Trying to study musical theory by yourself is like trying to invent a new math; you simply need the help of a teacher to explain concepts. Clearly, the search is frustrating and you can easily give up on your goal to learn music theory. Don’t give up! If you recognized yourself in one of the above scenarios, (which you probably did if you’re taking to the time to read this article), there is a solution. (Yes, now is the time when you can start feeling relief about not having to give up your goal). That solution is online lessons. A search over the Internet with simple keywords in Google will quickly reveal the vast amount of information and courses available. Quite impressively, the keywords “online music lessons” give 1 140 000 search results in 0.30 seconds!

Is it really that good? Some more popular subjects found in online lessons include how to learn the guitar, guitar scales for beginners and how to play the keyboard. You will also find online instructions on a variety of other instruments, such as woodwinds and brass. Those include proper fingering, breathing techniques and articulation. However, online lessons are far from offering tutorials on instrument playing only. Theory lessons teach important theoretical concepts in depth which every good musician should know and master.

You can literally find lessons on any aspect of music theory. Newer learners can study basic concepts such as note naming, simple rhythms, ear training, scales, intervals and chords. If you are at a higher level, you can find lessons on more advanced concepts such as complex and syncopated rhythms, 12 tone and modal scales, for example, the classic pentatonic scale often found in Claude Debussy’s music. Other notions include different quality of chords, transposition and compound time signatures to name a few other advantages.

On top of the vast availability of concepts made accessible through online theory lessons, many other advantages come into account: the fact that you can study anywhere, anytime and at your own pace is not a small one. No need to take a weekly scheduled lesson, especially for adults who have an active career, or for younger ones who participate in extracurricular activities or sports teams. Not having to travel to and from lessons is especially important for the adult who already needs to commute to work everyday, or for the parent who has become a private taxi service for their children’s numerous activities.

For many youngsters, the fact of doing interactive theory online will be enough to motivate them to further their musical interest. Moreover, it teaches the young learner to be independent and participate in his own education, thus learning to be a self-taught student, a skill that will be most useful in all areas of life. On top of that, he or she will be learning and improving on computer and Internet skills.

Most sites offer high quality lessons at a very reasonable price. You can even find video lessons, and take quizzes and tests. You get the results at the click of a mouse. The access to an instructor is available almost 24 hours a day on many of the websites. If you compare price versus quality and availability of the instructor, you can easily figure out that this is worth it. In fact, having an instructor available to you anywhere and at anytime… is priceless! The importance of the theory itself Why is music theory so essential? It is crucial to your overall musicianship and of your understanding of music regardless of the instrument you play. Consider yourself playing street hockey and being the best goal scorer on your team.

So, you decide to try out the local team at the arena… only you can’t skate. See where this is going? The same is true for the musician. You can learn to play an instrument quite well, but as long as you don’t understand and appreciate the theory behind it, your music playing will never really make any sense. You might be tempted to believe otherwise, but you will also realise how wrong you were for thinking so once you “see the light” behind the theory of the music. Quite a few things can be achieved by studying and understanding music theory. For example, understanding recurrent chord progressions with which you will become familiar will help you in memorizing a song, or in understanding “where the music is going”. You will gain a better understanding of rhythms and their interpretation, as well as a thorough understanding of scales and key signatures.

This facet is indispensable for every aspect of music and can not be stressed enough! It is the foundation of western music. Understanding time signatures in order to help you determine where the strong beat should be executed is also important. Mentioned above are a few basic concepts, but the more you study, the more you will discover and be enthralled! Yes, but… Things are just not the same in a traditional setting, with the one hour lesson per week, where you need to follow everyone else’s pace (frustrating if they are slower OR faster). In either case, you’re not getting your money’s worth.

The teacher is available to you (and to all the other students) only one hour per week. Imagine, if you are an older student, finding yourself in a class with young beginners… and you have a question. Perhaps you would feel shy to ask the teacher for clarification in front of all those young minds… But with an online setting, there would be no need to feel misplaced about asking a “stupid” question. (Although, we all know such questions don’t exist, right?) One obstacle Don’t panic! The only requirement to online lessons is, well, to have access to the Internet. But I’m thinking that if you are reading this at the moment, chances are this aspect is already taken care of. So, this website you are on right now maybe the answer. Best of luck with your online studies! Oh, one more thing, your going to love learning the pentatonic scale

In today’s musical environment, guitar tabs have become a great source for learning songs, guitar solos, and guitar chords quickly. It’s very important however, not to rely on guitar tabs as a substitute for an authentic music education. Guitarists who intend on progressing to the national and international stage should constantly strive to become more educated.

Nothing can replace a thorough knowledge of music theory. Especially when it pertains to guitar. Perhaps you’ve heard the old saying, the guitar is the easiest instrument to learn, but the hardest to master. There’s a good reason for this saying. There are hundreds and hundreds of musical options that can be utilized on the guitar when approaching any playing situation. In other words, the more informed choices one has regarding an approach to a particular musical scenario, the better the outcome. Informed choices are a result of authentic education.

Imagine walking on to a stage with complete strangers. The musical director announces that the song structure is a ii, IV, vi, V, I chord progression in the key of five flats and to extend the IV chord to it’s furthest diatonic extension. The very next thing heard is the drummer clicking off the tempo. This scenario would be quite intimidating for many guitarists.

All of the guitar tabs in the world won’t help in that scenario. In other words, for those who had been relying only on guitar tabs for his/her musical background, the above referenced chord progression would, most likely, turn into a musical train wreck. Contrast that with an ability to walk on to any stage, with any artist group, and play through every chord progression, in any key signature. Once again, guitar tabs do not, generally, educate one in overall music theory. Most often, guitar tabs help one learn to play something that already exists.

Visit any music store in the world. There is bound to be someone sitting on an amplifier speed picking arpeggios or some other scale. At first glance, many might think that this individual is very, very, talented. In fact, he/she might very well be very talented. However, if this individual has been relying only on guitar tabs, he/she would, most likely fall short, if confronted with a difficult chord progression or key signature change.

Far too many guitar players are relying on speed and flash! However, when all is said and done, the individuals that have taken the time to learn their instrument and all related music theory will, most likely, be the most successful overall. It’s actually very complimentary to get a late night call from a producer who needs help with creating a well-constructed guitar solo or help with the overall flow and dynamics of a song. Once again, guitar tabs, in general, will not help in this situation. However, education will!

Confidence, as a guitarist, is a great feeling. Knowledge of chord construction, chord function, guitar scales, guitar scale formulas, key signatures, extended guitar chords, altered guitar chords, chord inversions, guitar chord and guitar scale substitution principles (and so much more) is the greatest confidence builder that a guitarist, or any musician, could hope for. Take the time to study and learn. Your hard work and dedication to the guitar will pay off.

There are so many very good music institutes, colleges, and guitar methods that can help in the quest for education. However, make sure that any program will deliver an authentic education and not just bits and pieces of music theory. Most importantly, do not procrastinate. If musical opportunity knocks, be prepared to open the door. The key here is preparation through education.

Guitar tabs are great tools. Use them for what they are. Education is your best bet for maintaining longevity in your chosen field, playing the guitar. Until next time, practice, practice, practice.

For example, since generally more than three tones are used to construct jazz chords due to the extra chordal notes which are inherent to the nature of the jazz style, you will need know that scales come in many names and alterations. This means that there is a great deal of music theory to be understood in regards to improvising with them. Beginners will never have a clue as to what to do at all unless they can just rely on their “ear” for playing, because there is going to be a lot of music theory to learn and they might as well get down to the business of learning right away instead of waiting for some easy way. However, more importantly it is the intermediate and advance player who must get beyond the limited knowledge of theory, the traditional concepts and the memorized applications that have no underlying logical explanation to them.

One can simply memorize and use certain concepts for soloing and improvising and there is nothing wrong with that except for the fact that it is very limiting for the bass player because they can’t go beyond a certain level of creative expression or even understand some of the great players thinking because they don’t have a truly innovative and clarifying explanation of underlying principals of the theory being used. As a player, you want to be able to play lead bass over as many different musical styles and chord progressions within a style as possible without being limited by your missing and or traditional explanations of music theory that have not given you the satisfaction of understanding or ability to express yourself as much as you desire to do so.

Learning your bass music theory for jazz will apply to all other musical styles as well. Many times for example, classical bass players can read music great and have excellent technique playing classical pieces on their instrument, but they often lack the great world music theory which holds many of them back from being free to improvise. Or some jazz bass players have great ears and have learned many licks and progressions and solos, but they feel very inadequate in understanding what they are playing or in being able to perform with a confidence that they know what they heck they are doing. Bass players will eventually recognize how rewarding and fulfilling not only learning music theory can be, but also when they get the right system of teaching innovative and modern theory, they will be able to actually use it in more ways and styles of music than they can imagine.

For example, many music theory publications do a good job of explaining Key Signatures and the history of music, yet, these subjects might not interest you as much as getting your instrument out and actually getting down to the matter at hand… playing it!

How can music theory be both educational and fun and interesting at the same time?

The thought of having “all” references to music theory… like: chord structures, melodic notes, scales, all-in-one hand held device (dial) was born in the form of a reference dial (see reference below).

“Implied” music theory is a technique that while you play your instrument, you are consciously and sub-consciously learning insightful music theory information, naturally. And indeed, you’re having the enjoyment of playing your instrument at the same time.

All songs are played in a key. Most songs for most styles can be played using only 8 chords for accompaniment and 6 scales for melodies or solos in each key. Music Dials instantly show you the chords & scales you need in each key.

The 8 chords in each key you should know…

The 6 common chords come from the major scale notes in each key and are called scale tone chords (I = do, IIm = re, IIIm = mi, IV = fa, V = so, VIm = la). The 2 optional chords (bIII, bVII), commonly used for rock & blues, come from the flatted third and flatted seventh (notes of the major scale and can also be used to play songs in each key.)

Except for jazz, most songs use only major, minor and seventh chords and these are the basic chords you should learn in each key. Experiment with and have fun playing, creating or improvising great sounding chord progressions in each key.

There are four chord types: major, minor, augmented, diminished. There are many extensions of these chord types including: suspended, fifth, sixth, seventh, ninth, eleventh and thirteenth chords. Chord formulas define which major scale notes are contained in the chord (1 = do, 2 = re,3 = mi, 4 = fa, 5 = so, 6 = la, 7 = ti).

The specific scale you use to play solo in each key depends on the type of sound you want to create. Here are the 6 most commonly used scales including 2 for “melodic” sounding solos, 2 for “blues” sounding solos and 2 for various other sounding solos.

Scale formulas define which major scale notes are contained in the scale (1 = do, 2 = re, 3 = mi, 4 = fa, 5 = so, 6 = la, 7 = ti).

I hope this section has shed some light on music theory and how tools like the Music Dial and other music reference guides could assist with your resolve to play better, whether you are a guitar player, bass guitar player, keyboard player, mandolin or banjo player, or any instrument for that matter (like horns, etc.).

First of all, you’ll need an instrument. If you have access to a piano, you have got a head start. The piano is the easiest instrument to begin learning, yet is also the most versatile. Its notes are set neatly in a row with nothing hidden. Because of this simple layout, the piano can be used to learn the basic principles of music.

The piano has two sets of keys: the white keys and the black keys. Each key plays a different note. Starting on the note C and playing the next six white keys to the right will form the C major scale. Of course, finding the note for a beginner is half the challenge.

To find a C, look at the black keys. There are two groupings of black keys: two keys and three keys. Look for a group of two black keys. The white key just to the left of this group is C.

Now that you’ve found C, you will be able to play the C major scale. Just start at any C and move to the right, playing each white key in sequence until you have reached the next C on the keyboard. You have now played the C major scale, one of the building blocks of learning music. The notes are as follows: C D E F G A B.

Many popular songs can be played with this scale. You can play the melody of Old MacDonald using these keys. You can also play Let It Be by the Beatles, using only the C major scale. Both the melody and chords of the song can be played using the white keys.

Of course, no one wants to stop learning there. Learning some basic chords will be the next step. A basic C chord is played by placing the thumb on a C, the middle finger on an E, and the pinky on the G. Play these keys at the same time and you have played the C chord.

There are many more scales and chords to learn, but any beginner can start with C and create some nice results. Learning music needs to be fun, as theory and technical exercises can make it seem more like work. The great thing about learning how to play chords and melodies in C is that pretty much any white key melody will work over any white key chord progression. For someone learning to play the piano, this is encouraging.

Learning music can be easy and enjoyable when a beginner starts off on the right key. By following the easy steps outlined here, anyone can make beautiful music from day one. The greatest musical minds in the world all started off at the beginning and so can you.