an online six lecture series. When you purchase the series, you will be able to download a document containing a link leading to a Vimeo folder containing all six lectures. You may watch the lectures at any time, in any order, as many times as you like.

The Folk Music Revival is a short history of the urban folk revival, especially during the 1950s and 1960s. The folk revival was rooted in 19th and early 20th century folk song collecting, field recordings by Alan Lomax and others, and songs of solidarity and protest during the 1930s labour movement. Beginning with the commercial breakthrough of the Weavers in 1950, we will examine the postwar urban folk revival in the US and Canada. Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Ian and Sylvia, Peter, Paul and Mary and other icons of the revival will be given special attention. After examining the fusions of folk and rock in the 1960s, we'll conclude with a discussion of the folk legacy in the singer-songwriter milieu and contemporary folk music traditions. Each lecture is enriched with video clips, rare images and music clips.

Dr. Mike Daley presents The Beatles And Their World as an online eight lecture series. When you purchase the series, you will be able to download a document containing a link leading to a Vimeo folder containing all eight lectures. You may watch the lectures at any time, in any order, as many times as you like.

This lecture series tracks the musical development of the Beatles, starting from the earliest days in Liverpool, moving through the excitement of Beatlemania, the rush of psychedelia, and the maturity of their studio years. While the focus will be on the music, we will also consider how recording techniques, the music business, the music of other artists, and the larger culture of the 1960s affected John, Paul, George, and Ringo as they created their classic works. Each lecture is enriched with video clips, rare images and music clips.