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Thread: music theory for the total beginner

  1. #26
    Registered User Perry's Avatar
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    Default Re: music theory for the total beginner

    "that thing you did last week when we were playing La Bamba, you remember?"
    Good point about it being a system to talk aout the same thing...

    Funny I still sometimes need to relay an Asus2 chord as....you know the "Wharf Rat" chord (as in Grateful Dead)

    BTW that sus2 chord sounds so much better on a guitar; or maybe I haven't found a good mando voicing yet...

    Anybody got any favorite sus2 voicings?

  2. #27
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    Default Re: music theory for the total beginner

    The only exception I have to what Matt submitted is that B and E do have sharps. The C# chord is spelled C# E# G# and the G# chord is spelled G# B# D#. This can be confusing.

    Chords that are commonly used in any given key are triads starting on the 1st, 4th and 5th tones of the scale. Once you have your triads under your belt, understanding what a dominate 7th chord is and how it functions will useful information to have.

    A dominate 7th is a chord consisting of 4 notes... the 1st 3rd 5th and a flatted 7th tone. These are used when a chord functions as a 5 chord. e.i. G is the 5th of C. In the key of C the G is called the dominant chord because that's it's basic function and can always be played as such. But there are other times chords function as a 5 chord. e.i. C would function in this manner if your next chord is F because C is the 5th of F and therefore can be played as a 7th.

    Theory is involved and fun. Make such you have your basics (scales, triads, minor triads, 1 4 5s in all keys) in place before you try to get any futher because everything is based on this information.
    Good luck,
    Shelby Eicher

  3. #28
    Registered User swampstomper's Avatar
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    Default Re: music theory for the total beginner

    All of the above suggestions are good. When you have some grasp of theory and want to really open your mind, you might want to look at The Jazz Theory Book by Mark Levine. Although the examples are from jazz (and now that Del is playing with the Preservation Hall band, that could be a good thing!) it is patient and step-by-step. Very thick but starts slow and then accelerates. It's spiral-bound and meant to be used at the piano -- you don't have to be a real piano player though, just play the chords and fragments shown. I use it directly with the mando in combination with the Jethro book and chord books from Mike Marshall and Niles to transfer some of the ideas to mando. The chords are difficult on mando (we have to use partial voicings) but the modes/scales are not.

  4. #29
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    Default Re: music theory for the total beginner

    I'd recommend this book:

    http://www.amazon.co.uk/Music-Theory...5187938&sr=8-1

    It definitely helped my general understanding, although I don't really think much about theory when playing.

    Edit: Saw JeffD already mentioned it

  5. #30
    but that's just me Bertram Henze's Avatar
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    Default Re: music theory for the total beginner

    Quote Originally Posted by leftyjim View Post
    I'm looking for the simplest explanation of basic music theory ever. Any suggestions?
    You asked for it, you get it...

    Simplest explanation: "if it sounds good, it's music"

    No kidding, it doesn't get more basic than that. The trick is to understand why something "sounds good" in the first place. It has to do with overtones and the way the human ear works. The rest is just vocabulary and technical compromises to fit existing instrument families.

    I am pointing this out because during my music education as a kid they forgot to tell me that, as a result of which I hated music theory; much later, when I understood the basics, I made peace with music theory and hated my music teachers instead.
    the world is better off without bad ideas, good ideas are better off without the world

  6. #31

    Default Re: music theory for the total beginner

    Quote Originally Posted by Pete Martin View Post
    I wrote a book on theory aimed at the total beginner. You can download it free at my website.
    wow some great stuff here thanks for sharing

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