Frans Absil Music, website and shop with e-books, free document library, musician tools, compositions and arrangements

AUG 2024: A two-part tutorials series shows the Schillinger System approach to chromatic harmonization of a chromatic melody. In Part 1 you'll see the fundamentals, with the essential elements of the chromatic system of harmony and a demonstration of the two-step harmonization process. Part 2 is an application example: a four-minute orchestral composition. Read more >>

JUN 2024: SWAM solo string instruments were tested in a rendering experiment using fragments from string quartets by Mozart, Schubert, Brahms and Ravel and uploaded as a YT video. The TouchOSC controller set was expanded with a project for Ample Sound guitars and basses. Read more >>

APR 2024: The YouTube tutorial series on Schillinger Harmonization of a Diatonic Melody (Book 6, Chapter 3) now is complete with Part 3 Chromatic Harmonization and Part 4 Symmetric Harmonization. You'll learn the fundamentals and the application to the full melody from Part 1. Read more >>

JAN 2024: I started a YouTube tutorial series on Schillinger Harmonization of a Diatonic Melody (Book 6, Chapter 3). Different harmonization approaches will be presented, with fundamentals and examples in various musical styles. Two episodes have been uploaded: Part 1, The Melody and Part 2 Diatonic Harmonization. Read more >>

NOV 2023: A conversation between James Blake and Brian Eno triggered this video on what the latter calls 'the arsehole chord'. It discusses the chord structure: the voicing with an exposed minor 9th interval yields a highly dissonant chord. Alternatively, close this interval by inserting a new pitch-class and obtain extended chords in thirds, pentachord sets and two-layer polychords. Read more >>

SEP 2023: Now is the month of maintenance. There is a new video tutorial about composing with polychords with two trichord units. I did an interview about my experience with the Schillinger System. In order to better structure the online content (videos and posts) I created new YouTube playlists and implemented the recent Patreon collections option. Read more >>

JUL 2023: These two tutorials are about strata harmony with stacked three-note chords in seconds. Polychord characteristics are interpreted in terms of the equivalent Pitch-Class Sets. Chord continuities are illustrated with five examples in different musical styles. Read more >>

MAY 2023: The YouTube tutorial Layered Hexachords - Combining PC-Set and Schillinger Composition Techniques is another video where the music composition sketching process is illustrated with an example composition. The piece is for synthesizers and orchestral instruments and is based on two Pitch-Class Sets, with various set theory and Schillinger System composition techniques applied. Read more >>

FEB 2023: The Patreon Companion Document Catalogue (see image bottom right) presents an overview of all PDF documents published and uploaded for my Patrons over the years 2020-2023. These go with specific YouTube music composition video tutorials. You'll find a document set with a total of more than 450 pages. Read more >>

JAN 2023: Watch the four-part video tutorial series Sketching with Schillinger: Orchestral Cue (Part 1 Introduction and Overview, 2 Melody and Rhythm, 3 Harmony, 4 Melodic Figuration). YouTube viewer request triggered this series where the creation of an orchestral composition from an elementary 'melodic cell' using various Schillinger System techniques, is demonstrated in detail. Read more >>