Music Theory- The basics updated V7

[The Rockerfly]

Seriously, you should put this up on the "Ultimate Guitar" website or something, it seems to be helpful to everyone, and is short.

Possibly the thing is ultimate guitar has a lot of people who wouldn't bother reading this and a good portion of this is not for guitars either but I might...

 

[Beartrucci]

I read the rhythm section and knew a lot of it except for some of the more obscure time signatures. I was talking more about Key Signatures, Chords and that sort of stuff. This thread is great for revision, which I plan on doing over the upcoming days seeing as I have a music test on Friday.

Actually, I think it's an exam. Fuck.

Well good luck regardless, which exam are you doing; As music, GCSE music or something other?

No clue, I'm only in Year 10 and the teacher said the exam will only be on stuff we have been working on this year which is stuff like chords, key signatures, cadences, intervals and some aural stuff where she plays a rhythm and we have to write down the time signature and the rhythm she just played.

 

[The Rockerfly]

No clue, I'm only in Year 10 and the teacher said the exam will only be on stuff we have been working on this year which is stuff like chords, key signatures, cadences, intervals and some aural stuff where she plays a rhythm and we have to write down the time signature and the rhythm she just played.

If you go on to do A level music you will still have to do very similar stuff. Just a warning

 

[ICantBelieveItGoesBoom]

I think you might need to go into writing bass parts, particularly for Metal, Hip Hop and Rock.

For example, Rock bass is almost exclusively based (pardon the pun) on the chord sequence played by the guitar, usually with occasionally short, 1-2 note fills between the changes.

 

[Beartrucci]

No clue, I'm only in Year 10 and the teacher said the exam will only be on stuff we have been working on this year which is stuff like chords, key signatures, cadences, intervals and some aural stuff where she plays a rhythm and we have to write down the time signature and the rhythm she just played.

If you go on to do A level music you will still have to do very similar stuff. Just a warning

I will do fine with all the stuff that is in the test. The only thing I can't do at the moment is name the proper interval when the teacher plays two notes on the piano. It's a bit of a worry because the teacher said we will need to be able to do it if we continue with music in Year 11 and Year 12.

 

[The Rockerfly]

I will do fine with all the stuff that is in the test. The only thing I can't do at the moment is name the proper interval when the teacher plays two notes on the piano. It's a bit of a worry because the teacher said we will need to be able to do it if we continue with music in Year 11 and Year 12.

For that you should obvious look at pitch. However the key signature is very important with this and the starting note
So this is what I do:
1. Check the key
2. Listen to the first note
3. Hum the first note and go up in half steps until I find the next note

The last one takes some practice to be able to do but if you can do it then you will find intervals much easier

 

[The Rockerfly]

I think you might need to go into writing bass parts, particularly for Metal, Hip Hop and Rock.

For example, Rock bass is almost exclusively based (pardon the pun) on the chord sequence played by the guitar, usually with occasionally short, 1-2 note fills between the changes.

Sure, I am busy today but I will go into detail about writing bass on these styles. It might be a little inaccurate though because I only play tuba so I would appreciate criticism on the bass parts so I can make it as accurate as possible

 

[Beartrucci]

I will do fine with all the stuff that is in the test. The only thing I can't do at the moment is name the proper interval when the teacher plays two notes on the piano. It's a bit of a worry because the teacher said we will need to be able to do it if we continue with music in Year 11 and Year 12.

For that you should obvious look at pitch. However the key signature is very important with this and the starting note
So this is what I do:
1. Check the key
2. Listen to the first note
3. Hum the first note and go up in half steps until I find the next note

The last one takes some practice to be able to do but if you can do it then you will find intervals much easier

That actually sounds pretty sweet. I'll try learn how to do that last step, it would be extremely useful if I could do it.

 

[The Rockerfly]

That actually sounds pretty sweet. I'll try learn how to do that last step, it would be extremely useful if I could do it.

Okay well for that just get a Piano or guitar and just learn how to hum an octave from playing a chromatic scale (chromatic being all half tones). Once you have remembered how to do all of that then you will have no trouble in finding intervals

 

[not_the_dm]

? C (or Bb)

I assume that you meant C (or B#).

Edit: Ok, that makes me look like an ass. Um... Concert A is 440Hz but for 'Baroque Tuning' it's 420Hz, useful If you doing and original instruments perfmance of some Bach concerto or someting.

 

[Beartrucci]

That actually sounds pretty sweet. I'll try learn how to do that last step, it would be extremely useful if I could do it.

Okay well for that just get a Piano or guitar and just learn how to hum an octave from playing a chromatic scale (chromatic being all half tones). Once you have remembered how to do all of that then you will have no trouble in finding intervals

I'm sure I could find one of them small dodgy keyboards somewhere which I could use. I'll look into it later though, I've got to get this science work done. It's fucking annoying, I would rather be playing Red Dead Redemption now or something instead of having make sure I've got all my work done (which I haven't >.>).

 

[Plank of Wood]

I think you might need to go into writing bass parts, particularly for Metal, Hip Hop and Rock.

For example, Rock bass is almost exclusively based (pardon the pun) on the chord sequence played by the guitar, usually with occasionally short, 1-2 note fills between the changes.

Erm isnt Progressive Rock diffrent though....

That's because it's Progressive Rock. As it turns out, a genre almost exclusively dedicated to doing different things does different things.

 

[ICantBelieveItGoesBoom]

Erm isnt Progressive Rock diffrent though....

Well yeah but I'm just speaking generally here and bass styles vary hugely within genres. I guess what I've explained is more Poppy but it's hard to put an overarching rule for Rock.

Sure, I am busy today but I will go into detail about writing bass on these styles. It might be a little inaccurate though because I only play tuba so I would appreciate criticism on the bass parts so I can make it as accurate as possible

Sure, if you send me a PM when it's done I could give some tips.

 

[The Rockerfly]

? C (or Bb)

I assume that you meant C (or B#).

Edit: Ok, that makes me look like an ass. Um... Concert A is 440Hz but for 'Baroque Tuning' it's 420Hz, useful If you doing and original instruments perfmance of some Bach concerto or someting.

#

Oh yes my mistake thank you pointing that out.

I'm sure I could find one of them small dodgy keyboards somewhere which I could use. I'll look into it later though, I've got to get this science work done. It's fucking annoying, I would rather be playing Red Dead Redemption now or something instead of having make sure I've got all my work done (which I haven't >.>).

You are such a teenager
To be fair learning it is a good music ability for your entire music career so it doesn't matter if you learn it now or in 50 years time but it's useful to know it now rather than later

Sure, if you send me a PM when it's done I could give some tips.

Awesome, I will stick your name in the special thanks section after

 

[Ytmh]

I think the most important thing to tell beginners is that in the end music is whatever anyone makes of it. Otherwise how do you explain people liking Stockhausen and at the same time Jimi Hendrix? There's all sorts of things and there really are no "rules" at all. There's of course the physical and cognitive aspects of music and how it's perceived by the brain, but there's a rather big margin for subjectiveness added to this.

You can really just as well not learn any theory and just go by ear, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. But I'm of course in favor of researching (not theory in specific, but just looking up literature/other composers/styles, etc) but you don't really HAVE to.

Plus you're missing the 20th century "classical" music stuff like Ligeti/Cage/Boulez/Reich and so on. Modernism in general and even guys like Debussy are super important (specially to things like bossa and a lot of jazz.)

PS: Oh to guys saying "hur hur theory is a recent thing!" Yeah sure it is, Rameau in 1722 sure thought it was rather up to date when he released his Treatise on Harmony. Nevermind of course the whole ars nova deal centuries earlier! Come on theory has been around literally as long as music has, but it has always taken different shapes depending on the time it was practiced (and the literature they had access to.) You can even argue that chord anatomy was already studied as such so long as there was a shift to vertical at the beginning of the baroque period (post-palestrina.)

 

[Mr. Self Destruct]

Rules? Bah!

if it sounds good, that's all that matters

If it sounds good it will most likely fall into some kind of rule.

*explodes*

 

[Ytmh]

Rules? Bah!

if it sounds good, that's all that matters

If it sounds good it will most likely fall into some kind of rule.

*explodes*

Depending how you define good though!

If you think a 2 octave cluster on the piano sounds boss, then oops no it's not in any kind of "rule."

 

[ICantBelieveItGoesBoom]

Congratulations! This page is now on StumbleUpon.

Seems kind of weird that of all the pages I could've stumbled upon I got this. . .

 

[zen5887]

Rules? Bah!

if it sounds good, that's all that matters

If it sounds good it will most likely fall into some kind of rule.

*explodes*

Depending how you define good though!

If you think a 2 octave cluster on the piano sounds boss, then oops no it's not in any kind of "rule."

How often do tone clusters sound good? And I did say "most likely fall into some kind of rule" meaning that there are exceptions.

I think you might need to go into writing bass parts, particularly for Metal, Hip Hop and Rock.

For example, Rock bass is almost exclusively based (pardon the pun) on the chord sequence played by the guitar, usually with occasionally short, 1-2 note fills between the changes.

Bassine 101: Lock in with the kick. That is all.

The rest comes after.