A Non-Musician Guide To Music Theory
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- Äas pĆidĂĄn 23. 05. 2024
- In today's livestream I explain why you should learn music theory as a non-musician and what it is you need to learn exactly.
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Rick love your channel and all of the interviews you have been doing. I heard you announce the Beato Book Bundle sale this weekend, so I had to get it. Was going through the ear training course and the Beato Book. They are both amazing . Thank you for offering this amazing deal. Happy Memorial Day.
This is more confusing. I want to buy your lessons, but darnit this isnât selling it. The random scratches on the pad that I canât see on my phone is dizzying.
â@@sunnyOrNotHereIcome he has blackboard videos too. Go take a look at his archives.
@@sunnyOrNotHereIcome : cast to a TV?
If youâre a non-musician and youâre spending time watching videos about music theory, you should really pick an instrument and put that time towards it. Itâs not too hard, and itâs never too late! You will NOT regret it.
That depends on the instrument. đ
@@finestPluginssome are harder than others, true. But any of them just take time and effort. The point is just start.
@@slowporch Some are also no fun. Like for many, the start and end of my musical career was the recorder.
But then it's a small investment for parents, especially when they're in limited funds.
I never got to learn what I wanted to play back then (guitar).
Having said that, it works have been a bit of a pain as a lefty anyhow.
Already there!
@@finestPlugins I started on recorder too. Got a guitar at 14 from working delivering newspapers.
Left guitar is the same as right. Just a mirror image. Piss easy.
It's all music, don't deny yourself.
You are a CZcams treasure .
Learning to play instruments and learning theory has dramatically, drastically expanded and deepened my enjoyment and understanding of music. I hear and appreciate so many things I didn't before, and now I get to participate instead of just listening.
I have a degree in music. Just bought your bundle because I am interested in what I forgot about theory. Like to improve my ear training and want to look at the guitar lesson stuff. That interview with Brendan was massive. I want to help you keep doing that.
Look man, I think you are the most genuine dude on YT. Thank you for everything. Itâs one thing that you interview my fav musicians (and introduced me to so many), but you also take the time to teach music. Thank you!! Keep up the GREAT work!
I'm a non musician and a subscriber. Even before viewing this, I agree.
Iâm a failed musician - I took private guitar lessons for five years, at which time I told my instructor that I was wasting both of our time because I just couldnât play the guitar. He agreed that I sucked at transferring what was in my head to the strings, but it wasnât a waste of time because I learned all of the theory, and Iâll be happy that I did. He was right. I still play around, mostly scales; but I just canât play songs for some reason, and Iâm OK with that.
Have you tried another instrument? I gave up on acoustic guitar and eventually picked up a bass. Even if you suck at an instrument the theory can be transferred to every instrument. Don't give up!
Seems like you need a new instructor Marty music !
Guitar requires a lot of rhythm and feel, maybe you can pick something less challenging in that regard, which asks for a different skillset.
Cat Stevens said, "I always tried to play other people's songs on the guitar. It was too hard and I couldn't do it! So I wrote my 'own' music!" True story.
^..^~~
The point is to get MUSIC coming out of the guitar. IF it takes a month to 'learn' a tune with 5+ years of experience + theory + ear training then that is a long time to have NOISE coming out of the guitar and the teacher is probably right. More so when the 13 yo down the street has had a guitar for 6 months, has no theory, no perfect pitch and can play the tune in a couple of nights to a standard that is superior to most grown men.
i find a useful basic thing to remember is- every chord is built on the 1st. 3rd. 5th. of the scale: (C D E F G A B C) C E G.
A key is built with the 1st. 4th. and 5th.
So the scale isn't ABCDEFG?
WTF?
Why not?.
@@offshoretomorrow3346. Ha ha. Thatâs an old music joke. But if you really donât know. Well. You would have to go to basic music class to learn the answer.
Exactly. It applies to guitar and piano. Find the first, third, and fifth notes of any major scale play them together to form chords. Go back to major scale any key and play the 1st, 4th, 5th notes as chords and now you know over a hundred songs. Twist and Shout, La Bamba, theyâre the same chord progression. This is just basic stuffâŠ
Iâve been playing music for 45 years and I love hanging out with this guy on his channel, You Rock Man!
I'm a musician. 16 year old stepdaughter obsessed with Rush. 2 failed bands on CZcams. Once signed to a record contract. Love the channel, and she does, too. All the best from Nova Scotia.
Years ago a friend asked if I would join his bridge club. âI donât know anything about bridge.â Not to worry he said then started describing the game using unfamiliar, undefined terms.
This video is like that. He didnât define scale for instance. Chords. What the note letters mean. Unsure whether a novice would understand.
Is this a sales pitch for his classes? Maybe but again unsure whether this would scare newbies off.
My thoughts exactlyâŠ
Learning music theory while still in my teens radically changed the way I listen to music. And I strongly believe it was for the better. I can still listen to music instinctually. I still respond on a gut level. But there's this whole other layer I wouldn't have. I legitimately get excited when I hear an unexpected chord change or a cool voicing. I want to run out in the streets and tell people about it. But of course, no one cares. But that's okay because I do.
I have a moderate amount of theory knowledge and music pals have asked me "teach" them. This video shows that is not easy. Even when making it easy is not easy.
Agreed. I was lost from the beginning and gave up after 15 minutes of utter confusion.
I'm not a musician, but I've been subscribed here since your first few videos with your son. I love learning and understanding more about the music I love, to help me love it even more. I think you'd make a great Peter Schickele for a new generation if you want to really take on the musical education of the general public. I'd certainly list.
After playing instruments from age 5, I went back at age 40 and got a music performance degree. Took me 10 years to finish as I balanced workload with my regular job. The degree was worth it, taught me a lot about theory! You're never too old to learn...đ
I am self taught on guitar, bass, keyboards, and mandolin. Back in the 60s I would play along with my favorite Yardbird albums and Jeff Beck (RIP) has been my favorite guitarist since 1965. I cannot read music and do not know anything about music theory. I play by ear and can figure out most songs. I am also self taught using Pro Tools 10 and I am now using Logic Pro X. I write, arrange, record, play lead guitar, keyboards, and the other instruments, and mix all of our songs for our band. I know two guitarists who know music theory and they are really good musicians and have given me some good advice. When they talk music theory I have no clue what they are talking about. Thank you for the video Rick.
I love Stevie Wonder's work. As a side note to your topic, even though he was already a prodigy at age 21, he wanted to go beyond the kind of hit songs he'd had so far, so he enrolled in music theory classes at USC. I'd say that worked out well. :-)
I agree that music education is important. Learning an instrument is a huge bonus. My grandfather was insistent that my brother and I learned to play piano. Our teacher went above and beyond with Saturday music classes, where we learned about other instruments and extra music education. Learning to be part of a team by playing duets was important. Granted, while it was a Classical music education, I think it helps with appreciating good popular music and sometimes hearing the influence from Classical music. Thank you, Grandpa.
Sarah McLachlan is a genius. I would love to see an interview with her.
I really appreciate your channel and am glad I found it. It makes such a difference when the person discussing music really has knowledge of how the sounds are produced. A person reacting who doesnât have knowledge will say they like this or that but a music teacher, an opera singer, a producer, etc can tell you how difficult it is to make a particular sound.
After watching the Brendan O'Brien interview hot off the presses, I was reminded of seeing Train a couple times and went to see what they're up to. It turns out that Charlie Colin, their bass player from day one, had just passed away in an accident. Now I'm wishing his family, bandmates and friends peace and wonderful memories. Unexpected losses are sometimes the hardest
If you come to the UK in September you should try to interview a certain Mr McCartney on his farm in Argyle. That would be awesome.
lol. I watch the most detailed videos for drummers and find them interesting having never owned and rarely played drums. I just love the idea of it. â€â€â€
Just bought the bundle. Thank you so much for the savings! I am a new guitarist of only a few months and am thrilled to be able to have this as a resource. There is so much out there and its overwhelming, but I managed to find your channel and have been always impressed by your knowledge and explanations.I am really looking forward to the ear training.
Keep on playing! Have fun.
Rick is a great guy, and music matters.
it timescales lives, it defines lives and no one does it better than Rick!
I always agree with Rick, because he is genuine and speaks from the heart, a pretty compelling combination I would say!
I learned tuba in middle/high school but they never bothered to teach me (or anyone really) music theory. I remember in 9 or 10th grade the band director handed out a sheet that had the circle of fifths on it. I was like, what the hell is this? đ€Ł
Same. I tried clarinet. The teacher only taught notes to fit in with the band.
Not very engaging...
Same here, I played trombone in middle school. I just got slide position to note correlation instruction but no music theory at all.
I hear you. I played trombone. We had a new director come in and she asked what scales we knew. None of us had ever played a scale other than B flat major.
I'd subscribe twice if I could to make up for the people that are watching without hitting subscribe. For all the effort you put into your videos and the learning that's available and the entertainment, and sharing your knowledge.... it's priceless! Thank you, Rick.
I'm not a musician, not really, but I feel smarter after listening to your videos.
â€â€â€â€
Me being a âmusicianâ and still not knowing much music theory :(
My cousin can play 3 instruments, canât read music đ
â@@kasie680reading has nothing to do with playing or theory
Weâre all part of a big club đ€Łđđ». Iâve found while most music theory never stuck with me, the things that interest me most do. Ex: dropping a âleading toneâ vocal pitch in studio, and our keyboard player (theory guy) goes âDUDE! What was that?!â đ€Ł And I said âleading tone. Causes tension towards resolving to the 1â The engineer blended our 3 voices really well, but left that a little on topâŠa great moment as a non-singer. Every little bit of knowledge adds up.
I'm one of your regular followers from the great northern country of Canada!!
this is so important. thank you
These are vital lessons. I have been lucky enough to be thinking in this language for 40 years, and it has helped me at parties for sure, as well as among musicians involved in using covers, and leading bands of people I've never played with, through sets at blues jams. It's all about communications, so learn the language everyone, and your stage time will be a LOT more fun!
Rick is amazing. Best interviewer ever and his knowledge is crazy
Subscribed to your channel and just purchased the Beato Bundle. I am confident I'll be learning to play a few tunes with the basics as you present them. I am looking forward to it in my retirement. You have a great CZcams channel.
Rick, loved this lesson! I just started, today, teaching a friend's 16-year-old son guitar. He's taken to it like a fish to water so far. I'm trying to teach him the basics of guitar with some music theory, which I am not great at, baked in. This is going to be a great help, thank you!
Germany bass/oud student here. So, this actually made a lot of sense to me, more than most of your videos....becaaauuuusssseeee I only ever strum/ pluck one string at the time. So often times the chords and the movements, the more complex they are, I'm just lost. But looking at them broken down individually, I can follow that!!!! I learned today yeepeeeeâ€â€â€â€
For anyone wanting to know what Rick talking about, go to your keyboard đč and play the C Major scale, playing every other white note, starting from each one of the notes. Start with 3 notes at a time (triads), then play 4 notes total (playing every other white note) for seventh chords.
Memorize the chord qualities, as it applies the same for the chords in every key.
The key of C Major (all white keys) is your reference guide.
This!
Those are the 7 âdiatonic chordsâ.
And what youâll notice makes up a chord, is that theyâre tertiary (all the notes in a chordsâ root position are separated by Major or minor thirds).
You can also think of the 7 chord as the top part of the dominant 7th chord which in the key of C for example would be the top 3 notes of the G dominant 7th chord.
YES!!! Someone in the industry who still understands the true value of music theory! And you just demystified tablature for someone who competed in sight singing competitions and couldn't understand it to save her life.
I'm 65 played the drums since 14.a couple of years ago I picked up an acoustic guitar and couldn't figure out how the chords were connected so I watched all of Mr Beato's videos on theory,love it,I create songs and loops and play the drums to them,making your own music is extremely rewarding and frustrating at the same time,so thank you for all the videos sir.
Love it. Just bought this for my 20 year old guitar player. Gonna love it.
tuning in from Taranaki NZ
Motueka!
Porirua!
Wairarapa!
Wairarapa!
Having come from a classical background, Iâm an excellent reader and have a solid understanding of that avenue of music. Iâve recently been trying to approach music from the jazz angle. Iâve found that so much of my ear training is underdeveloped because I understand music so visually. Iâm not knocking the classical approach, because Iâm really grateful for how liberating it is to be able to read music, but Iâm looking forward to more holistically strengthening myself as a musician through ear training and playing by ear.
Great explanation, Rick. This type of pattern/interval recognition should be in every musician's mental toolbox. I have always tended to figure out songs in terms of intervals, since it makes the actual key and chords redundant, but a surprising amount of musicians I've played with seem to have a hard time grasping this way of thinking.
Sending a hello from Sicily... I started learning guitar with a Beatles song book back in 1980... I only know a few things about music theory... Have a few songs on CZcams... In Italian... Take care... Wonderful channel Rick!!!
Thank you love this video. Music Theory is like learning another language and is very important. As far as female musicians I would love to see Tal Wilkenfeld on your show.
Excellent video thoroughly enjoyed it. Nice one, Rick đ
Valuable episode.
Great interview with Brendan O'Brien, Rick! Have you thought about doing a beginner bass lesson book?
Thank you, Mr. Rick! I bought your Beato Bundle a few months ago, and have learned a lot! I'm mainly a classic hard rock/metal singer, but I do play guitar a little bit. Peace, from Jacksonville, Florida.
I can only play chords and sing. As a guitarist I don't rate myself and I'm not a great singer but I can write a song and I have a good ear for melody. Despite this ive been playing music all my life so don't let lack of ability stop you. It's like anything else, you have to stick with it and play to your strengths strengths and don't waste time on stuff you're never gonna get. Maybe not the best advice but it works for me. My new album will be out shortly so you can judge me then! Ps. Not giving a fuck what anyone thinks is a big plus!đ you don't need to understand music theory to write good music. But it helps!
Best music related channel in CZcams! Easy to watch and interesting good pace. I would like TO SEE SOME DAW TUTORIALS PLEASE ALSO !!! CONSIDER ITT!!
Just bought the bundle, so much to learn and apply w music...
One of my favorite videos I've seen!!
And studying the theory of other musical traditions (Persian, Arabic, Indian) will blow your mind and will help open up whole new worldviews.
I love music, but can't play an instrument. I still love your music theory videos. I send all of them to my son, who is training to be a luthier, and he loves all of your stuff. You're inspiring the next generation, thank you so much Rick!
Music theory is a must. No way around it.
Guitar is a long and rewarding journey
hello Rick ! good stuff from a great human being! Thank you....!!!!!
As a non-musician I get a little buzz when I correctly get a key sig right by listening to the song.
Understanding how the world around us works, REALLY, is always better than not understanding it. It takes work, while just having an opinion based on nothing but emotions, is effortless. Unfortunately our culture is increasingly embracing the latter, and look how thatâs working out.
Last year I figured out the horn parts and transposed them to guitar chords from the song, "Kind of a drag" by The Buckinghams. It's fun to play a song that I heard as a teenager.
Cheers Rick
WOW! What a video! Its streamed too!! Also good video to iterate theory :)
From colombia, watching your videos trying to apply something I learn in your videos in folk music from here. I play the accordion.
Fighting the good fight! Rick doing God's work! Nice bro!
I will find a way to be good both playing and listening soon.
I have been interested with old songs(very picky with the songs I add in my playlist) and delve deep for years.
Thank you for bringing me back to the white board days, always the professor. Loved every second, rock on Rick
The issue I've had with music theory is that as much as I've studied theory, it all goes away when it comes time to play and write songs. Then it becomes about my ear and what feels and sounds right.
Rick, so good to tour the archives. The soundtracks of our lives. But there's a lot happening right now that deserves mention: Hania Rani's 'Dancing with Ghosts,' 'Glass,' 'Hello,' and so much more; Brian Eno's documentary and exquisite 'All I Remember;' Agnes Obel's haunting 'Fuel to Fire.' Fabulous niches in our musical cosmology.
The Harmonized Major Scale are chords built from the Major Scale starting with the one or first note.
I would like a video about ALL of your guitars and why you bought them and what are the differences, what you use or used them for, their history, what records, etc... would be an awesome informative video.
The interesting part of the years of me listening to old music(80s and 70s), I noticed that I love E chords(E minor, chords around this key, lots of minors).
I sticked then explored and discovered songs naturally around this key.
But, all of this, I got crestfallen that I donât have an instrument to work(specifically piano).
So I really need to find a way on how Iâm making it work.
I'm a drummer, also know as a non-musician.
I love learning this stuff. First heard of music theory when I was a teenager from a great guitar player,
Matt Honeycutt (R.I.P.)
...son of Mickey Honeycutt from the band A- Train and Jimmy Honeycutt from the Stage 618 band.
I'm not a musician, but I remember some elements learned in school. Unfortunately, every time I hear about octaves and keys and E flat or C major, I have difficulties to associate them to Do, Re, Mi, Sol, Fa bemol, La diez and so on, because that's how I learned music in school.
Love the 1500 hundreds music and Bream and his wonderful music. Just wonderful! I am now a big new fan.đ đ
You just went through the first month of freshman theory in a half hour!
Lennon Murphy is a great artist who is in Florida. She toured with many notable bands.
Am making my way toward the long interview. I'm a few days behind in You Tube. đ. I know the long stuff is where I don't want to be rushing through it, or multi tasking.
Music theory should be taught to children as a mandatory class. Everyone should know what the twelve notes are, what a chord is, and what rhythm/timing is. Even non-musicians should know the basics so they understand at least a little of what musicians are saying. There's nothing more annoying than when I'm trying to describe a song and my audience goes "huh?"
đđ» great stuff
Nice job đ
I would rewatch the interview and will and wish it was 3 hours more!
Thank you.
Music theory is why i want to learn guitar. I love grammar and spelling and sentence structure, odd I know. Once i realized that music has its own language through music theory I was very interested in learning!
Following you from Tokyo !
I play in a ukulele group where most members have absolutely no music theory background. I guarantee that I if got more than 60 seconds into Rick's explanation they would all be staring at me like deer in the headlights. I know, I've tried! For the non initiated, you have to go slow with even the most rudimentary theory.
I love your videos. Greetings from Medellin.
First off, I love this channel! That said, "Rick's chords" towards the end of the video sounded a whole lot like "Hole Hearted", by Extreme. Not that I see that as a coincidence, since Nuno has been on the channel before, and maybe the end of the video was a nod to fellow keen-eared rock guitar listeners.
Great job
I've been teaching guitar for over 15 years now, and I'm here because I actually still have trouble putting these things into words that a beginner guitarist will be able to understand. I can very easily explain it to anyone who has been playing a year or so and is starting to know their way around the fretboard and see patterns in the songs they learn, because that's how I personally discovered it. But I have serious trouble relating it to someone who's only been playing a couple months, and I'm trying to explain that the last 3 songs we learned in fact had the same chord progression, a I-IV-V in G major. And even THAT, a chord progression within the same key, is pretty hard to explain. I literally draw it out for them, and show them the order of major and minor chords within a key (any major key) and that we are quite literally counting through the chords in the key, that's it. When it comes time for new keys, I explain that they already know the chord progression all they need to do is shift everything up one fret (unless we're still in open position, but electric students get into powerchords almost immediately and thus never have this issue) and tell them that the only thing that makes it a new name for the chord is that they are using a different note for the bass (minus inversions) and show them that a major chord is a major chord, the name depends mainly on where you play it on the neck. It's not a D chord if you play it at the 12th fret, but it IS a D SHAPE. Even that right there, D chord verses D shape, is a big one for them to understand. And if they are into scales yet, I explain that the chords are just combinations of notes from the scale, it's a naturally occurring system. I'll write out the notes and and show them how to build the chords with them, and then show that the chords are just naturally going to turn out major or minor based on the system. And that all they need to know to figure out the chords of ANY key, are the notes of the scale and that chords are built by skipping notes (giving you a R, 3, 5) and I'll pick a random scale that I don't know (or let them pick it, or use the song we are working on) and then do it in real time, write out the notes show them how I'm skipping notes to figure out the chords, and how you don't even need to know the note names to do it, as long as you know how to play the scale. You just apply the same system, skipping notes on the way up the scale from wherever you start, whether it's the chords from the song we are using or it's every note in the key building arpeggios. And I STILL have an insane amount of trouble getting people to understand this. it's honestly boosting my confidence, it took me ONE time of seeing this stuff written out to have a huge lightbulb go off like "oh my god, I see it now." Either I'm better than I'm naturally better than I thought, or some of my students are slow learners. But I really don't think they are.
Getting people to understand that scales are the basis of everything, that scales just describe what group of notes you are "allowed" to use, and chords are just in fact combinations of those notes, and chord progressions are then combinations and different orderings of those naturally occurring chords built from the scale, and that we can use numbers to describe the functions of the chords that a I-IV-V in one key sounds the same in another key, just higher or lower pitch, and as long as you're not in open position they are even played the same way just in a different position, is the HARDEST thing O've ever taught lol. That all being said you know what actually seems to help? The Axis of Awesomeness videos where they go through literally like 40 songs playing the exact same chords in the same key, hardly changing the pattern juts singing the different choruses, and explain that THAT is the progression we are talking about, it starts to click. Of course I don't try to just teach this all in one sitting, But that's precisely what Rick does in these videos, and even non musicians seem to eat it up. Maybe I just need to start swimming in a bigger pond. I'm hoping Berklee will help with that...
I loved the Brenden interview
My theory has always been, if it sounds good, it is good.
But you're right, as a musician this is something that I really should know before I expire đ€
If it sounds good thereâs a reason.there is some kind of theory behind it.if you just stick random notes together it will sound like crap.
I got the bundle last year and love it get it if you can đ€đđ»đ„
You can also relate the modes to the numbers at the same time.
Rick, you need to make a video reviewing Leonid & Friends especially their Boogie Wonderland cover. Their drummer, Igor, is great and the review of their production would be interesting.
Would love to, but I've tried and tried and tried... I think music is like art (drawing, painting, etc): you've either got it, or you haven't... I'm in the latter category! :-)
Mr. Beato. People probably wont use diminished cords if they are playing tradicional american songs, like rock or pop songs. In jazz its used a lot.
In Brazil, we use it a lot in popular music, bossa nova and samba...
Cheers!
I hope you had a safe and reflective Memorial Day weekend.
Iâve always hunted around on the top E string to find 1 of the chords.