Music Theory- The basics updated V7

[The Rockerfly]

le snip

AH but this is just for beginners, modes add a whole new level of complexity which I may go on to advance music theory one day but since most escapist members just want to know where to start.

A lot classic popular music such as Disney (I mean like the Lion king, note Hannah Montana) use perfect cadences regularly and key changes.
I think the problem we're having is that a lot of music is quite badly written and I personally feel it's lacking a timeless feel unlike a lot of classic pop which does contain these features
They are uncommon with music made now but very great music is being made using cadences. I see them as quite important

As for modes I decided to keep them out because they add a new complexity level and since this just for initial beginners I didn't write about them however I might add an extra "Advance section" including modes in metal section because others have mentioned this

But overall it comes down to writing differences, I suppose I am more classical than your writing style and yours would be more popular on the radio. It really comes down to what the writer deems important

Oh and thank you, I might try and go for the longest OP on the escapist

 

[The Rockerfly]

Dude, you've gotta go back farther than that. What's a C?
Yes, I know what a C is; I'm asking for those who don't know what a musical stave looks like.

Okay sure, I will re edit it again and go truly to the bottom of the barrel

 

[Treefingers]

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Mmm good point, though i still reckon that music theory is actually unavoidable. It's more of a question of how much a musician knows, not whether he/she is using it or not. Even a self taught guitarist who claims to not know any theory will be using it. The moment he/she plays any chord, for example.

Even if someone writes something good without extensive theory knowledge, i believe that more knowledge could only result in something even better.

But it doesnt mean that the music theory approach is required for all, yes, musiscians come across theory even if they dont know it, that inevitable mostly, but its up to the musiscians if they wanto know it or not.

As for expanding, knowledge, i suppose its always good to do so, still doesnt mean that music theory is required.

Oh yeah, i agree that extensive knowledge of musical theory is not required to create something brilliant. My main point though is that more theory will only do musicians good. I just get tired of people saying that theory is restrictive, when i think it's totally the opposite. (Not to mention that they are probably using some theory regardless)

 

[ItsAChiaotzu]

Oh wow, you obviously put a lot of work into this!

I'd read through it, but I probably know most of it from school. I'll bookmark it for revision purposes though.

Well done!

A good chunk of it is A level standard music so if you have good knowledge of music it might be an interesting read but it will be similar to your knowledge

An even gooder chunk of it is GCSE standard. (Did he just say gooder?)

Very comprehensive, I like it.

Only grade 7 guitar though? I'm ashamed, haha.

I'm not trying to avoid the rules, the rules are inconsequential to me. I just play what sounds good to me, and thus, music theory is unnecessary for me to play what I want.

If you can be creative without music theory and don't feel constrained by the lack of knowledge then I think that's excellent. What you'll find is that you'll stumble across a lot of stuff that other people have in fact already figured out and written down. The "that sounds indian" comments you're getting are a likely indicator that you've found a mode of some sort, for instance, and that you're composing using this mode a fair bit. The way I look at music theory is that it's a way to accelerate creativity by looking at the systems that have already been discovered, saving you the time of having to discover it yourself. Of course if you enjoy discovering things on your own, then that's good and there's no need to have some scholar come in and rock your boat, but in some cases a bit of accelerated learning can be good. I guess it depends on how you want to interact with music in general. A plumber can go to trade school or he can just start fucking around with pipes in his bathroom until he understands how plumbing works. Neither approach is incorrect and both will eventually get good results if the person has talent for plumbing, but one method is a little faster and has less margin for error.

I find that because of my music theory knowledge, someone can say to me "write a song that sounds like something out of Bioshock" or "write a doo-wop harmony for three backing singers to go behind this here melody" and I can do it immediately, I don't need to experiment to work out how that stuff was done, I can just draw on textbook knowledge. It also works the other way - I can hear a pop song and my brain starts deconstructing it while the song is playing. It's like Neo looking at the Matrix and seeing it for what it really is - a system. By the time the song is over I know what all the chords are, roughly how to play it on at least two instruments, what studio effects were used on each instrument and the voices, how the drum kit was miced up, and various other things probably only of consequence to me but that I find personally interesting, like whether they're using aural exciters or pitch-shifted harmony vocals, if they clipped the compressors, if the song's progressions obey diatonic harmony rules, if the reverb is natural or artificial, etc...

Lucky bastard, I wish I had perfect pitch too.

 

[II2]

Good post.

Worth considering, though, that all music theory provides an excellent framework for developing ideas, but should not be considered as dogma.

If it sounds good, it probably sounds good, even if it's breaking the rules or outside the theory.

/0.02

 

[Klarinette]

Dude, you've gotta go back farther than that. What's a C?
Yes, I know what a C is; I'm asking for those who don't know what a musical stave looks like.

Okay sure, I will re edit it again and go truly to the bottom of the barrel

Might as well. I went to school for Music, and there's a whole preparatory year that you can take before going into the actual program, and that's where they start from. Ladies and gents, this is a C.

 

[The Rockerfly]

An even gooder chunk of it is GCSE standard. (Did he just say gooder?)

Very comprehensive, I like it.

Only grade 7 guitar though? I'm ashamed

Haha nice grammar thar
I tried to keep the main content in the sort of GCSE grade 5 theory area but some parts ended up going in A level

Yeah well I took a year off to finish my A2's and will be finishing my grade 8 hopefully in my first year going to uni

Might as well. I went to school for Music, and there's a whole preparatory year that you can take before going into the actual program, and that's where they start from. Ladies and gents, this is a C.

Good God this essay is going to get long once I have added all this in and advance features too

 

[BonsaiK]

Lucky bastard, I wish I had perfect pitch too.

It can be learnt. Takes a lot of time though. I wasn't lucky enough to be born with it.

 

[Berethond]

I have issues with this section:Jazz

Jazz can be fairly difficult to write for, especially if you want to go into experimental jazz which I'm not because in there lies madness. Jazz is usually built on instruments playing a simple phrase and then having another instrument.

For Jazz I would recommend using woodwind instruments and instead of a bass guitar have a double bass because tone is just so much nicer than a bass guitar.
Your best bet with writing a jazz piece is to have accompaniment playing something in the background (be it funky or a depressing parts) and have everyone play that idea, once you have played it then have solo instruments on top. The solo instruments usually are trombone, guitar, saxophone or drums

For jazz drumming is a bit more difficult as it depends on the mood you are trying to set. For a funkier piece consider reading up on this but I warn you Jazz drumming is probably the hardest drumming type and I would not recommend a beginner starting there. However if you are going for something maybe moodier or classier then learn to love the high hat pedal and double tapping the high hat and playing quietly. These are very common features of basic jazz drumming but I strongly advise new writers to not write for jazz drumming at all as it's the hardest typeJazz is based on variations of a theme, so the basic idea is that you never play anything the same twice.

You are correct, usually you use a micced-up string bass. However, in most jazz, bass parts are usually not written out. The basslines are improvised, except in some styles of jazz-fusion, which is a different beast. Every instrument in the band is a solo instrument as well.

Jazz drum parts, especially at an advanced level, are almost never written out. The only part written is hits. -- in modern big bands, the drummer is the true lead player.

Also, I noticed you guys talking about modes. Modes are essential in jazz, they're the key to improvising (which is what jazz is really about.)

 

[ItsAChiaotzu]

Lucky bastard, I wish I had perfect pitch too.

It can be learnt. Takes a lot of time though. I wasn't lucky enough to be born with it.

Surely you're talking about relative pitch, you can't hear the notes in your head...

 

[BonsaiK]

Lucky bastard, I wish I had perfect pitch too.

It can be learnt. Takes a lot of time though. I wasn't lucky enough to be born with it.

Surely you're talking about relative pitch, you can't hear the notes in your head...

Yes I can. I'm better on some instruments than others though. I'm particularly good with guitar because that's my main instrument these days. I struggle the most with brass and woodwind.

 

[The Rockerfly]

I have issues with this section:Jazz

Jazz can be fairly difficult to write for, especially if you want to go into experimental jazz which I'm not because in there lies madness. Jazz is usually built on instruments playing a simple phrase and then having another instrument.

For Jazz I would recommend using woodwind instruments and instead of a bass guitar have a double bass because tone is just so much nicer than a bass guitar.
Your best bet with writing a jazz piece is to have accompaniment playing something in the background (be it funky or a depressing parts) and have everyone play that idea, once you have played it then have solo instruments on top. The solo instruments usually are trombone, guitar, saxophone or drums

For jazz drumming is a bit more difficult as it depends on the mood you are trying to set. For a funkier piece consider reading up on this but I warn you Jazz drumming is probably the hardest drumming type and I would not recommend a beginner starting there. However if you are going for something maybe moodier or classier then learn to love the high hat pedal and double tapping the high hat and playing quietly. These are very common features of basic jazz drumming but I strongly advise new writers to not write for jazz drumming at all as it's the hardest typeJazz is based on variations of a theme, so the basic idea is that you never play anything the same twice.

You are correct, usually you use a micced-up string bass. However, in most jazz, bass parts are usually not written out. The basslines are improvised, except in some styles of jazz-fusion, which is a different beast. Every instrument in the band is a solo instrument as well.

Jazz drum parts, especially at an advanced level, are almost never written out. The only part written is hits. -- in modern big bands, the drummer is the true lead player.

Also, I noticed you guys talking about modes. Modes are essential in jazz, they're the key to improvising (which is what jazz is really about.)

Oh okay that's useful I shall add that to the content, I have never played improvised Jazz but I have had to play some Jazz pieces that were written out. Thank you for the content advice I shall stick you in a thanks at the end of this

 

[ItsAChiaotzu]

Lucky bastard, I wish I had perfect pitch too.

It can be learnt. Takes a lot of time though. I wasn't lucky enough to be born with it.

Surely you're talking about relative pitch, you can't hear the notes in your head...

Yes I can. I'm better on some instruments than others though. I'm particularly good with guitar because that's my main instrument these days. I struggle the most with brass and woodwind.

Fair enough. The closest I can come is hearing Master of Puppets in my head to work out an E.

 

[300lb. Samoan]

Some sentences don't make since, such as

Jazz is usually built on instruments playing a simple phrase and then having another instrument.

I think there's something missing from the part about 'having another instrument', but as it stands you could say this about many types of music. Also, from that same section, it should be said that the key elements of Jazz are the commanding rhythm (the 'swing') and, in most modern styles, the emphasis on players improvising over an established melody or harmony. Besides little gripes like that, this is a very good reduction of what would normally be a 16-week music theory course. Good post!

 

[The Rockerfly]

Version 3 is created, I have:

Added the basic basic's section for complete beginners
Developed on the Jazz section
Added modes under the advance section
Put masses of details on the keys so you won't have to look up on them.
Decided not to use images to break the copyright laws
Added advance sections in Jazz and Metal playing
Put a better discalmer at the start saying it's just a starting point and music can be written with no theory knowledge at all as long as it sounds goo to you
Added a special thanks and will add further special thanks if more content is added

Thank you for everything guys, I hope you are learning something new I know I have

Some sentences don't make since, such as

Jazz is usually built on instruments playing a simple phrase and then having another instrument.

I think there's something missing from the part about 'having another instrument', but as it stands you could say this about many types of music. Also, from that same section, it should be said that the key elements of Jazz are the commanding rhythm (the 'swing') and, in most modern styles, the emphasis on players improvising over an established melody or harmony. Besides little gripes like that, this is a very good reduction of what would normally be a 16-week music theory course. Good post!

Please see changes made, with the writing in genre's I have only got my own experience but this is something I addressed within version 3

 

[Outright Villainy]

Yes I can. I'm better on some instruments than others though. I'm particularly good with guitar because that's my main instrument these days. I struggle the most with brass and woodwind.

Actually, I sort of have this too. I can mainly tell what note it is from the texture of the note, rather than the note itself I guess. I'm self taught, so I've no knowledge of terminology, but I'm rather good at figuring stuff by ear, and I'd learn anything if I spent enough time on it.
When I say I sort of have it, I mean I can tell what the guitar is tuned to, not the actual note being played at a time. Like I can immediately tell if it's A or C or Drop D or standard. I'm not sure if it's because I know those notes well or if it's the actual specific sound of the notes (like how it sounds murkier when it gets lower, whereas a bass playing on the same frequency would sound a lot warmer), but that's about as far as my absolute pitch goes. My relative pitch is pretty decent mind.

 

[Arkhangelsk]

I love you for this thread. This will help me immensely.

 

[Lullabye]

AHH! I knew coming to this thread was a bad idea.
All this music talk!
Gah!
Must...resist.......not.......play......piano.......damn, I touched a key.
Well, regarding the whole musical theory debate that seems to be going on....any time you play two notes and think "dude, that sounds good together", you are using musical theory.