Music Theory
An Overview!
Music Theory involves knowing the various elements that goes in the creation of music, be it rhythm, melody, harmony, dynamics, musical forms, etc.
It means knowing what notes work together and sounds pleasing together, as well as knowing the notes that create tension and dissonance when played together. You also learn how to go about giving a structure or form to a song.
Learning more about these elements of music will contribute greatly in your growth as a musician!
Though the focus is on learning piano music theory online, most of the things discussed here will apply to any other musical instrument.
Music Theory - Things To Learn
Here is a brief overview of the various elements of music theory; some key topics that you will need to learn.
Sound is nothing but vibrations produced in air. The frequency of the vibration is known as a Pitch. The greater the frequency, the higher sounding the pitch!
The various pitches are then named as musical notes. It is these musical notes that we need to know and recognize to be able to play any musical instrument.
The seven musical notes are: A B C D E F G.
Besides these seven notes, there are accidentals which sharpen or flatten these seven basic notes.
Melody is the tune of any song or piece... the part that we usually hum of our favorite songs. It is a series of notes that is played in succession.
To create a piece, a composer would normally start using some melody notes and then build upon it or take some chord progression and then build upon it.
To create a musical piece/melody, the composer would use elements like: the musical notes, their durations, dynamics, and selection of various musical instruments.
The various notes can be arranged into different scales and modes. A scale is nothing but the relationship of the various pitches in some particular order.
The different scales can be played in various keys, 12 different keys to be precise.
Composers use various keys to see how it affects the overall song. If played on any musical instrument, a song in scale C may sound similar to what it may sound on scale G... but when you here the complete arrangement of the song, it may sound better in certain scales.
Rhythm means arranging the musical notes in time. This is where you will need to learn about time signatures.
The time signature or meter basically maintains a regular pulse throughout the song; it tells you what beat you need to maintain for your song.
I am sure you would recognize a song which has a waltz rhythm - the typical 1 2 3, 1 2 3 beat. Besides the waltz, the other common rhythm is the 4/4 time. You will find most of the songs based on these rhythms.
Here you will need to learn how to move from one chord to the other. The different chords in a scale are identified using Roman Numerals such as I, II, III, IV, V, VI and VII.
Chord progression means moving from one chord to the other to give the desired effect.
Some of the common chord progressions that are used in musical pieces/songs:
V – I
II – V – I
IV – V – I
Music Theory - Go Beyond The Basics
Though these are the important topics, you can choose to learn much more in piano music theory.
There are so many chords to learn, to be played in various scales. Besides, harmonizing, chord progressions and improvisations can take some time to learn as there are numerous ways in which you can move from one chord to another.
At the same time, you don't have to jump into everything at one go; you can build gradually. Knowing these topics will help you to lay the foundation, based on which you can go on to learn more complex things.
Recommended Books!
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Music Theory, 2nd Edition (The Complete Idiot's Guide) by Michael Miller
Alfred's Essentials of Music Theory: A Complete Self-Study Course for All Musicians (Book & 2 CDs) (Essentials of Music Theory) by Andrew Surmani, Karen Surmani, and Morton Manus
Edly's Music Theory for Practical People by Ed Roseman
Additional Music Theory Resources
Learning Music Theory Online!
Beginner Music Theory - Who said it is difficult?
Advanced Music Theory!
Learning with Music Theory Games!
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