Theory of Music

When Learning Piano Chords, Which Should Be Learned First

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While I have definite opinions on this subject, I fully acknowledge that there could be other writers that completely disagree with what I say. Because I know that this particular subject has no particular consensus, I will endeavour to explain why I have the opinions I do. When learning about chords and how they are … Read more

What Do the Dots Near Written Notes Mean?

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If you look carefully enough at printed music, you will often see dots all over the place. While those dots do look random, they are most certainly not. Every dot on every piece of music has meaning. The dots that are situated near a note can be confusing to some learning to read music. If … Read more

What is the Difference Between a Tie, a Slur and a Phrase?

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A tie, a slur and a phrase all look quite similar and sometimes they can get confused with each other since they look like this: This symbol is typically used above the stave (staff) or inverted and used underneath the stave (staff), depending on which direction the stems of the notes are going. This applies … Read more

What Are Enharmonic Equivalents and Why Do They Exist?

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Enharmonic Equivalents are one of those music terms that sound complex but aren’t actually complex at all. Basically enharmonic equivalents are where the one note can have more than one name. Sometimes when I am explaining this to a piano student of mine and they have a puzzled look on their face, I use the … Read more

You Don’t Need Theory If You Know Chords?

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I’ve read the statement countless times that you don’t need to learn theory if you know chords. So many online courses make this claim, but the claim is simply false because knowledge of chords and how to play them is indeed part of music theory. I get that it is a tempting claim and on … Read more