Music Theory & Harmony: Boring? No!
It's An Exciting X-Ray Into
How Music Works!
It's a sad fact that most people, including piano players, regard music theory and harmony as some abstract concept that has very little to do with the songs they play on their pianos. Nothing could be further from the truth. Knowing music theory and harmony is the key to opening a whole new world of exciting insights into the songs we play, and enable us to do things on the piano we never dreamed we could do, to say nothing of enjoying the process a hundred times more.
What is music theory, and how can I benefit?
Here are just a few of the wonderful skills and insights a person benefits from by learning music theory:
How notation works -- a huge advantage in sight-reading.
The hierarchy of rhythm -- solving rhythm problems before they begin.
All kinds of scales -- the "ladders of notes" every song is composed of. Major scales, 3 types of minor scales, chromatic scales, whole tone scales, modal scales.
How transposition and modulation works -- playing songs in different keys, and getting from one key to another smoothly.
Complex time signatures, and what they tell you.
Perfect, major & minor intervals -- helps ear training greatly.
Two-part and four-part harmony.
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