Knowledge of music theory is essential for serious performers and composers. The subject may seem imposing at first. But, remember that music theory came into being during the Middle Ages and reached its conventional peak during the Baroque period. By around 1700, the theory that guides the music most of us hear, play and compose was all worked out. Music created from 1650 to 1900 belongs to “The Era of Common Practice”. Things got a little crazy in the 20th century. Musicians are still searching for what’s next.

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Truth is, we’ve been working on music theory for only about one-thousand years. But, we humans have been making music for at least sixty-thousand years! Music theory came into being as sort of a handbook of “best practices”. Music theory is a catalog of techniques that successfully please listeners. Each one of those techniques is grounded in how listeners respond to what musicians create.

Vocabulary and symbology have to be learned. It’s very helpful to be able to read standard musical notation in order to understand music theory. Standard musical notation provides shortcuts to understanding how the four elements of music work together: rhythm, melody, harmony and timbré.

If you have access to a digital audio workstation (Reaper, Studio One, Ableton Live, Logic, Cuebase, ProTools, etc.) you can work out all of the concepts of music theory using the MIDI editor that comes with all digital audio workstations. A MIDI editor can as effective as standard notation when studying music theory.

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We'll get started with the most basic concept in all of music..... The Overtone Series