Okay so I've taken up learning music by way of keyboard synthesizers. Kind of dual learning for sounds design and the theory behind keys and chord progressions as I go. Mostly just experimentation and exploration. I'm a bit late in life to have aspirations of making a career of it. No interest in being a "name". I just want to play music. That's me. This is my context. Today I followed a link to a synth composition that I'm pretty sure I could not possibly have heard before and it was so much like something I've been playing with that I could sit down and play it exactly, minus some of the accompanying textural sounds. I mean, it's not terribly complicated or anything but it was still shocking to hear from a random source. I'm assuming now that it must be pretty difficult to write really original content these days. I'm looking for perspectives from people who understand music better than my own poor efforts. Peace.

Hi! As the title says, I'm looking for a popular song recommendation that can be sung that has Theme and Variation in it! I just find it really interesting how you can mostly identify it in classical music but from what I've gathered, it isn't used much in songs today. (correct me if I'm wrong on this! I'm still learning XD) So any recommendations?.?

I'm referring to artists like Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Al Green, Bill Withers, Curtis Mayfield, etc. Even some other Motown artists. Which keys have you noticed are used the most in that era within that genre?

Hey, so I’ve read a lot about lower interval interval limits and I’m beginning to think they don’t reflect what’s actually used in music. Going By most sources a major third can be voiced at lowest Bb2/D3 - open G chord on guitar technically breaks lower interval limit G2/B2. I feel like potentially these lower interval limits are written very high and are actually broken a lot In practice. A standard male voice range will constantly sing a melody down as low B2-G2 breaking all sorts of interval limits never sounds too muddy to my ears?

I'm looking for a copy of this book, which is long out of print. There was one copy of this book in my country that I've borrowed from the library system several times, but now that copy doesn't seem to exist any longer.

Online, there's used copies available for about $300, which is way too steep for me.

Does anybody have a PDF of it or an old copy they won't be needing any more? I am no longer in university and don't have access to JSTOR, but maybe some good samaritan who does can take a look?

Thanks in advance!

App is Suggester 2 since people tend to ask

Helloo ı recently really wanted to start playing electrical guitar but ı dont have much of a musical experience except playing violin without much talent. I know ı should learn the guitar theory, basics of music theory and notes and such but Im a lil confused. Can anyone tell me what do ı have to learn and know before playing smth? repsonses would be apreciated

https://preview.redd.it/8ujwimvf0tnd1.jpg?width=95&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=57a64dff17c5d769af53d101e53fd01d3755da3b

What is this symbol, circled in red? The piece is Le Vertigo by Royer (1746) on Musescore.

Making an analogy to a heart rhythm, a heart goes Ba-Dum, pause, Ba-Dum, pause and so on... What would you call the time in between the Ba and Dum? And also what do you call the pause, is that what would be a rest?

How do I transpose a piece in g flat major to g major? Do I just move every note a half step up in the new key or is there something else I need to do?

I might be wrong but in a couple of jazz songs I've seen I saw various 2-5-1 (big shock), but when the 1 chord is minor it's usually a minor 6th.

Why not resolve on a minor seventh chord like if the 1 chords was major? (For clarification, I meant the major 7th one chord)

First of all, that ending Bbm/G would be a Gdim7, but makes sense notated that way because of harmony (minor iv) and ease of play. But thats not the point.

When I first saw that A+5 (A augmented, some strange notation here) I thought it was a tritone sub of a ii7/IV V7#5/IV IV, but its half step below not above. So I think it's like a ii7/IV V+/IV IV, where the V+ substitutes the V7, so Cm7 F+ Bb, but the F+ is in first inversion, so its becomes A+.

Is this it or is there a more logical explanation?

Sorry, I am very novice in the music theory, still, there is usually some insight by musically trained people who know about and can explain something I've never heard about before. Maybe there is some official name or description for this phenomenon.

So I realized that the Georgian music uses a lot of the perfect fifth resolvement in its folk, traditional drinking or maybe even religious songs.
And this perfect fifth resolve is what made me fall in love with Georgian music. It triggers the most euphoric feeling within me out of all other types of music. And I don't think it sounds good to me because I've heard it before, because I never heard it before hearing Georgian mus.

But then again I have read somewhere that the music teachers hate perfect fifth and say it's bad when students write it...?

My other question is that I wonder if you can suggest some western songs or maybe classical pieces that contain this type of resolve/sequence.

Here is an example of what I mean:
https://ibb.co/wgzKp8V

And here is how it sounds like:
https://voca.ro/16YibyOODdxZ

For context, in college I have to write four different compositions and I’ve decided on 2 bebop, a folk style similar to fleet foxes and a later romantic piece.

I’ve seen mentions of counterpoint for quite a while through various sources without any real explanations further than two melodic lines together and have seen an online course by ‘music matters’ that is very interested in and considering buying, but I’m not sure if it’ll be relevant to what I want to write or if the course is more aimed classically with much more minor benefits towards what I will be doing.

Does anyone have any experience with this or know if this would be useful for the styles I plan on doing!

Thanks for any help!

I figured out major modes pretty easily but im having difficulty grasping minor modes. Propably cause in major modes i kinda figure them out by writting down the tones and semitones. I cant explain it in English properly so ill put a picture here demonstrating how i do this. Is there a similar way for minor modes? I haven't seen anyone explain major modes this way so i assume its faulty. idfk

What is the interval of Eb2 to Bbb5?

Eb to Bbb = m3 but this is to the moon.

I’m guessing the interval is a m24

It’s from Music Theory class, so it’s wild stuff.

I was learning non-contextual intervals when I started, but I stopped cus people were saying it was useless and a worse substitute for solfege. I just heard about contextual intervals which actually make sense though. Are you supposed to learn non-contextual before contextual, or are they seperate things, and I can go straight to contextual? With non-contextual, every first note feels like "DO", so isn't that just solfege?

I learned "Who did you think I was?" by John Mayer years ago through my professor and now I'm trying to understand the theory behind it. When I learned the song, I knew that using the A minor pentatonic scale can be used for soloing. But when I look up the song now, sources say that the song is in the Key of A and "written around the A7 chord." My basic understanding of music theory thought that the A minor pentatonic scale can be used in C major key or Am Key since they have the same notes.

So why does the A minor pentatonic scale work so well in a song that is in the Key of A major, not minor?

Appreciate any explanation.

Hi all, I'm just curious if this chord format has a name. If it helps, I'm playing a C#- on guitar with the following voicing 046xxx. Thanks!

Broken down

Regular: 1-3-5

1st Inv: 3-5-1

2nd Inv: 5-1-3

???: 3-1-5

I'm in the process of copying a piece of sheet music into MuseScore and came across these cross-like symbols. Does anyone know what they mean?

“Music theory offers insight into what you’re doing, while imagination is your guide to your creations.”

I’m sure this is idea is floating around multiple times but this is my statement concerning music theory. I often see and hear that music theory is the solution or not relevant. So I decided to do brain dump before I go to the gym.

Basically B major is all black keys on the piano right? If Concert C, Bb, and E flat are a thing. Is there any specific instrument that tunes to Concert B? Where their C is a half step lower? I know tuning down a half step is normal on guitars and basses.

Or between any minor mode variation. Natural, melodic, harmonic etc. “Bad Guy” by Billie Eilish switches from natural minor to harmonic minor because it sometimes includes the raised 7th. Looking for more examples. Please include the variations of the minor key the song switches to or between. Edit: Thank you all for the replies.

I’m somebody who rarely really plays songs and improvs a lot, so here’s my guide on what to focus to get decent at improv (specifically on piano but also in general)

First I usually focus on finding a progression of root notes I like, whatever sounds good I don’t care how simple or complex it could literally be a drone if that’s what Im feeling, but I try to avoid long progressions as it’s less flowy. After that I’ll play some triad voicings with different inversions to see what sounds good. Then it’s really open I just try a bunch of stuff including rhythms, slash chords etc.

I highly recommend (eventually, maybe not if you’re still a complete beginner perhaps rubato is your friend) playing with a nice fitting beat in the background if you can, makes it sound better and is better for learning to play with rhythm than an annoying metronome.

So here’s what Id learn to be able to spice up chord progression (in order of importance):

1. Inversions (understand voice leading)
2. Chord patterns/rhythms/arpeggios
3. Passing tones (eg between chord walk up scale to next chord note) and countermelody/motifs
4. Secondary dominant (between mainline progression add a dominant to th next chord or tritone sub) and leading diminished
5. Extensions/alteration/extra notes
6. Substitutions (eg vi instead of I)
7. Modal interchange (eg iv instead of IV)

The first two in particular are really 80% of what you need to sound good.

Let me know what you think, is there something I’m missing?

Edit: I do want to mention, I used to only play in fixed positions as beginner, but as Ive progressed simply playing scales (pentatonics, major, minor) over a bigger register has added to my melodic playing a lot.

So in Bach’s WTC 2 F minor prelude, I can’t grasp the last 2 bars. So it goes from a diminished B seventh chord (so a iv dim7?), to what I assumed was minor C seventh chord but then the F in the trill confuses me (or is it just a passing tone?), as well as the red colored chord with an F in the bass, giving F-b-E that then logically goes into F-a-F to end on the first degree interval. I’m super confused I hope y’all don’t mind because I am still relatively new to theory.

P.s. this piece in general was a theoretical treat, Bach was so innovative with it and it was some of the most fun I had playing a piece.

Im currently scoring the song Azalea from the band Jupiter for an own Arrangement. I stumbled on the Interlude (2:45min) because it sounds like there is a tempo and signature change.. But I cant figure it out.. and i need some help. Can someone explain me whats going on there? The whole song proceed with 150-154 BPM on 4/4.

But this interlude gets me insane...

(I’m unsure how to flair the post) I’ve had no problem playing, but I am curious what it means