Basic Fundamentals of Music Theory

Are you passionate about music and want to become a music director or singer? If yes, you should understand the basics of music theory and be familiar with various fundamentals, including melody, texture, pitch, keys, rhythm, and clef.

The London School of Music is the right choice to learn the fundamentals of the music. Be familiar with the terminology and vocabulary to pursue a music career.

In this article, let’s unravel the fundamentals of music theory and discover the key elements that will shape the harmonious world of music.

What is music theory? 

If you’re a musician, composer, producer, or instrumentalist, it will help you understand the language of music. It builds a strong musical foundation with its vocabulary and terminology, which will help you collaborate with your colleagues, improve music-making skills, build confidence, and help you understand the basics of the music that you will create.

If you have sound knowledge of music theory basics. you can pursue a career in the music industry that will remain for decades to come.

Below are some of the basic music theory terminologies, including scale, pitch, modes, rhythm, key signatures, melody, harmony, chords, intervals, and chord progressions.

1. Music notes: Music notes are considered the universal language of music-making and music appreciation. You can play the same type of music in the same style by using the common musical language. The music contains seven different notes, including A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. A Do-Re-Me-Fa-Sol-La-Ti convention can also be used to identify it.
2. Pitch: The pitch of the music is understood through how high and low the music notes are played. Every music note has a unique frequency.
3. Scale: Scale is considered the ladder that runs where you can move up and down. There are two types of scales: major and minor. Seven scale degrees relate to the creation of tension in the tonic, supertonic, mediant, subdominant, dominant, submediant, and leading tone.
4. Modes: Every mode has a unique mood that sounds darker or brighter depending on how low or high the modal scale is. Musical mode can bring freshness to your musical sound. There are seven modes: Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, and Locrian.
5. Rhythm: A rhythm is a controlled movement of music over a certain period of time. In more detail, it is the division of music into beats that repeat a specified number of times in a bar at a specific tempo.
6. Key signatures: Key signatures are sharp or flat and identify the key to the song. There are twelve key signatures considered to be the twelve available notes.
7. Melody: Melody is the part of the song that remains in your head and can be a memorable part of the song.
8. Chords: Chords are the building blocks of all different songs. Here are some of the common types of chords: major chords, minor chords, triad chords, augmented chords, and seventh chords.

As an audio producer, instrumentalist, and musician, you can acquire the basic knowledge of music theory. With the help of pro tools and MIDI sequencing, you can create your music. With the help of basic knowledge and passion for music, your musical possibilities are endless.

Ready to dive in? Join us at the London School of Music, where the language of music comes to life, and every note tells a story.