Introduction
Music theory is the study of music as an art form. It involves the study of musical notation, musical scales, chords and intervals, harmony, rhythm and other elements that make up music. Music theorists strive to understand these elements through research and analysis. Musicologists also study how these elements have evolved over time by examining historical sources such as manuscripts or recordings (such as audio-visuals).
The basics of music theory
Music Theory is the study of music as an art form, and it’s also a science. It’s about how music works, how to make it and what you can do with it. Music theory is not just about chords and scales—it’s about everything from rhythm to rhythm notation (how we write notes on paper).
For example: if you want to learn more advanced concepts like harmony or counterpoint, then you’ll need to know some basic rules first. These rules are called “theory” because they help us understand how different elements fit together into a coherent whole; they’re also called “theory” because there’s no right way for everyone else out there who isn’t trained in this field!
Musicianship vs. music theory
Musicianship is the ability to play an instrument. It’s a skill, and it can be learned. Music theory is the study of music—how it works, what notes make up a tune, how musicians communicate using sound waves.
Music theory isn’t necessary for musicianship; but if you want to become an excellent musician (or just improve your skills), then learning some basic music theory will help you understand why certain things happen in songs and performances.
Types of music theory
- Harmony is the study of chords, melody and rhythm.
- Melody is the music part that you sing along with: it’s what you hear when your voice goes up or down an octave.
- Rhythm is how fast or slow something happens in time (for example, if a person walks at a normal pace, then they are walking rhythmically). It can also be used to describe how loud something sounds (for example, if someone screams “I hate my life” then they are screaming loudly).
- Counterpoint refers to two different melodies playing at the same time; this helps create harmony between them because each note has its own directionality based on its relationship with other notes in order for them all stay together as one sound rather than breaking apart into separate parts like a broken chord would do if played over itself too much times without any type of pause between each occurrence!
What is harmony?
Harmony is the use of two or more voices to create a chord. The term harmony can be applied to any sound that has been harmonized, including single notes and chords.
Harmony may be based on the interval structure between notes, but it’s also possible for harmony to be based around melody instead of intervals. For example, if you have two melodies playing simultaneously (one on each side of your keyboard), you could use them as a basis for creating chords that contain both melodies at different pitches:
What is melody?
Melody is the most important part of a song. It’s what makes you want to listen to it over and over again, even if you don’t know all the lyrics. Melody is also known as tune, tune-up and theme (and sometimes more).
It’s easiest to understand melody when we break down its parts into smaller pieces:
How do chords work?
When you hear a chord, it’s not just one note. It’s actually made up of multiple notes that are played together in succession. Chords are the foundation of music, and they’re what make up melodies and harmonies.
Chords can be major or minor depending on their root note: major chords have a major 3rd (triad), which means they have four different pitches; minor 3rds don’t require this extra step because their second note is perfect fifth below their first (see “perfect fifth” for more details). So if we add an F# to an E major triad (E-G#-B), we would create a Bm7(b5) chord—it has three different pitches: E–G#–F# across four notes total!
Music theory is the study of music as an art form.
Music theory is the study of music as an art form. It’s a discipline that is studied by musicians and music scholars, who use it to understand how music works and how it should be played or sung.
Music theory can help you:
- Understand why a piece of music sounds like it does
- Know how to play or sing in tune with other musicians
Conclusion
Music theory is a field in which you can find a lot of different types of information and theories, but all of them are related somehow. The most important thing to remember is that music theory is not just a way to learn how to play instruments; it’s also about understanding what makes music beautiful, why certain sounds make us feel certain ways and how we can use that knowledge to create new songs or improve our own performances on an instrument like guitar or piano. This article covered some basics about what it means for something to be considered “music theory”, why musicianship vs. musicology might matter when it comes time for your next lesson and what type of things go into being good at both!
