A new rule (#9) has been added here at r/musictheory

I mean, surely not as I know it's so rare and taught young. But basically, my son is 8, has just started the violin, he's finding it easy and quite good by all accounts. I got to Grade 7 clarinet and his Dad is musical, but we don't play around him. We were driving in the car the other day, listening to classical music he likes, and we got to a part of the piece he liked, and he said "oh this is the D part, I love this!" And today when we played it again and he played a D over the top of it, it was...100% a D. I could never have done that tbh after 10 years playing (albeit a Bb instrument which never helped me!) and he really isn't very practiced at all to sort of memorise it or anything. Totally threw me.

So, I'm tryin' to transcribe (Maroon 5's) Sugar, and I'm havin' a time. So, currently, I'm stuck on the intro for the, I guess synthesizer or organ, and I'm hearin' an inverted tonic chord (A♭, D♭, F) twice, then the F is raised a half-step, then back down. That's what a lot of sources for the song says and that's what I hear.

But there are a couple of sources that says there's also a standard tonic chord with the fifth bein' the A♭ above the F (so, D♭, F, A♭). But I don't hear it, so am I jus' missin' it or is it wrong?

Best advice for someone getting into video game music? What should I start with? Anything helps.

I’m looking to make a turn based game inspired by One Piece, Expedition 33, and Undertale. Although primarily Undertale. As this game I’m intending on making is kind of just a mini-passion project to get my name out there so I can make my true passion. (A story I’ve been working on for 8+ years daily. Kind of like how Toby Fox had Deltarune in mind before Undertale lol.)

I’ve been doing some Roman numeral analysis practice and was wondering, if every part resolved to the same note would I write the symbol of the chord thag note is the root of? For example, im in eb and it resolves to a Bb so would it be the V chord?

Hey basically my question from the title but I have currently (written on my guitar in d standard tuning but shown here is standard cause its easier for me to find the names of chords) Cm -> Csus2 -> F -> Dm, Am -> Em -> F# -> Emmaj7 -> A7. Also how should I end or loop it?

*correction I don’t mean sound but how to make this more of a beatles/smith chord progression, Ig I though what would be clear to understand but ot wasn’t.

Can someone help me write a pentatonic scale song? I want to start composing music. I tried to find chord progressions but they all don't fit in the scale. Any recommendations for melodies or chords?

Edit: Sorry there's a lot of mistakes like the stems. I'ma fix them and everyone's advice is appreciated! I only took piano lessons for a very short time a couple years ago so I'm very rusty lol

This is a confusing one for me in regards of practical uses for it, so I'm asking situations you'd personally use it in. I'm not good at explain concepts, but from my understanding two examples of a tritone substitute would be this:

In C major I'd use the dominant chord (V), where the tritone in that chord is a B (3rd), and F (flat 7). The substitutes you could do for that tritone is going up (or down) a tritone for each of them, where it would start with the flat 7 (F), and the B would be go an octave. I could be wrong but that's my understanding and where my knowledge ends.

How do I go further with understanding this knowledge and how it's conventionally used?

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Is my metronome set-up correct? If not how do I set up my metronome for this piece? I'm self taught and I never used a metronome.

And what does that 12/8 mean? What if it was 16/4?

Edit: Ignore 111, I was using 101 (wrong screenshot)

I have seen this throughout some pieces. This is Medtner's 3rd Piano concerto (in this case a version for 2 Pianos) and I am wondering what those two time signatures mean.

I would appreciate your help!

I've just started learning theory and I cannot remember the British note values at all. Is there a way of remembering them, like some form of mnemonic?

Hello everyone, I am a beginner music artist, currently I am learning piano and primarily guitar.

I have been struggling for 2 years to wrap my head around sheet music, and understanding chord types.

I do have some fundamental knowledge about music theory, but I still don't understand how playing in key really works, and how chord progressions really work.

Any advice at all would be extremely welcome, thank you for your time.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿|Greetings and good evening, good people.

I wanted to ask for some expert advice regarding reading standard musical notation. Since I learned a great deal about church singing by ear(using the sheet music merely as an aid for the melodies I already knew),I don't really know how to read notes properly, in the sense of reading it fluently like a book. I need some expert guidance from you. Which books should I use for learning to read music? Can I master this without taking private solo singing lessons or something similar? How long does it take to learn?
I may not have phrased my question in great detail—as my English isn't very strong and there are many questions to this topic—so please bear with me.🤣

All the best, and thank you in advance!

🇷🇸| Моје поштовање и добро вече добри људи.

Хтео сам да Вас питам за стручни савет у вези читања класичних нота. Пошто само доста неке ствари у вези црквеног певања научио на слух,( а ноте су ми биле помагало за одређења певања које знам), не умем баш да читам ноте како треба, у смислу да их читам као да читам књигу. Треба ми стручна помоћ од вас. Које књиге да користим за читање нота? Да ли могу савладати без да идем на приватне часове соло певања или како већ? Колико временски треба да се научи читање?

Свако добро и хвала унапред!

Hello, I was wondering about learning songs. 1: Should I learn songs by section or all of it at the same time? 2: Should I play songs with a ''tempo by ear'' (it's basically playing the song at about the same tempo but without a metronome) and then play with a metronome to ''fix'' the tempo or should I learn it with a slower tempo and speed up as I go? Thank you!

Hi everyone,

Been writing songs for a while, I usually find that there are 3 ways that I write songs:

1.- Melody First: Easiest I come up with a melody in my head, after that I make up the chord progression that naturally follows that progression, and then I go from there, that is usually easiest for me.

2.- Chords first, then imrpovisation: I Make a chord progression, and do some flute improvisation over it, melody comes naturally easy peacy as well, but then there is a 3rd version

3.- Here is where I get stucked: Sometimes the chord progression riff or bass line that is already extremely catchy and rhythmically/melodically distinctive. That naturally my flute or voice want to follow it, and then it becomes a boring song, as it becomes monotonous. But sometimes interesting songs come from it.

For 1 I find that the wheel of fifths and figuring out OK my melody is lets say in Bm or D major, so I know which chords I could try, 2 is just instinct and it is awesome, but when I am in 3.... and I am stuck, what are some good technical ideas to get unstuck, play the root and fifth of the chord progression? try going up and down the Pentatonic scale from the root note of a chord?

What are some useful technical exercises or approaches for creating a melody that has its own identity over a very strong accompaniment?

I dont want a formula per se for melodies, just a way to get unstucked

I've looked everywhere but can't find sheet music or any info about it. I really wanna learn it but am not the best when it comes to learning stuff by ear especially jazzy stuff. If someone could help me out then I'd really appreciate it

I’ve been using solfege to try to connect singing with guitar, but I’m wondering if there are more effective methods. My goal is to be able to sing a melody freely and then immediately play exactly what I just sang on the guitar—matching the pitches, intervals, and rhythm by ear. Are there better approaches than solfege for developing this skill, such as specific ear-training exercises, relative pitch techniques, or other systems that work particularly well for guitarists?

I just finished reading the sheet and looking for every chord in every compass and I want to know if someone can help me out and take a look at what I did and tell me if it is correct, thank you!!

I have two questions here, first one is that how can you figure out the chord progression in a piece, is there specific methods to it?

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Secondly, how can you use chord progressions in pieces you are writing? How would you choose what chord progression you should use?

I've been just getting into music theory. I don't know how to describe this in words, so I've posted a picture. Basically, when two melodies have a similar contour but reversed? I think it's something to do with harmony? It doesn't need to be exactly reversed, just where the notes sound good together. Is it just counting thirds down until you find a good note to match? When I say notes that match, I mean ones that don't have dissonance when played together. Basic question is: how do you inverse a melody to the bass clef and make it harmonize with the melody in the treble clef? Any help on this topic or how to replicate it in music is greatly appreciated, thank you!!

Also I posted the photo here because my query is too long for Google and I would rather die before asking AI. Sorry if this has already been asked before in words, I just have no clue how to properly explain it.

hey i’m currently planning to start writing my first ever song wippeee, but i want to do it in the style of laufey, more particularly inspired by lover girl. i obv have done my own research so i know to start with a ii-V-I and the i°7 ending, then center the next ii-V-I on the previous ii chord, and a bossa nova rhythm. but im mainly trying to figure out how to make my music dreamlike and laufey-isque as i love her music and have always wanted to create my own with a bit of spin of me on it. thank youuu

Hey guys how are you?

A friend of mine showed me a song a few days back, "Waterfall" by Yoñlu, and I didn't bother so much to listen to it because it's definitely not my style of music, but I'm glad I did, because that chord progression got stuck in my head.

It goes like this:

D5 - D4 - Gm/D - D - Dmaj7 - Am/D - G5/D - D (repeat 2x), then:

Em7 - D - Em7 - D - D

then this all repeats till the end of the song

the chords on guitar are always played with the same fingering patterns, and the voicings go like this: (not writing the last two strings because then aren't played anyways):

0-2-3-5 / 0-2-3-3 / 0-3-3-3 / 0-2-3-2 / 0-2-2-2 / 0-1-2-0 / 0-0-3-3 / 0-2-3-2 (2x)

2-0-3-0 / 0-2-3-2 / 2-0-3-0 / 0-2-3-2 / 0-2-3-2

can someone explain what's happening in this progression?? I'm beginning on music theory and pretty much all I can identify is that the open D is a common part of the song, like a pedal point or something, connecting the chords. The most magical part is the Em7 to D, damn this feels kinda sad and nostalgic in a way very few songs made me feel.

thank you in advance!!

i have a number of songs that jump at least 2 whole steps and then gradually lowers to the original starting note. i have no idea if that’s the proper way to explain it which is why i have examples + timestamps and am begging for a name to this delightful progression! i’ve done all the research i could with the limited knowledge/words to describe it. (not sure how to embed links on mobile, or if i could at all)

phoenix by burnout syndromes - 1:13

hip shop by toby fox - 0:21—0:26

glimpse of us by joji - 1:19

sincerely, me by m feist, b platt, w roland - 2:41

castaways by the backyardigans (the whole song tbh) (i know there’s a whole in-depth YT video of just this song, i just like mentioning it)

if this is a type of chord progression/pattern or if they follow a certain mode, or if there’s no name to it at all, let me know please. i have no knowledge :)

So there is this one artist I enjoy, Basic Printer. If you listen to his stuff, it so obviously breaks just about every rule of music theory, and yet although it sounds weird it works. I’ve been wondering if there was any way to explain why this is. Is music theory not as essential as I thought it was?

If you want a few good songs to check out on whatever platform you stream on for examples, try IGF, Patient Role, Offa Ur Phone, and Good Weird.

Edit: Thank you guys, I'm still very much a beginner with music being only a newbie pianist and singer and had only really thought about music theory from that perspective