Learning The Essentials of Music TheorySo what are the essentials of music theory....Well let's look at what makes Music seem difficult. 1. Strange symbols 2. Unfamiliar words 3. How does it all fit together? So let's start with the strange symbols. Why do we use symbols in music?..... Because we recognize symbols much faster than if we were reading words. So when the music is moving fast we need to be able to see the changes in the music quickly. Imagine you had to read the words to every instruction in the music. This would really slow you down. Let me give you an example; Here is a collection of 6 common musical Symbols.
You may not understand them but if I try to say in words what they represent. It would go like this: Play in the treble clef. Every F, C, G, and D should be sharp. There are 2 beats in the bar and you should play an A and then a B. Now you can see why we need symbols in music! Why are most musical words in Italian? Well it's simply that Italy was at the forefront of the musical world for many years and the Italian Composer (person who writes the music) was the first to add words to music.
These words tell the musician: 1. How fast to play. 2. If the music should be like a dance. 3. What kind of mood to portray And many other directions to help the music sound how the composer wanted it to sound.
For my truly useful list of Italian musical words click here
So now we have the symbols and the words and all we have to do is put it all together!
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