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Notes that do not belong to the given key signature of the piece will have an accidental in front of them in the music, regardless of whether the piece is major or minor. Chords that are made with ac …

The harmonic and melodic minors have more of a melodic function, and the chords are adjusted to incorporate the changes in melody. They are basically chords that are borrowed from the parallel major k …

This is definitely in G Major overall, and the first phrase ends on a V chord, with the melody on the leading tone. However, the A Major chord right before it is obscuring the tonic, making the D Majo …

"Voice" in music goes beyond vocal parts. It has to do with the movement of individual lines, no matter what instrument is performing them. In a string quartet, for example, there are four voices (and …

If one understands that theory only describes the development of music, one realizes that theory expanded through the centuries and is still expanding. I teach music theory to high schoolers. … I also teach theory in a way that is NOT analysis. I teach theory in a setting that involves composition. …

In homophonic music, the voices tend to move mostly together rhythmically. Sometimes, one voice will have more movement, but as all the voices change the harmony together, this shows their interdepen …

Theory can be very practical in your guitar performance as well. Learn your scales. Practice them on your guitar. Learn how chords are structured. Practice them on your guitar. … This is all part of theory. As you listen and observe while you are learning pieces others wrote, you will begin to intuit what fits together to make a good song. …

I have a copy of Behind the Bars by Elaine Gould. It was suggested to me by my composition professor for guidelines regarding music notation, and I have found it very helpful. At about 650 pgs, it is …

The retrogrades and inversion do not have to follow the same rhythmic values. The shape comes from the interval distances, not the rhythms. When I am composing and making my personal "dictionary" of m …

According to my composition teacher, all time signatures are basically in groups of two or three . In groups of two, the first beat is strong and the second is weak. In groups of three, the first beat …

I did not find the chord-scale approach helpful, in which each chord uses a different scale. I learned more about improvising by listening to lots of jazz than by matching up my modes and chords. In …

I believe the question in the example is unfair, and if you brought that up to the teacher you would look like you knew even more theory than what you have studied in class. …

The number of semi-tones between notes is not sufficient for describing an interval. A C to an F#, for example, has 6 semi-tones and makes an augmented fourth, but the same number of semitones exists …

Using a three-note chord as an example, an arpeggio would refer to all three notes sounding separately, in any order. However, usually an arpeggio includes all the notes of a chord before repeating on …

Schoenberg said he wouldn't give his students assignments that asked them to harmonize a given melody, because it was too hard, or add a melody to a given chord progression, because it was too easy. …