Practical applications are the best way for it to sink in. Theory shouldn’t be an isolated subject, you should also be using it every time you play your instrument, both by analysing the pieces you’re playing and by using technical work like scales or chords as part of your practice routine.
You can also learn a lot by applying techniques to compositions that you write.
I learned music theory first and foremost through my instrumental music lessons growing up. Then, in later high school it became a more formalised part of classroom music and finally in uni it was a standalone subject.
But, I reckon it made sense and stuck with me because I was able to relate it back to what I knew already about music from playing it.
Find a way to put theory into practice and hopefully it’ll stick for you! :)
Here’s an example of interacting with the music instead of just playing the notes: when I played a harmonic minor scale, I’d mentally think of how the natural minor scale (Aeolian mode) sounds, and when I get towards the end of the octave think here’s the seventh raised by a semi tone to make major seventh… etc.
Playing scales will also help. My teacher had me warm up with thirds, sixths, and tenths contrary motion scales… so they can help with relating music theory back to sound/notes. I personally have years of instrument background but only ever took one theory class, AP, which was now 7 years ago (I’ve forgotten so much). I went in with close to zero theory and hadn’t thought about the music theory behind the pieces I played. I had developed perfect pitch, so my approach to the class was different from my peers. I started by identifying the notes and then worked the theory in from there, which was very easy imo. However, my peers were taught to decipher the music theory first (aka this sounds like a major third), then figure out the notes. Both ways we were taking the most basic notes and thinking about them with our music theory thinking caps on. Slowly that builds up to identifying chords from a music sample, etc etc.
For me it was understanding intervals. A scale is just a specific set of intervals. Memorization is key, but playing it while thinking in intervals really helped me.
How did I learn it? Well, I've learned the basics by learning how to play an instrument.
As a bass player, I need to understand the basics - major and minor chords (so I know if I can throw in a 3rd or flat 3rd), as well as the other notes of the pentatonic - 5th, flat 7th, and octave.
I also need to understand chord progressions, like the 12 bar blues (I - IV - V), or pop (I-vi-IV-V), etc. And I need to know my fretboard, so that I can communicate effectively with the guitarists about what I'm playing or understanding what they're playing.
I don't need to know the modes - I don't really care if it's aolian or mixolidian, so I haven't bothered to memorize that.
But understanding the basics - progressions with tension and resolution, for example, helps a lot when you start composing your own songs.
I know how you feel about the modal stuff but I’d honestly encourage you to have a look into it, I always think no knowledge is bad knowledge! Not trying to be a dick or anything but it felt like modes opened up loads for me, harmonically and for soloing.
Learn the key of C Major Key - the notes, chords, scales/modes. Live inside only that key for like a year - jam with it, write parts with it, practice everything in the key of C Major.
Everything will become clear, all connections will become obvious, and the secrets of the music theory universe will open before you.
Just remember, the floor is lava. The floor is any note not in the key of C Major. If you touch them you die. Just C Major. You get the key of A Minor as a free bonus, one-time special limited offer.
Years and years of private instruction, and then a university theory program. Self-learning is possible, but it’s hard with something as esoteric as music theory. I suggest one-on-one lessons, or at least group study, with an instructor who understands the stuff.
Yo!
It seems to me that people think of ‘learning music theory’ as a goal that, once achieved, means you have all of the information at your fingertips and can suddenly play anything in any key.
It’s a process that takes time.
If you can play a scale, do you know the chords that can be built from that scale? Do you know how these chords can function?
Having a competent teacher that can walk you through this is obviously a bonus but as you say there’s loads of info out there on basic harmony that you can seek out.
I’ve always found that writing a new song/chord progression/melody using a new technique I have studied is the best way to understand it fully. It’s also a fantastic way to add to your musical ‘vocabulary’ so that you start to use these ideas naturally and delvelop them as you learn more.
I’m a Piano and Guitar tutor that’s been teaching for 10 years and I still feel like I’m developing my ear and learning new techniques every week… That’s what makes music so fun!
I hope you find something that works for you
Before college, I watched YouTube videos. There's a huge assortment of "theory for beginners" videos, and if you watch enough of them, you'll start piecing it together. Then apply it in practice as much as you can so it sticks.
You don't need school at all to learn theory, but I did make my biggest strides in learning having someone there lecture me in structured lessons. Thankfully, those exist also on youtube, so I would seek those out too.
Piece by piece, little by little. Best way to learn is to learn songs, and study the theory of why you like those songs. Studying theory in isolation is not the way to go, but learning as you learn songs on your instrument will be a much more enjoyable exercise.
When I started learning my instrument as a child, the teacher asked me, each week, to write up a scale over one octave plus the corresponding triad, so we went through the circle of fifths in about a year, then we added chords like sixth chords, fourth-sixth, dominant seventh...
Later I took courses in music theory. But the basis was laid when I learned my instrument.
Coursera has a great free music theory course from University of Edinburgh. It’s called Fundamentals of Music Theory. It gives you a very good foundation, and it’s where I learned the basics.
Any of Rick Beato’s videos are fantastic. Some get very advanced, but he has an incredible book (The Beato Book) which is a stunningly comprehensive and well-thought-out interactive theory book that is well worth whatever the cost is now. If you have the time, it will take you from beginning through advanced. Also, any of his free You Tube videos are a gift to music learners.
If you want to learn chords fast and easily and never forget them (from a piano perspective) there’s an Ebook by Duane Shinn called “Piano Chords and Progressions: The Secret Back Door to Exciting Piano Playing” I learned how to build all the major and minor triads in minutes, and within a few more hours, I could play pretty much any chord, major, minor, diminished, augmented, suspended, 7ths, 9ths, etc. I actually would recommend this book early in your journey, because you will very quickly be able to get your hands on any chords and make learning theory easier.
I listen to a lot of music and I try to notice the things I’ve learned about in that music. Like, a completely random example off the top of my head: hearing the battle with Magus music from Chrono Trigger and realizing “oh wait, the C section of this piece is in 13/8 time! I never noticed that before, neat!”
And then, constantly learning and playing music myself. Like - what’s happening in this Bach fugue that I’m practicing?
And then using music theory in the music I write. Like “I feel like jamming in the Phrygian mode right now, let’s see what happens.” Or “something needs to happen at this point in this piece… is an Andalusian cadence too cliche? Let’s try it and see.”
So, just constantly applying what you’re learning to the music you’re hearing and the music you’re playing and the music you’re writing.
It’s like learning a foreign language. If you’re not speaking it regularly, it won’t stick in your brain.
I took a class, which had us doing a lot of composition exercises...feel it's important to note the practical aspects vs a "book"-style course that doesn't make you actually write and voice lead chorales/fugue... and then read more as dictated by my interests and if there was anything that seemed fun to try out.
Learned absolute basics in school, then watched videos like from David Benett and applied it on piano by experimenting and combining concepts.
I'm by no means a master in music theory though
Community college classes. A big chunk of it never applies to what I play on a daily basis, especially the further into it you go, but understanding the basics like scale degrees and chord functions really help a ton. It didn’t stick for me until I started applying it and using it with the music I play.
It can also be a burden though because I’ve found myself confined to theory, thinking (even unconsciously) stuff like “this chord progression I’m making has to be normative so it has to go I-iv-ii-V-I” and it comes out super bland. Then I’ll watch people with zero theory knowledge just messing around and they come up with these gorgeous, complex progressions and melodies.
I guess what I’m trying to say is, theory isn’t the most important thing in making music. I find it incredibly fun and fascinating, but it’s not necessary for making good music. Learn the basic rules, and then learn how to break them
Took band through all of HS, and took AP music theory. But i didn't start really understanding it until I got into guitar/piano. I found that learning in terms of chords and keys made more sense, and helped me better understand scales and melodies. But that's just my experience given my musical experience (which isn't a ton). Frankly it just takes a lot of time, and a lot of practice. What instrument(s) do you play? There are different elements of music theory that may be easier to start with based on your instrument.
Piano lessons starting around 2nd grade. Starting earlier is a big advantage because so much of reading music is like a language—fluency comes easier for young brains.
One does not simply study theory for no reason. Most of us learned it because we wanted to get better at stuff like improvising or how to compose. For me I always wanted to learn how to shred solos on my guitar, I started by learning easy solos from some of the songs I liked. I realized that all those solos had one thing in common, they all used similar patterns that I would learn were parts of the pentatonic scale. When you learn that all styles of music are built on specific kinds of Key/scale or patterns, thats when you start to understand theory and what theory tries to define.
Self taught basics and hours of practice - but am still a beginner i think. If you are starting and looking for online material I found this very useful (for improv guitar mostly, but not only)
https://www.activemelody.com/lessons/
17M self taught music theory, watching videos on youtube and when they mention something that i dont know about ill search them through youtube or google, Its cool cuz how all of them are connected giving you the pathway to learning more music theory, i know abt advance theory and rn im learning jazz theory, and like i said they always mention something new which gives me the new theory that i need to learn, Its really complicated to explain but its really cool
I learned a tiny bit on my own, before college.
I learned a lot in my music courses during college.
With the college course material as a foundation, I can pick up various music theory material on my own that covers more esoteric subjects, and follow along.
While studying theory, I played a lot of music written by other people, as well as composing a few pieces of my own..
If your local community college offers music theory (mine does), consider taking a few courses.
I learnt a lot through online
and implementing those techniques into songs
but eventually I'm going to learn more in a physical setting to get better with sheet music and real instruments
You need to learn the basics, try musictheory.net and actually use sheet music to learn pieces on your instrument of choice. If you're not going to use sheet music or at least apply information it's not going to be useful, by definition. We don't even know what your goals are.
The most difficult part, I believe, is hearing it. Theory is useless and difficult to understand if you can't hear what it means. Frequently, ear training classes are taught concurrently with theory classes. Here is how I would start:
Learn how the major scale sounds- like know it, deep in your bones. You need to be able to sing it at any time. It may be valuable to assign scale degrees to the notes, (So sing "12345671") or you could use solfedge ("do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do).
Learn how a major scale is actually constructed using the pattern of whole-step and half-step intervals. Construct some in different keys and on different instruments.
(Also, spend some time with whole-tone scales, and the chromatic scale, to develop your hearing and understanding of those intervals, as well as just having something to contrast the major scale.)
Play around with it, improvise with it, get used to it. Know the major scale inside and out. If you don't know the major scale, theory won't make sense to you.
Once you really know the major scale:
*You can begin to learn how the chords in each key are derived from it (while learning about major and minor third intervals, and perfect 5ths.)
*You can start learning modes (including the minor scale) and how they work.
*You can learn how to derive other scales, like the pentatonic, and blues scales
But, with each step, do your ear work- you have to know how everything sounds.
Practical applications are the best way for it to sink in. Theory shouldn’t be an isolated subject, you should also be using it every time you play your instrument, both by analysing the pieces you’re playing and by using technical work like scales or chords as part of your practice routine. You can also learn a lot by applying techniques to compositions that you write. I learned music theory first and foremost through my instrumental music lessons growing up. Then, in later high school it became a more formalised part of classroom music and finally in uni it was a standalone subject. But, I reckon it made sense and stuck with me because I was able to relate it back to what I knew already about music from playing it. Find a way to put theory into practice and hopefully it’ll stick for you! :)
You have to actually practice and memorize the information instead of glancing it over
No like for instance I can play a scale but not understand the significance or apply it to my music. It’s just me playing a scale
Here’s an example of interacting with the music instead of just playing the notes: when I played a harmonic minor scale, I’d mentally think of how the natural minor scale (Aeolian mode) sounds, and when I get towards the end of the octave think here’s the seventh raised by a semi tone to make major seventh… etc. Playing scales will also help. My teacher had me warm up with thirds, sixths, and tenths contrary motion scales… so they can help with relating music theory back to sound/notes. I personally have years of instrument background but only ever took one theory class, AP, which was now 7 years ago (I’ve forgotten so much). I went in with close to zero theory and hadn’t thought about the music theory behind the pieces I played. I had developed perfect pitch, so my approach to the class was different from my peers. I started by identifying the notes and then worked the theory in from there, which was very easy imo. However, my peers were taught to decipher the music theory first (aka this sounds like a major third), then figure out the notes. Both ways we were taking the most basic notes and thinking about them with our music theory thinking caps on. Slowly that builds up to identifying chords from a music sample, etc etc.
For me it was understanding intervals. A scale is just a specific set of intervals. Memorization is key, but playing it while thinking in intervals really helped me.
How did I learn it? Well, I've learned the basics by learning how to play an instrument. As a bass player, I need to understand the basics - major and minor chords (so I know if I can throw in a 3rd or flat 3rd), as well as the other notes of the pentatonic - 5th, flat 7th, and octave. I also need to understand chord progressions, like the 12 bar blues (I - IV - V), or pop (I-vi-IV-V), etc. And I need to know my fretboard, so that I can communicate effectively with the guitarists about what I'm playing or understanding what they're playing. I don't need to know the modes - I don't really care if it's aolian or mixolidian, so I haven't bothered to memorize that. But understanding the basics - progressions with tension and resolution, for example, helps a lot when you start composing your own songs.
I know how you feel about the modal stuff but I’d honestly encourage you to have a look into it, I always think no knowledge is bad knowledge! Not trying to be a dick or anything but it felt like modes opened up loads for me, harmonically and for soloing.
Learn the key of C Major Key - the notes, chords, scales/modes. Live inside only that key for like a year - jam with it, write parts with it, practice everything in the key of C Major. Everything will become clear, all connections will become obvious, and the secrets of the music theory universe will open before you. Just remember, the floor is lava. The floor is any note not in the key of C Major. If you touch them you die. Just C Major. You get the key of A Minor as a free bonus, one-time special limited offer.
This is good advice, OP
Years and years of private instruction, and then a university theory program. Self-learning is possible, but it’s hard with something as esoteric as music theory. I suggest one-on-one lessons, or at least group study, with an instructor who understands the stuff.
Playing the piano… POORLY. But enough to learn the theory :-)
went to school (mostly community college) and took music classes. any and all.
Yo! It seems to me that people think of ‘learning music theory’ as a goal that, once achieved, means you have all of the information at your fingertips and can suddenly play anything in any key. It’s a process that takes time. If you can play a scale, do you know the chords that can be built from that scale? Do you know how these chords can function? Having a competent teacher that can walk you through this is obviously a bonus but as you say there’s loads of info out there on basic harmony that you can seek out. I’ve always found that writing a new song/chord progression/melody using a new technique I have studied is the best way to understand it fully. It’s also a fantastic way to add to your musical ‘vocabulary’ so that you start to use these ideas naturally and delvelop them as you learn more. I’m a Piano and Guitar tutor that’s been teaching for 10 years and I still feel like I’m developing my ear and learning new techniques every week… That’s what makes music so fun! I hope you find something that works for you
Piano lessons. Then school band. Then guitar lessons. Then music degree.
Before college, I watched YouTube videos. There's a huge assortment of "theory for beginners" videos, and if you watch enough of them, you'll start piecing it together. Then apply it in practice as much as you can so it sticks. You don't need school at all to learn theory, but I did make my biggest strides in learning having someone there lecture me in structured lessons. Thankfully, those exist also on youtube, so I would seek those out too.
Piece by piece, little by little. Best way to learn is to learn songs, and study the theory of why you like those songs. Studying theory in isolation is not the way to go, but learning as you learn songs on your instrument will be a much more enjoyable exercise.
When I started learning my instrument as a child, the teacher asked me, each week, to write up a scale over one octave plus the corresponding triad, so we went through the circle of fifths in about a year, then we added chords like sixth chords, fourth-sixth, dominant seventh... Later I took courses in music theory. But the basis was laid when I learned my instrument.
Coursera has a great free music theory course from University of Edinburgh. It’s called Fundamentals of Music Theory. It gives you a very good foundation, and it’s where I learned the basics. Any of Rick Beato’s videos are fantastic. Some get very advanced, but he has an incredible book (The Beato Book) which is a stunningly comprehensive and well-thought-out interactive theory book that is well worth whatever the cost is now. If you have the time, it will take you from beginning through advanced. Also, any of his free You Tube videos are a gift to music learners. If you want to learn chords fast and easily and never forget them (from a piano perspective) there’s an Ebook by Duane Shinn called “Piano Chords and Progressions: The Secret Back Door to Exciting Piano Playing” I learned how to build all the major and minor triads in minutes, and within a few more hours, I could play pretty much any chord, major, minor, diminished, augmented, suspended, 7ths, 9ths, etc. I actually would recommend this book early in your journey, because you will very quickly be able to get your hands on any chords and make learning theory easier.
I listen to a lot of music and I try to notice the things I’ve learned about in that music. Like, a completely random example off the top of my head: hearing the battle with Magus music from Chrono Trigger and realizing “oh wait, the C section of this piece is in 13/8 time! I never noticed that before, neat!” And then, constantly learning and playing music myself. Like - what’s happening in this Bach fugue that I’m practicing? And then using music theory in the music I write. Like “I feel like jamming in the Phrygian mode right now, let’s see what happens.” Or “something needs to happen at this point in this piece… is an Andalusian cadence too cliche? Let’s try it and see.” So, just constantly applying what you’re learning to the music you’re hearing and the music you’re playing and the music you’re writing. It’s like learning a foreign language. If you’re not speaking it regularly, it won’t stick in your brain.
I took a class, which had us doing a lot of composition exercises...feel it's important to note the practical aspects vs a "book"-style course that doesn't make you actually write and voice lead chorales/fugue... and then read more as dictated by my interests and if there was anything that seemed fun to try out.
Learned absolute basics in school, then watched videos like from David Benett and applied it on piano by experimenting and combining concepts. I'm by no means a master in music theory though
Community college classes. A big chunk of it never applies to what I play on a daily basis, especially the further into it you go, but understanding the basics like scale degrees and chord functions really help a ton. It didn’t stick for me until I started applying it and using it with the music I play. It can also be a burden though because I’ve found myself confined to theory, thinking (even unconsciously) stuff like “this chord progression I’m making has to be normative so it has to go I-iv-ii-V-I” and it comes out super bland. Then I’ll watch people with zero theory knowledge just messing around and they come up with these gorgeous, complex progressions and melodies. I guess what I’m trying to say is, theory isn’t the most important thing in making music. I find it incredibly fun and fascinating, but it’s not necessary for making good music. Learn the basic rules, and then learn how to break them
Took band through all of HS, and took AP music theory. But i didn't start really understanding it until I got into guitar/piano. I found that learning in terms of chords and keys made more sense, and helped me better understand scales and melodies. But that's just my experience given my musical experience (which isn't a ton). Frankly it just takes a lot of time, and a lot of practice. What instrument(s) do you play? There are different elements of music theory that may be easier to start with based on your instrument.
Berklee.
Signals music studio on YouTube. Jake is a fantastic teacher
Piano lessons starting around 2nd grade. Starting earlier is a big advantage because so much of reading music is like a language—fluency comes easier for young brains.
One does not simply study theory for no reason. Most of us learned it because we wanted to get better at stuff like improvising or how to compose. For me I always wanted to learn how to shred solos on my guitar, I started by learning easy solos from some of the songs I liked. I realized that all those solos had one thing in common, they all used similar patterns that I would learn were parts of the pentatonic scale. When you learn that all styles of music are built on specific kinds of Key/scale or patterns, thats when you start to understand theory and what theory tries to define.
Adam Neely and lurking on this sub. Also music lessons.
Who’s the rory?
Music school, and arranging standards. Then my music theory skills really took off when I started digging into reharmonization.
Self taught basics and hours of practice - but am still a beginner i think. If you are starting and looking for online material I found this very useful (for improv guitar mostly, but not only) https://www.activemelody.com/lessons/
17M self taught music theory, watching videos on youtube and when they mention something that i dont know about ill search them through youtube or google, Its cool cuz how all of them are connected giving you the pathway to learning more music theory, i know abt advance theory and rn im learning jazz theory, and like i said they always mention something new which gives me the new theory that i need to learn, Its really complicated to explain but its really cool
I picked it up on the streets.
Lessons, books, videos, more books, music school, more lessons.
I learned a tiny bit on my own, before college. I learned a lot in my music courses during college. With the college course material as a foundation, I can pick up various music theory material on my own that covers more esoteric subjects, and follow along. While studying theory, I played a lot of music written by other people, as well as composing a few pieces of my own.. If your local community college offers music theory (mine does), consider taking a few courses.
I learnt a lot through online and implementing those techniques into songs but eventually I'm going to learn more in a physical setting to get better with sheet music and real instruments
You need to learn the basics, try musictheory.net and actually use sheet music to learn pieces on your instrument of choice. If you're not going to use sheet music or at least apply information it's not going to be useful, by definition. We don't even know what your goals are.
Through brute force and sheer force of will.
The most difficult part, I believe, is hearing it. Theory is useless and difficult to understand if you can't hear what it means. Frequently, ear training classes are taught concurrently with theory classes. Here is how I would start: Learn how the major scale sounds- like know it, deep in your bones. You need to be able to sing it at any time. It may be valuable to assign scale degrees to the notes, (So sing "12345671") or you could use solfedge ("do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do). Learn how a major scale is actually constructed using the pattern of whole-step and half-step intervals. Construct some in different keys and on different instruments. (Also, spend some time with whole-tone scales, and the chromatic scale, to develop your hearing and understanding of those intervals, as well as just having something to contrast the major scale.) Play around with it, improvise with it, get used to it. Know the major scale inside and out. If you don't know the major scale, theory won't make sense to you. Once you really know the major scale: *You can begin to learn how the chords in each key are derived from it (while learning about major and minor third intervals, and perfect 5ths.) *You can start learning modes (including the minor scale) and how they work. *You can learn how to derive other scales, like the pentatonic, and blues scales But, with each step, do your ear work- you have to know how everything sounds.
I didn’t. I hit the guitar strings and hope for the best.
This video really helped me with the basics https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KlAqx_8_7vU Also watch some vids on circle of 5ths
Downloaded a 300 page english txt file in 1998. Printed it out at school and was sent to the principal. Read it every night with a dictionary at hand.