I have been searching in vain for a music theory book which would be good for a couple of bright young instrumentalists who want to know more about the architecture of music but who don't yet need college-level theory and harmony. The next several blogs are what resulted. We had to write our own book, the kids and I. It is called
The Music Mystique
Basic Music Theory
Did you know that musical rhythm
is based on your own heartbeat and breathing rate? Or that the scale, the basic
building block of music, is actually based on the physics of sound? Did you
know that every human being has these musical elements built in, and that this
fact can be proven? That some people believe the Big Bang which started the
universe was actually a dissonant chord? That everything in creation from the
atom to Jupiter vibrates and thus has a sound?
The Nineteenth Century composer
Robert Schumann called music a bridge to the unknown. Music theory shows the
construction of that bridge. Because it encompasses history, anthropology,
physics, mathematics and languages, knowing something about music theory
reinforces all these other fields. Understanding basic theory, you can learn
the rudiments of reading music in less than an hour, can play three chords and
a melody...all it takes for some folks to be country music performers or rock
stars!
There are hundreds of music theory
books in print, many of them college-level books which include music history
and advanced analysis. There is a Music Theory for Dummies which, despite its
unfortunate title, may tell you more than you really wanted to know about music
theory. The theory books which accompany instrumental method series mostly
refer to applied theory.
You probably already know a lot of
music theory intuitively, since you have been listening to music all your life.
My primary goal in teaching music theory is to provide a vocabulary and to
demonstrate the elegance of the
traditional customs which lie behind the music you know and love. This little
book is intended for the music student who has played an instrument for several
years and is interested in learning more about the order behind the music he or
she is playing.
There are several good on-line
sources for basic theory information: Music Theory Pro, an application for
iPhone and iPad, lets you test yourself in various areas of theory. An
invaluable web site, updated daily, which tells you everything you wanted to
know about music theory is found at http://www.teoria.com/index.php.
The neuroscientist Daniel J. Levin
is among those who have used magnetic imaging to show the positive way music
affects the brain. In his book This Is Your
Brain On Music, Levin says “By better understanding what music is and where
it comes from,, we may be able to better understand our motives, fears,
desires, memories, and even communication in the broadest sense.” The
neurologist and music lover Oliver Sacks’ book Musicophilia
says that all people are hard-wired to love music and that the ability to sing
or play an instrument creates positive physical changes which last a lifetime.
