Music Theory (COLEMAN)
 

Hey since i cant really get piano lessons and get a music class in school i looked up free online music theory lessons on the net and found this website

http://www.musictheory.net/

Could you check that out and tell me what you think about it? It seems pretty good to go through a couple times.

It's pretty good for just learning the basics of music theory. But you'll never get a level where you'll be able to compose. You might understand some chords and stuff, but writing a melodic line isn't really instructed on it.

The ear training stuff is good though. Keep working on that.

Alright Thank you, Ill definatly work hard on this stuff.

BS. I know nothing of music "theory" and my creations could pass for something Moby or other artists composed. The best part is, I did all of it with basic software and extremely limited knowledge of its functionality. Granted, it was mostly for electronic music, but if I took the time to learn a real synthesizer program, I could make some crazy shit. Then again, I'm lazy... carry on.

I'd like to see you try. You'd probably get augmented 2nds, 4ths and 5ths with crossed voices and a bunch of other problems. If you tried to sell your music to anyone they would NEVER buy it. If you were writing something for you bud's garage band, maybe, but not any school orchestra or film producer, or other major group.

I use Acid/Reason/Fl studio to make electronic music and i can make some good stuff but i dont write it. Writing/composing is alot harder then making something on those programs, cause you really dont write it you just make it.
Do you follow?

yep, that's one of the largest misconseptions about music. It has to be correct on paper in order to get money out of it. If you don't know what the hell kind of range a bari sax has or how you transcribe it, you'll never get further than naming your piece.
There is, supprisingly, alot more to music than just the final sound product.

therein lies the problem coleman, not everybody breaks down thier music into chords and tabs, some just like the beat and love the sound......

perhaps he'll never make a profit of it, but if he likes it in the end that's all that matters right? freak:

I don't think you understand: I wouldn't put it on paper. That's for someone else to do: all I'm concerned with is getting the beautiful melodies I have stuck in my head out and into something which allows me to let others have a listen.

You'd be surprised at what I could do, though I suppose healthy skepticism is to be expected, even alright. happy:

I can write pop songs easily. Writing a compisition in perfect notation for a 40 piece symphony is a different story.

Thats what i forgot to mention, thats what i want to do. Write for a symphony.

I already stated that. I said you could never sell your work to a company to put it out to the rest of the world to listen to. Even if you write a pop song, there is no way in hell that you're going to go into the studio and tell the professional musicians how to play each part of the song--you are not going to go up to the drummer and show him the fills and beat; you're not going to go to the guitar player and tell him when to change chords without knowing anything about a meter. They'd look at you like you have 2 heads.

I did say however, it's fine if you want to just write some stuff for some friends or yourself. All the power to ya! But if you want to make any money/a name for yourself, you'd have to learn the 'correct' way of musical notation and theory.

I dunno about that Coleman. I agree with you that knowing music theory is better than not knowing it, but the vast majority of multi-million record selling bands out there wouldn't know an arpeggio from an armpit.

Case in point, Tommy Lee's adventures in the drumline on "Tommy Lee Goes to College". Tommy is a solid rock drummer. I'd go as far as to say he's better than average...pretty darn good at least. You stick him in a marching band with "real" musicians who can sight read sheet music and he looks like he's never seen a drum in his life.

You can be a very successful musician without knowing much about actual "music".

Im taking music theory in school right now, and they say that the course will prepare me for college if i wanted to major in music composing or whatever.

but im going to major in biology =/

I think Tommy went to a highschool specialized for music if I remember correctly. I could be wrong. On topic here, I am not saying you can't make it big in the rock industry without classical training. That's another ball game. The thread starter wanted to know music theory with the final thought of composing for a symphony or concert band. He wants to make it as a composer...not as a performer. There are alot of AMAZING performers out there that can't read a note of music and thats fine because they make up for it in their playing talent.

If he wants to write and sell his works to other groups to play (Boston Pops Orchestra, Philharmonic, Joe Smoe High School Symphony Orchestra, etc.) you need to have a FIRM basis of classical music theory training. It's a fact.