While the term music theory may seem academic, many people have learned basic concepts of music theory in primary school and adulthood. Many public schools in the United States require young students to attend music classes that provide the basic concepts of pitch, rhythm and reading music. These simple elements are the foundations of music theory.
The study of music often begins with ear training, also known as aural skills in music theory curricula. Studying aural skills tunes the ear to different pitches, often through singing and the study of melody and harmony.
Melodies contain intervals played separately by a single voice or instrument, while harmonies involve two or more pitches played at the same time. High-level musicians often can detect these musical intervals quickly and develop the skill of transcription, in which they hear a melody or entire piece of music and write it down. Terms such as dissonance, texture, and timbre describe the sounds created by pitch and harmony.
Another aspect of music theory is written notation. Music is written on five lines with four spaces, known as the staff. Different clefs are used to denote the pitches assigned to each line and space of the staff. Students must learn the basics of the musical staff to read and write music. The staff works like a graph, with pitch shown vertically on the y-axis and time horizontally on the x-axis.
In addition to pitch, the other main component of music is rhythm, which is notated on the staff with various durations of pitch that indicate a performed sound and rests that indicate silence. Rhythm usually is dictated by the tempo of the music, which is the speed of the beat. A musical work is broken up into measures with bar lines that make each line easier to read. Musicians also rely on the meter to determine the strong and weak beats of a measure. Meter is read with a time signature that tells the performer how many beats are in one measure and what note value gets the beat.
Another aspect of learning music is memorizing key signatures and scales. Most pieces of music use key signatures at the beginning of a piece or section. These contain “accidentals,” which alter the pitch of a note. A sharp raises the pitch by one-half step, while a flat lowers it by one-half step. A natural sign indicates that the note is played regularly with no accidental and is often used to cancel a previous accidental in a measure.
Many songs have an overall mode that can be broken into major or minor. If the music sounds “happy,” it probably is in a major key; if it sounds “sad,” it probably is in a minor key.
The study of music theory is so deep that students can pursue a college degree in the discipline. Many universities offer master’s degrees and doctoral degrees in music theory. Music theory societies hold national and international conferences. The Society for Music Theory runs many of these conferences and is one of the leading resources for further information about the many aspects of music theory.
The study of music often begins with ear training, also known as aural skills in music theory curricula. Studying aural skills tunes the ear to different pitches, often through singing and the study of melody and harmony.
Melodies contain intervals played separately by a single voice or instrument, while harmonies involve two or more pitches played at the same time. High-level musicians often can detect these musical intervals quickly and develop the skill of transcription, in which they hear a melody or entire piece of music and write it down. Terms such as dissonance, texture, and timbre describe the sounds created by pitch and harmony.
Another aspect of music theory is written notation. Music is written on five lines with four spaces, known as the staff. Different clefs are used to denote the pitches assigned to each line and space of the staff. Students must learn the basics of the musical staff to read and write music. The staff works like a graph, with pitch shown vertically on the y-axis and time horizontally on the x-axis.
In addition to pitch, the other main component of music is rhythm, which is notated on the staff with various durations of pitch that indicate a performed sound and rests that indicate silence. Rhythm usually is dictated by the tempo of the music, which is the speed of the beat. A musical work is broken up into measures with bar lines that make each line easier to read. Musicians also rely on the meter to determine the strong and weak beats of a measure. Meter is read with a time signature that tells the performer how many beats are in one measure and what note value gets the beat.
Another aspect of learning music is memorizing key signatures and scales. Most pieces of music use key signatures at the beginning of a piece or section. These contain “accidentals,” which alter the pitch of a note. A sharp raises the pitch by one-half step, while a flat lowers it by one-half step. A natural sign indicates that the note is played regularly with no accidental and is often used to cancel a previous accidental in a measure.
Many songs have an overall mode that can be broken into major or minor. If the music sounds “happy,” it probably is in a major key; if it sounds “sad,” it probably is in a minor key.
The study of music theory is so deep that students can pursue a college degree in the discipline. Many universities offer master’s degrees and doctoral degrees in music theory. Music theory societies hold national and international conferences. The Society for Music Theory runs many of these conferences and is one of the leading resources for further information about the many aspects of music theory.
