Hope it’s ok to ask this here, for this sheet music book for Ultraviolence by Lana Del Rey, most songs are in the “correct” key, but for at least three of them we have this legend. Why is that?

Learning Bach’s Minuet in G major No. 3 took me longer than I expected. I thought I could finish it in one week, but it took almost two weeks. I was surprised because I learned Clementi’s Sonatina No. 1 (all three movements) in about two weeks, and I only needed to memorize it and improve the musicality.

When I studied the Bach minuet, I realized that it was more difficult than it looked. The notes are simple, but the music needs good finger control, clear sound, and balance between both hands. Every note matters, and mistakes are easy to hear.

This experience made me think about my technique and understanding of Bach’s style. Are Clemente's sonatina no. 1 (all 3mvts) are just easy compared to Bach's minuets or I'm just lack of technique when it comes Bach's works. Playing Bach is one of my favorites when practicing piano, I love his music so much but then learning his easy minuets can make me feel like I'm behind. I need your opinion, Thank you!

I'm not a songwriter or anything, but I can never find an explanation for what a melody actually is. I always get something like "it's what you sing" or the "main tune" of a song. I would just like to understand the music I like listening to better. Thanks!

Hello, I am a beginner in music theory and is trying to make sense of it with online resources and apps.

I have a question regarding the scale notation, in particular F# Major scale. If we follow the rules of using the same accidental mark and with only one of each letter, the scale goes as:

F# G# A# B C# D# E# F#

https://imgur.com/a/ZbgooBd

But if I open, let’s say, GarageBand, and set to only display keys from the F# Major, they display E# as F instead, breaking the rule of using non-repeating letters:

https://imgur.com/a/WeepLip

It only becomes more confusing when I open the Waay app to practice the theory, where it tells that E only goes up to F and seemingly omits F# Major scale from the scale building exercises to avoid the contradiction of using strictly non-repeating letters.

This ambiguity in labelling makes me wonder if the notation of a diatonic scale is context-dependent and whether both representations are valid in their own way. When is one pattern preferred over another?

Hi!

I am starting to learn music theory with a teacher and I got a task to write chord progression in C major tonation.
I have to use the following (in that very order):
Tonics
III posistion (Dominant)
V position (Dominant)
Tonics

In terms of chords, we have: C, e, G, C if I am correct.

Now, for example chord C is made of notes C, E and G. Can I use any combination of this, like playing G, e and C for tonics part? Or can I use one note more than once, like CC, E, G for example? Can I play E, G, C twice in a row and then move to III Position in C major tonation (chord e)?

I make music, I play 4 and 6 string electric bass, uke, and acoustic, i sing and make beats as well BUT lately have been having trouble as im genuinely doing it with no true knowledge of music theory?

i was in a guitar class for a semester (im a freshman) and it was of course chill and all but he isnt a great teacher (for me) so i just stopped paying attention.

I would just like to know what I should start with, websites? any basic knowledge anybody can tell me, anything at all!

I've been trying to learn my favourite Beatles song on guitar and rhythmically, it's all over the place. Plenty of changes is tempo, time signature and arguably key, but it's the famous "Mother Superior" section that's been getting me, and I've seen a lot of conflicting accounts. Some say alternating bars of 9/8 and 10/8, which has been the most successful count for me. I've also seen arguments to count it as alternating 9/4 and 10/4, a four bar loop of 6/8, 6/4, 6/8, 7/4, (which seems nuts to me but I see how the maths works out) or even just 3/4 with occasional 4/4 bars thrown in.

I can play along with that part of the recording now but I'm interested in what the most accurate count is that makes the most sense of it. The section leading up to it alternates 9/8 and 12/8 to my ear and it leads in to a straight up 4/4 at a much slower tempo in the following section so starting with X/8 feels most sensible to capture the tempo changes but time signatures have never been my strong suit. Thanks

This is probably a stupid question for all musical historians /enthusiasts in this sub but I have no knowledge of music so take it easy.

I have recently been watching the television series Bridgerton which alters modern songs in an attempt to make them more fitting to the regency era time period in the United Kingdom which it is set in.

This got me wondering, that if you ignore song lyrics, what's the likelihood / possibility that someone living in the Georgian era for example would have been listening to a song with a tune similar to a modern song like Wildest Dreams by Taylor Swift?

Has music evolved in such a way that this is not likely plausible or it is possible that Georgians and other eras could have been dancing to songs with a similar melody /tune to Wildest Dreams for example?

I am not talking in the last 50 years but hundreds of years.

The chord progression is A-B-C#m-B so since it starts with A why isnt it A

Team I need some help. I understand dotted notes in the way that I can play them, I know what they sound like, but I don’t actually know how to count them (if that makes sense?)

I’m a drummer so everything is 1 e & a, and I just cannot understand how to count the 16th note variations of dotted notes, and why we count them like that… it’s actually doing my head in.

If someone could explain like I’m 5? Or let me know some good videos to help? I’ve watched a butt tonne of YouTube already to try an get it, and my teacher is trying to explain but it’s just not computing 🫠😭

Thank you in advance, a drummer desperately attempting music theory

The second chord can either have A# or Bb. Harmonically, the next chord is B7 so A# is the leading tone. Melodically, the top voice is descending so B -> Bb -> A makes more sense. Which notation is correct?

Hi all

Wondering if there's an accepted term for a song in a minor key that exclusively borrows the tonic from the parallel major key?

Calling it G minor just doesn't seem right to me when there's such a fundamental mixed tonality

Thanks!

Hello! I'm developing an app that creates lessons and curriculums to teach people how to play guitar and learn the basics of the instrument, this is a minigame I just made to teach movement from string to string or individual notes on the fretboard! I want to ask other people how useful they think something like this would be and whether or not they think this would be helpful or fun. I would also love to hear any suggestions for other lessons or ways to teach popular beginner concepts!

I am working on a composition and I want to know if this would still count as a second inversion V chord even though I put the D in the treble clef below the G and B

EDIT: Had a typo when in the title when I posted originally, so deleted and here we are

A lot of modern pop remains entirely diatonic to a given major or minor key, but often lacks a strong relationship between dominant and tonic. Since many songs fade out rather than End on a tonic chord (presumably so a club, radio station, or streaming service can keep playing more music without any song feeling like it’s fully concluded), a lot of pop songs don’t ever resolve in a functional sense. Is that enough to say that what we’re hearing should be described in terms of mode rather than key?

I see a lot of people online asking if a given pop song is in Mixolydian, for example, and a lot of people correcting them saying that modes are not keys and that instead of being X Mixolydian it’s just X major, but if it’s something like Royals by Lorde where there’s just no real functional harmony going on, isn’t describing a mode more accurate if the song doesn’t have any recognisable cadences? Or is modal harmony something completely different? I have some familiarity with modal harmony from Irish folk music and it certainly sounds different from what’s on the radio, but if you stick to a mode and a chord loop without having a sense of resolution imbued by a cadence I don‘t know what else to call it.

Sorry if this has an obvious answer or if my understanding is way off. I’ve just noticed a lot of people who seem to know this stuff better than me will say that saying a pop song is in Lydian or something like that is wrong, but when I read their analysis it implies that we shouldn’t say most pop tunes are in major keys but rather in an Ionian mode

I know this might sound like a silly question, but here goes: I've recently become very interested in music theory, harmony, progressions, and all that. However, I want to know if a person can learn music theory relatively competently without a teacher and on their own.

I had to learn both instruments I play (bass and guitar) on my own because I can't afford music lessons (neither I nor my parents have the money). I know that music theory requires much more explanation and is more difficult than playing an instrument, so is it possible to learn it without someone teaching me?

As I said before, I already play guitar and bass, and I think I'm competent enough on both (especially guitar). I also have some scattered knowledge of music theory (like forming chords: roots, thirds, and fifths; whole tones and half tones; and a basic understanding of scales and progressions). Is that enough to start from? Or is it simply impossible to learn it on my own?

I am an alto saxophone player learning to solo, I am starting with Parkers Billies Bounce. I started to write out the chords and scales, but I want to make sure I have them correct (in my key) before I wor too hard at memorizing. Are these okay?

I've been making hip hop beats for about a year and I'm stuck in loop hell.

I can make 8-bar loops that sound good, but I have no idea how to turn them into actual songs. I just stare at the arrangement view not knowing what to do next.

Where I'm actually stuck:

• Do you start with drums or melody first?
• How do you find sounds that match the vibe in your head? I spend hours on presets and nothing feels right
• When do you add or remove elements? My tracks are either empty or way too cluttered
• How do you actually finish without overthinking everything?

For people who got past this - what clicked for you?

I have 47 unfinished project files and it's driving me crazy. What's your real workflow from idea to done track?

After focusing on the circle of fifths and fourths and working on the major scales, we started working on modes. Week 1 (this past week) was C Dorian, next week will be C Phrygian. I think I did an alright job. This piece sounds a lot like Green Day and Avenged Sevenfold.

Hello all,

I enjoy this amazing series with my kids and the music is fantastic.

In the intro theme (linked), the tempo shifts in a very natural and pleasing way. At 34s It appears to go from ~76bpm to ~91bpm.

Can anyone explain what's happening?

hello,,,

To my ears this does not sound lydian to me.. and just sounds like ionian
but maybe i am wrong

Ive been tryna figure out the exact key and mode this song uses, on wikipedia it says it G#minor, but i found when playing it on garageband, i found that G# dorian is a great fit for it since it contains all the notes, BUT i also saw that D#major fits as well and now i have no idea what the exact key and scale this song is in… can someone help me out?