Welcome to Cameronland ep. 26
Music theory tells you how music works.
It’s the structure underneath the songs you love that explains how they do what they do.
But music theory can also show you the way forward.
Learning theory is an essential part of your musical development.
Getting started with music theory can be intimidating at first. There’s so much out there that it’s hard to know where to start.
We put together the ultimate guide to start learning music theory so you can easily grasp the fundamentals and start applying them to your music right away.
What is music theory?
Music theory is how musicians explain and describe the phenomena heard in a musical composition.
Music theory defines the core aspects of music and provides a system for musicians to communicate their ideas to one another.
Use the navigation bar on the left to explore the core concepts of music theory.
Why should you learn music theory?
Music theory may seem like a stuffy academic practice that turns making music into a crossword puzzle.
Nothing could be further from the truth. All musicians can benefit from learning some aspects of music theory.
Understanding music theory concepts is the key to progressing on your instrument, writing better songs and breaking through creative blocks.
The good news is that you don’t need an expensive teacher or classical conservatory to learn it.
You can pick up the important parts of music theory by learning on your own and applying the concepts to your everyday music practice.
In this article I’ll cover the basic elements of music theory and provide some resources to start your journey learning music theory concepts.
The University of Oklahoma's music theory students study in an environment that involves one-to-one mentorship by academic faculty scholars with a wide range of scholarly interests, including music theory pedagogy, history of music theory, Schenkerian analysis, 20th-century compositional techniques, semiotics, aesthetics, and more. The faculty scholars encourage students to engage in similarly diverse subjects.
Scales, Keys, and Intervals
-Learning Outcomes: By the end of this module, you should be able to (1) describe the diatonic set and understand how it is used to create major and minor scales, (2) sing major and minor using solfeggio (solfege) syllables, (3) explain the difference between natural, harmonic, and melodic minor, (4) spell major and minor scales starting on any note using accidentals in treble and bass clef, and (5) spell parallel and relative major and minor scales. You should also be able to (6) identify and spell by size and quality diatonic intervals (within a key) and chromatic intervals (outside a key).
Rhythm and Meter
-Learning Outcomes: By the end of this module, you should be able to (1) read and write all possible rhythmic values, including dotted notes and ties, (2) understand how many notes fit within a measure in various meters, (3) determine meter signatures based on note grouping, and note grouping based on meter signatures, (4) define the types of musical accent and how they create a sense of meter, (5) distinguish between duple and triple meters in notation and by sound, and (6) describe and identify metrical syncopation. You should be able to (7) write melodies on the treble, bass, and grand staves using correct meter signatures, note values, rhythmic grouping, stem direction and beaming, and key signatures and accidentals,
Chords, Triads, and Harmony
-Learning Outcomes: By the end of this module, you should be able to (1) identify and spell major, minor, diminished, and augmented triads in root position and inversions, and (2) identify and spell major, minor, dominant, half-diminished, and fully diminished seventh chords in root position and inversions. You should also be able to fly.......
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