Highly recommend Michael New on Youtube for explanations of music theory basics that actually make sense without having to already know music theory.
Ask HN: Tools to learn music theory?
41–50 of 172 posts
Re: Ask HN: Tools to learn music theory?
#42While I suppose there are tools (as in software) to support learning music theory; and I’ve seen a few pop up here periodically, I would recommend a graded course in theory. The RCM (Royal Conservatory of Music) course used here in Canada is excellent. The books and adjacent materials are widely available. It starts with very rudimentary concepts but by the upper levels ~ 9-10 gets into more advanced harmony and analysis.
I’m a professional collaborative pianist and do some teaching and coaching. There are comments about artist x, y or z not being able to read music, let alone understand theory. True? Plausible, but in some fields of music it’s not optional. There’s evidence that pianists with better theory knowledge are more accurate sight readers. Why? Because it provides information on probabilities about what _should_ come next.
In any case, when I’ve taught theory at this level, I’ve used the RCM materials.
Re: Ask HN: Tools to learn music theory?
#43Tenuto app is my favourite for this. I'm also a new adult learner.
Re: Ask HN: Tools to learn music theory?
#44For years I made the error of learning music theory without enough ear training. You have to hear and feel the theory, it's not only intellectual.
Then I found 2 exercises are all I needed for playing and composing music by ear:
- Functional intervals / scale degrees: https://tonesavvy.com/music-practice-exercise/220/functional.... If you start tone deaf like me checked "Fixed Key", learn all the intervals, then restart with basic intervals without fixed key.
- Melodic dictation: the advanced version of the exercise above once you are comfortable with each interval: https://tonesavvy.com/music-practice-exercise/222/melodic-di...
Once you can do melodic dictation you will be able to easily decode anything you hear, and map it to theory.
Edit: chord identification (https://tonesavvy.com/music-practice-exercise/216/chord-iden...) is obviously important but by then identifying basic chords should be easy, so it's for a more advanced level.
Re: Ask HN: Tools to learn music theory?
#45You might want to give Rick Beato a try: https://rickbeato.com/ He does interesting YouTube videos on music topics, but also sells theory and ear-training courses online.
I agree, give Rick's course a try, with an emphasis on ear training. I think ear training is much more important than music theory. You'll learn theory along the way (intervals, chord quality, etc...) but it focuses more on hearing the difference. Most of music making is hearing a song and playing it back, or hearing a melody in your head and getting it into a daw in some way, music theory alone won't teach you that.…
If you listen to any of Rick's videos, he will tell you that ear training and music theory are so closely related that there can't be one without other. Of course, back in the day in music school theory was taught without ear training and that made it kind of useless. Or maybe it was more that listening was never taught, it was just put in exam and if you can't write down the chords you hear there you're not going to be a musician.
Re: Ask HN: Tools to learn music theory?
#46> What I seem to be a slow learner at is reading notes fast (treble and bass clef)
I made this a couple of months ago to help with learning to read notes:
Hope it helps! ;-)
Re: Ask HN: Tools to learn music theory?
#47I grew up in a family of classical musicians, got a degree in music, and was briefly a professional classical musician myself. So my advice may be very out of touch with the experience of someone learning for the first time, but my experiences learning beyond European classical music theory left me feeling insulted.
The basics of music theory are presented as though they are the foundations upon which all subsequent music is derived. In fact, teaching scales and chords is like teaching that the electron orbits the nucleus - a 'simplification'. There _are_ real psychoacoustic truths, alongside equally fascinating historical forces, that underpin music theory.
Learn the language and idioms of music theory, by all means, but don't think of it as being in any way true. Its a syncretist cargo cult of hacks and rules of thumb handed down by centuries of men with dubious motives.
I recommend Adam Neely on YouTube, he illustrates music theory concepts clearly, engagingly, and with an appropriate skepticism for received wisdom.
Here's his discussion of some more political criticisms of music theory: https://youtu.be/Kr3quGh7pJA
I recommend Sethares' _Tuning, Timbre, Spectrum, Scale_ to anyone interested in the underpinnings of why some notes sound good together and others don't.
[2]https://www.researchgate.net/publication/287019948_Tuning_ti...
Re: Ask HN: Tools to learn music theory?
#48You don't have to learn theory to make music. Nobody uses (publically known)theory to make music. Learn to improvise.
Re: Ask HN: Tools to learn music theory?
#49I grew up in a family of classical musicians, got a degree in music, and was briefly a professional classical musician myself. So my advice may be very out of touch with the experience of someone learning for the first time, but my experiences learning beyond European classical music theory left me feeling insulted. The basics of music theory are presented as though they are the foundations upon which all subsequent…
"they are the foundations upon which all subsequent music is derived"
I had the impression music theory was used more to analyze existing music, and less so to create it.
Re: Ask HN: Tools to learn music theory?
#50I've really enjoyed reading the Hooktheory interactive textbook and using their Hookpad tool for composition.