How to learn music theory?

[turayza]

I have been playing piano for 10 years, but have never done any music theory whatsover. (It's so pitiful, I can't even turn a major chord into a minor one.) I've made a couple attempts to learn theory but without a theory teacher I'm a bit lost. (My piano teacher doesn't teach theory.) Any suggestions...books to purchase or a good website?

[Bob]

Maybe you could take a theory class or get a private tutor for theory.

Your piano teacher should be showing you a little about theory.  Major, minor, augmented, dimished chords. 

Hopefully you know your major scales.  That will help a lot.  Or at least it did for me.  I would say it was critical.

[n00bhippy]

https://www.amazon.com/Tonal-Harmony-Introduction-Twentieth-Century-Music/dp/0072415703
this is a very good book. always best to have a teacher to go along with it I think.

[Bob]

Just don't get bogged down.  Some theory books take pages to exlain simple things, like having extremely detailed instructions on how to change a lightbulb. 

For playing and for me (I'm not composing or arranging anything), being able to identify chords goes a long way.  I'm not so concerned about where each individual note goes.

[turayza]

Great, thanks.
D: I've looked for theory teachers in the area, but the only one there is is retiring. /sigh.
And I don't have room in my schedule to stick in a music theory class, which is really disappointing.

I will definitely look at the book, thanks.
My teacher tried explaining it during a workshop but then competition season came around and I forgot it all XD

[jgallag]

https://www.amazon.com/Tonal-Harmony-Introduction-Twentieth-Century-Music/dp/0072415703
this is a very good book. always best to have a teacher to go along with it I think.

This is my college textbook. Very good, but you should ignore the chapter on binary form. They use some odd terminology that just doesn't apply in the rest of the theory world. My professor ranted about it all through the unit. You'll want the workbook, too, as it will give you some practice.

[turayza]

Ah...there's a workbook, too? D:

[n00bhippy]

This is my college textbook. Very good, but you should ignore the chapter on binary form. They use some odd terminology that just doesn't apply in the rest of the theory world. My professor ranted about it all through the unit. You'll want the workbook, too, as it will give you some practice.

yes yes. it is a very popular book among unis i believe..i own i think two hand me down copies? maybe just one now.
https://www.amazon.com/Harmony-Context-Miguel-Roig-Francoli/dp/0072938595/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1249443918&sr=8-1
another good one if you're looking for options. We used this at my community college, do not think it is very well known, but it's very good.

as far as workbook...not essential, but it does contain exercises (maybe more examples too?) for you to practice etc.

The workbook is not essential by any means, but certianly doesn't hurt.

[turayza]

Ah...okay.
I usually understand the theory first time reading it, but forget it after a couple days :l

[jgallag]

Ah...okay.
I usually understand the theory first time reading it, but forget it after a couple days :l

That's what reading does. Studying, however, which involves review on a regular basis, will give you a much better recall. Search the web on study habits, you'll find a lot out there to help.

[kizi15]

I found The AB guide to music theory by Eric Taylor really useful. It's all step by step from grade 1. I think it's an ABRSM book but it's till helpful even if you aren't taking an exam.

[turayza]

Yeah. I don't need to know much--just enough to make the pieces I play a little more logical. The teacher I'm studying with at music camp was really suprised that I lasted so long without knowing anything D:

[timothy42b]

That's what reading does. Studying, however, which involves review on a regular basis, will give you a much better recall. Search the web on study habits, you'll find a lot out there to help.

When it comes to memorizing academic (as opposed to useful) knowledge in rote fashion, there are lots of study habit tricks and memory tricks that will make it easier.

But i don't see how that helps with your playing.  I know that none of the music theory I tried to learn out of context from the theory books stuck with me.  But when I started playing in a praise band, suddenly I needed to know simple chords, progessions, and substitutions. 

Some people are capable of learning the whole syllabus and then applying it when the chance comes.  But that didn't work for my brain.  I learned one concept at a time, when I needed it and could apply it. 

Obviously that is not an indepth knowledge and I could not pass an exam.  But I suspect many people who have passed an exam don't retain much of it. 

Seems to me theory is really useful when composing, so try doing more of that. 

[jgallag]

But i don't see how that helps with your playing.  I know that none of the music theory I tried to learn out of context from the theory books stuck with me.  But when I started playing in a praise band, suddenly I needed to know simple chords, progessions, and substitutions. 

Umm, why are you learning out of context? In my theory class, we always examined examples of the topic in real pieces, Beethoven/Mozart Symphonies, Chopin Preludes, Bach, Haydn, Schumann, etc. We also did melodic and harmonic dictation. We had another class where we used and applied chord progressions at the keyboard, and we were required to read and realize figured bass. The point in learning music theory, as far as I can see, is not the on-paper-what's-this-chord stuff. The point is learning aurally the idioms of classical music, to hear how music makes and breaks your expectations. That's how it is relevant to playing. There are many aural intricacies to music (for example, the main theme may appear later in a second voice under a secondary theme) that the audience (and you) will probably not hear the first time, and you need to be able to unearth these and bring them into the spotlight for your audience. You may not think of this as theory, but it is. Theory is not just a harmonic analysis. Theory is the study of how a piece is put together, and this includes form, phrase structure, motivic development, all of that. I'd bet you're doing a lot of theory subconsciously when you play, but you don't think of it that way. You recognize when the melody returns, but that doesn't make an immediate connection to "theory" for you. My belief, though, is that we need to do this before we begin study of a piece. Not harmonic analysis, but a tracking of the themes, an overview of phrase development, how any variations relate to the original theme, modulations, octave transpositions, all of that stuff. In short, we need to know what's going to happen before we plunge in. Part of our job is to bring both unity and variety to a performance. How can we do this without knowing how the piece works?

---

A really simple example of theory, but a great time-saver, is to go through a piece and find all the bars that repeat. I mean down to the last one. This will let you know how much music you really have to learn, and let you get down a plan for learning it.

[jtc]

Buy the book "Harmony (5th Edition)" by Walter Piston.  It's a bible!  Carry it with you everywhere, read (and re-read) it until you know it, and do the exercises given at the end of each chapter.  Do this, and I promise you'll be in excellent shape.  You'll have a solid foundation and proper approach to thinking about and understanding theory and common practice tonal harmony.  (And you'll come away far more learned an individual than many others in this forum ... some of the posts truly make me cringe, but that's another story.)

Here's a link for the book on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Harmony-Fifth-Walter-Piston/dp/0393954803/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1250285902&sr=8-1

There is also a separate companion workbook available to augment the written exercises in the main text.  More info in the link above.

--jtc

[frank_48]

yes yes. it is a very popular book among unis i believe..i own i think two hand me down copies? maybe just one now.
https://www.amazon.com/Harmony-Context-Miguel-Roig-Francoli/dp/0072938595/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1249443918&sr=8-1
another good one if you're looking for options. We used this at my community college, do not think it is very well known, but it's very good.

as far as workbook...not essential, but it does contain exercises (maybe more examples too?) for you to practice etc.

The workbook is not essential by any means, but certianly doesn't hurt.

would you say this be the ultimate theory book for pianists?

ive been searching for a theory book that goes from the very basics to the very advanced in 1 book, would this be it?

[braintist]

You haven't been playing scales 
Erm... how do you get about 10 years without theory?

[turayza]

I guess I'm guilty of that. D: I've been slacking off on scales for about a year. -shiftyeyes-
Hahah. I don't know....it's worked for me so far?

[uberson]

I'd say to check out the ebook at www.stringtheorychords.com to help get you on your way.  I've found it very useful and it includes some of the basics of music theory and also chord theory for both the guitar and piano, if you have an interest in translating chords between them.  Also has a wide variety of chords for guitar and piano in a side-by-side format.

[pianist7]

I'm reading this book--[url]https://www.amazon.com/Leonard-Pocket-Music-Theory-Comprehensive/dp/063404771X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=musical-instruments&qid=1254191997&sr=8-1/url]. It goes from the basic to the advanced.

[bluessax576]

To the original post, and excellent set of books I use with my students is "The Basics of Keyboard Theory" by J. Julie Johnson.  There are 11 books (levels prepetory through 10)  and they go over ALL of the basics in a very simple, clean, and concise manner.  In addition, it is a workbook/textbook in one, i.e. you read a clear explanation, then you practice it.  Two other boons to this series: 1.  I really goes through all of the Basics (in the first two books, note reading is covered, by the way, start with the third book- Level 2) so you really understand them, and its broken down into small sections, for example, there is a section on just how to figure out the key signatures, then on ow to form/write the major scales, then on major chords, then on inversion, you get the point, its very step-by-step so you can practice each small step, absorb it, and not try to remember everything about how to work in the major mode after one chapter. 2.  Each subsequent level reviews what you did in the previous level, then expands on it, this way you get more practice, and you don't have to constantly look back in order to go on.  I know I sound like a sales pitch, but it really is a wonderfull series, I highly recomend its use,  in fact, I did all 11 books by the time I was done with high-school, and I was able to test out of my first semester of theory in college (so did 6 others from my teacher's studio that year).

[zheer]

There are many ways of learning music theory, for instance through school or high school. Also a degree in music I highly recommend. I'd also seek the guidance of a composer, a composer that has studied the craft of composition.
When it comes to learning a piece of music and memorizing a composition music theory is God sent.

Good Luck.