Want to understand music
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- KVRAF
- 4751 posts since 22 Nov, 2012
you are not special because you play music. everyone has music in them. that is where you go wrong. you play music because it soothes your soul, not to get noticed. every song has been made before. i play my keyboard with my eyes closed. nobody cares but me.
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- KVRAF
- 3878 posts since 28 Jun, 2009 from Wherever I lay my hat
Some music philosophy:
It depends on how you want to go about it. It's been said many times: music "theory" is not physics "theory". Of course music is math when broken down to the bare essentials, but we're not talking math, we're talking human perception. What sounds "good" or "right" depends on your personal experience and your cultural background. There is no universal right or wrong in music.
If you want to learn composition within the framework of your culture, then you can definitely profit from education in that particular area. Learning the rules of a particular genre will help you swim those waters with greater ease.
You could, however, set out on your own and go by your ear. Try to lose your perception of "right or wrong" and think of every combination of notes as "right". You will come up with melodies and harmonies that are pretty unique. To stick with the water metaphor: set out to sea with no idea of where you're going to end up, and enjoy your discoveries.
I see music (and all arts) as communication. Moving within a recognized genre will make your music relatable to a lot of people. Conversely, making music with your own personal set of rules will probably alienate most listeners. The real gold (for me, at least) lies somewhere in the middle of these two approaches. Stay true to your vision but keep it palatable. Mind the rules, forget the rules.
Don't forget to enjoy the trip, however you go about it!
It depends on how you want to go about it. It's been said many times: music "theory" is not physics "theory". Of course music is math when broken down to the bare essentials, but we're not talking math, we're talking human perception. What sounds "good" or "right" depends on your personal experience and your cultural background. There is no universal right or wrong in music.
If you want to learn composition within the framework of your culture, then you can definitely profit from education in that particular area. Learning the rules of a particular genre will help you swim those waters with greater ease.
You could, however, set out on your own and go by your ear. Try to lose your perception of "right or wrong" and think of every combination of notes as "right". You will come up with melodies and harmonies that are pretty unique. To stick with the water metaphor: set out to sea with no idea of where you're going to end up, and enjoy your discoveries.
I see music (and all arts) as communication. Moving within a recognized genre will make your music relatable to a lot of people. Conversely, making music with your own personal set of rules will probably alienate most listeners. The real gold (for me, at least) lies somewhere in the middle of these two approaches. Stay true to your vision but keep it palatable. Mind the rules, forget the rules.
Don't forget to enjoy the trip, however you go about it!
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- KVRer
- 18 posts since 17 Aug, 2020
If you are just starting out diving into music theory I cannot recommend those books enough:
Music Theory for Computer Musicians
https://www.amazon.com/Theory-Computer- ... 1598635034
and the follow-up Harmony for Computer Musicians:
https://www.amazon.com/Harmony-Computer ... B00B7RF9HE
After you have your grounds covered and you will understand some very basics around notations do the https://scoreclub.net/ courses. ScoreClub is one of the best online sources regarding music theory I have ever come across, but it is a bit advanced and requires some pre-knowledge that the two books mentioned above will give you.
But this is a journey, and it will take you years. Go through the books, keep on writing songs, go through the books and courses again and keep writing some more... and eventually you will get there!
Music Theory for Computer Musicians
https://www.amazon.com/Theory-Computer- ... 1598635034
and the follow-up Harmony for Computer Musicians:
https://www.amazon.com/Harmony-Computer ... B00B7RF9HE
After you have your grounds covered and you will understand some very basics around notations do the https://scoreclub.net/ courses. ScoreClub is one of the best online sources regarding music theory I have ever come across, but it is a bit advanced and requires some pre-knowledge that the two books mentioned above will give you.
But this is a journey, and it will take you years. Go through the books, keep on writing songs, go through the books and courses again and keep writing some more... and eventually you will get there!
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- KVRer
- 2 posts since 8 Dec, 2020
AUTO-ADMIN: Non-MP3, WAV, OGG, SoundCloud, YouTube, Vimeo, Twitter and Facebook links in this post have been protected automatically. Once the member reaches 5 posts the links will function as normal.
Maybe this can help you: sonid.app (sonid.app)Sonid is an app in which you can learn musictheory. You can download for Android and iOS (links are on the website.
Good luck!
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- KVRist
- 52 posts since 24 Jan, 2018
Scaler 2 is a good plugin to flesh out ideas. I second Rick Beato. It also helps to learn a bunch of songs progressions.