What's Your Music Theory Game Hittin' For?

[KillSpray]

A good approach I've heard is to look at learning music like learning a language.

If you think about how a child naturally picks up language, they basically observe more experienced speakers, and pretty much right away surrounded by it and attempt to engage with the goo goo ga ga. It's fully immersive. So to stretch it to music, this is the period of listening to the music you're a fan of, engaging with others who are more experienced than you (if you play an instrument, it might be jamming with more experienced musicians, if you're into making music is a DAW it's a little more tricky, but you can find someone who's more experienced and try to engage), and you have to start writing immediately, your musical goo goo ga ga stage.

After a while you gain basic functionality, you can communicate basic ideas, etc... even though you may not be grammatically correct, or able to really pronounce things properly. Then slowly, you are introduced to the rules of grammar. But that's only after you've already gained a basic level of conversational proficiency.

So music theory would be introduced slowly after you'd written a lot of "goo goo ga ga" material, and even a lot of semi coherent material. And the thing I like about the comparison is, you rarely find an interesting speaker or writer who observes grammar completely strictly. That's where people develop slang, or purposely slur, or play with their tone to communicate. Same thing starts to happen in music. But there's no short cuts, when you get into music, you looking at years before you can really claim even a basic understanding. There's always exceptions, child prodigy's, shyt like that, but for most people, it's a marathon. For people who trip on something interesting or new very early, they may get accelerated in terms of the attention they receive, but there's no replacement for the years of practice that separates someone who is completely at each and conversational vs. someone who doesn't have a full grasp of their material.

 

[DirtyHarryPurtyLarry]

No

do you want me to teach it to you?

 

[DirtyHarryPurtyLarry]

@DJ Dope-Needlz guess not






Does anyone need help understanding music theory?

 

[DJ Mart-Kos]

do you want me to teach it to you?

Yes, i would love to know some more.

 

[pointproven214]

@DJ Dope-Needlz guess not






Does anyone need help understanding music theory?

i do teach me man i need help with alot of stuff but music theory is the start.

 

[DirtyHarryPurtyLarry]

Yes, i would love to know some more.

Ok...

First off, do you know what a sharp and a flat is??

The circle of 5ths are easy to understand, but you need to memorize key (no pun) things.

When you look at a piano you need to concentrate on Middle C first, and you need to build your knowledge around middle c.
Scales have sharps or flats in them. Key signatures work off the circle of 5ths.
All you need to do is count the amount of sharps and flats in the key signature
and you can figure out what key the song is in... but you need to also know relative scales to do that, and that's another lesson.
We can start with the basic major scales first and work our way to other type scales and chords (minor, augmented, diminished)




Think of C as ZERO though. You have ZERO through SEVEN.

A c major scale has ZERO sharps. All white keys.
A key signature with no sharps or flats is usually C MAJOR, although A MINOR is it's relative scale and relative key signature, but that's another topic and lesson like I mentioned.
You can easily hear the difference between major and minor to figure that out. Plus, you can see what note it ends on to dictate what the key is; if you aren't able to hear it first.

Say we are in the key of C MAJOR
The scale is C D E F G A B C.
ZERO sharps. All white keys.
C major has NO sharps

To figure out what scale has ONE sharp, you count 5 white keys up from C starting on C - c d e f g
The answer is G.

G major would be ONE.
which means it has ONE sharp


Now count up 5 from G, and you get D.


D major would be TWO.
Two sharps

Count 5 up from D and you get A

A major would be THREE
Three sharps


You continue this as follows:
C, G, D, A, E, B, F#(sharp), C#

So, E major is FOUR
B major is FIVE
F# major is SIX
C# major is SEVEN

^*above are ALL YOUR MAJOR SCALES in a circle of 5ths*
Notice how it starts on a C and ends with C#....... G#, D#, A#, E#, B# major scales would follow if you continue with the circle of 5ths concept.


SO,

to find out the sharps to these basic scales in MAJOR form is easy.
All the scales in the major form contains sharp/s except 1 scale which is F major. It contains a flat and isn't played with the same fingering like the other scales.
F MAJOR is the group of scales with FLATS, not sharps... and is another lesson as well.

The sharps of scales are easy to figure out because you can just remember this phrase:
Frank
Can't
Go
Down
And
Eat
Bush

F, C, G, D, A, E, B


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ the sharps in their key signature form.
Key signatures will have those sharps in that order.

C major we said was ZERO.
No sharps.

G major would contain FRANK (remember he is ONE)....one sharp which is F
D major would contain FRANK and CAN'T (remember he is TWO).... two sharps which are F and C

and so on and so forth.




And again, F major has a B flat..... and that would be explained for scales with flats, and again, no need to go over that now.



Just concentrate on the basic major scales with sharps and remember those first.





And what do you think are the notes in F# and C# major.....? F# major is a hard one to figure out
while C# major is EASY.


I didn't tell you because I want to see if you can figure it out.


Also, rather then keep counting up 5 you can do 1 - 5 intervals instead starting at C

C (0) - G (1)
D (2) - A (3)
E (4) - B (5)
F# (6) - C# (7)


Easy way to remember your major scales and how many sharps are in them.

FCGDAEB

 

[blackslash]

Imo as hip hop evolves into a more melodic, less rigid, form of music
A basic knowledge of music theory can help with the crafting of songs that can get you on.

 

[b33lz]

Piano Lessons - Play Piano By Ear
I've been using this site the last 2 months. Easy way I remembered the major scale. WWHWWWH (Why won't he wear white when hot) W=whole step H= half step
If you know the major scale you know the minor scale since its relative(sixth key from the root) share the same keys. The number system really makes things easier.

 

[DirtyHarryPurtyLarry]

Piano Lessons - Play Piano By Ear
I've been using this site the last 2 months. Easy way I remembered the major scale. WWHWWWH (Why won't he wear white when hot) W=whole step H= half step
If you know the major scale you know the minor scale since its relative(sixth key from the root) share the same keys. The number system really makes things easier.

but if you learn your scales and its names first, you don't need to understand half steps and whole steps to figure out a scale.
and that doesn't help you read key signatures.
Most of the time those sites make things more complicated to memorize because they break it down TOO theoretically

 

[b33lz]

but if you learn your scales and its names first, you don't need to understand half steps and whole steps to figure out a scale.
and that doesn't help you read key signatures.
Most of the time those sites make things more complicated to memorize because they break it down TOO theoretically

CDEFGABC
12345678

it's easier for me to remember numbers. I know the scale names. Another way to remember flats and sharps. (sharps go up and flats go back) I don't plan on reading sheet music playing by ear is all I really need.

 

[DirtyHarryPurtyLarry]

CDEFGABC
12345678

it's easier for me to remember numbers. I know the scale names. Another way to remember flats and sharps. (sharps go up and flats go back) I don't plan on reading sheet music playing by ear is all I really need.

So if you're playing by ear.
and i vocally gave you a rhythm pattern, would you be able to put it into notation form?


and I don't get your 12345678 concept

 

[b33lz]

So if you're playing by ear.
and i vocally gave you a rhythm pattern, would you be able to put it into notation form?
and I don't get your 12345678 concept

Probably not since I just learned this stuff within the last 2 weeks.
CDEFGAB
C=1 D=2 E=3 F=4 G=5 A=6 B=7 C=8 D=9 E=10 F=11 and so on. 2=9 ; 4=11; 6=13
What I wrote in my original post was the method I use for remembering the major scale in any key. This is all new to me I think I'm in the wrong thread.

 

[DirtyHarryPurtyLarry]

Probably not since I just learned this stuff within the last 2 weeks.
CDEFGAB
C=1 D=2 E=3 F=4 G=5 A=6 B=7 C=8 D=9 E=10 F=11 and so on. 2=9 ; 4=11; 6=13
What I wrote in my original post was the method I use for remembering the major scale in any key. This is all new to me I think I'm in the wrong thread.

You dapped my post that explained the basic major scales and how to play them and you're still thinking about that crazy pattern you just typed??
what does that even mean where you're going up to 9, 10 and so on?


How about this,

name me all the sharps in the B major scale without using what the f you have above posted.

And then realize to play that scale by ear with your thumb on B would be 1.
and your second finger would have the next note in the scale.
all the while playing 7 notes with 5 fingers to the octave above

 

[b33lz]

C#, D#, G#, F#, G# & A#
Number system for 9th, 11th, 13th like when you do inversions in one hand. 2 becomes the 9, 4 becomes the 11th.

 

[DirtyHarryPurtyLarry]

C#, D#, G#, F#, G# & A#
Number system for 9th, 11th, 13th like when you do inversions in one hand. 2 becomes the 9, 4 becomes the 11th.

why would you teach yourself that way though?
why not make it simpler by realizing the C# major scale is the C major scale with all white keys raised to a sharp??

You can relate scales without crazy number patterns