New to Music Theory-Humbly stated
Ok, I will be bluntly honest. I have no music theory at all... Zero! So, what’s the fastest, “ fool proof” way to learn it? Book? You tube? What?
Can you guys/gals make a good solid recommendation for a Music theory avenue of learning for dummies?
Thanks in advance,
~R
Thanks jjudson for the tip, I will check out your book recommendation.
Did I mention, I suck at math... :) I have an art and a theology degree- fyi
Trust me, I have dove in for certain. It's interesting, now at the age of 44 I finally go the music bug.. so maybe it's a mid life crisis thing. Whatever it is, its a blast! I just had a jam session at my house. Would you believe we had two fiddle players, 6 electric guitars, two acoustic guitars, one key board, a stand up wood bass, and one banjo. Somehow, we made a joyful noise. It was great. Anyway, keep up the good posts!
Regards,
~R
I don't want to discourage you with my math comment. The ability to write music doesn't exclude one from learning and understanding music theory. And the mathematics concepts I mentioned are my own opinions and beliefs (although I've seen many others posit the same theory). There's the timing progression of music that absolutely lends itself to math, but I think the deeper subject of music and tone spacial concept is what demonstrates the innate mathematics talent of writers and composers. It almost spans the discipline of physics without actually consciously knowing or understanding its rules.
I might be far off into left field with this. I've seen and worked with some pretty overtly dumb people who were extraordinary talents when it came to musical composition. Maybe they harbored a secret mathematical genius that had heretofore gone untapped.
Anyway, it's really all about fun and expressing yourself. Music in the end can be pretty much anything that is pleasing to yourself. And in reality, it's you who you need to be happy with.
Good luck with your studies!
I was absolutely allergic to math in high school but I was fascinated by music theory. So not being a math-head doesn't meant anything. You pick up the tools you need to do what you want.
Music theory has two basic components: time (rhythm) and pitch (how notes are named and how they relate to each other to create melody and harmony). A higher-level component is form - how all that stuff gets put together to create songs and other musical forms.
The basics of Western music theory evolved in a time when people had only the dimmest idea of how to describe what they were doing musically. Consequently, some of it is not very straightforward. But by the same token, it doesn't require an advanced degree in engineering to understand it.
There are some websites out there dedicated to teaching music theory, and at least some of the ones I've stumbled on seem pretty good. As always, internet content is not subject to knowledgeable review before publication, so you have to be careful. I have looked through Music Theory For Dummies and it seems pretty good. (Warning: I'm a Dummies author so I may be a bit biased in favor of my publisher's other products.)
Winslow, let me ask you this, because this topic has always fascinated me. How are you at *writing* music? Like you, math and I were never friends, and while spending a good amount of time learning music theory in my life, I can't write music worth a damn. This math thing is a theory I've had for a while (others have expressed this theory as well, so I'm certainly not the inventor of it).
When I say being a math genius helps with musical composition, I mean that in a subconscious way. My personal theory is that those who are exceptional composers (take the classical greats for example), were mathematical geniuses without even perhaps realizing it.
There's just so much to the spacial concepts of how sound works and how pitches and tones relate to one another that there seems to be much more to truly understanding music theory - to the point of being an adept composer - than just understanding the basic concepts.
Not to get off into the weeds here, but as I said, this is something that really intrigues me.
Hi Roszell I have been looking at a good site . www.musictheory.net
Make shure that you click on each line ,It has a lot of info for us with zero theory.
Hi roszell. I can recommend David Harp's book 'Music Theory Made Easy'. I'm not a particular fan of his books but I found this one to be excellent. I had virtually no understanding of theory before and although I'm no expert now I feel I know enough to hold my own with other musicians.
Music theory is a complex subject. There are some basic books out there to give you some introduction (I think there's even a Music Theory For Dummies). My opinion is that if you have an interest in music - learn it. It is something you can do on your own. Pick an instrument (piano is a great one), and spend the time to learn. Reading and understanding music is something you'll never regret having learned, and it's a talent you'll take with you your entire life.
I've always thought that the greatest music theorists and composers were subliminal mathematical geniuses. There's a certain precision to properly formed music. I watch my son - who is a wiz at mathematics - breeze through his piano lessons. It's almost as though he's not even trying. I think that's why I can't write music worth a damn. Math and me just don't mix. But I might be wrong. Maybe mathematical aptitude has nothing to do with it. It just seems that way to me.
There is a great book that examines the affect of music on our worldwide psyches. David recommended it a few months back on this site. It wont teach you music, but it will better help you understand how we react to what we hear, and how our minds interpret music. The book is "This Is Your Brain On Music" by Daniel Levitin.
But in the end, the best way to do it is to go all out. Find an instrument and just dive in!