Introduction

Introduction

Introduction to The Music

The main purpose of this course is to explore basic music theory so thoroughly that the student-musician will be able to extend that knowledge to the more comprehensive concepts that will follow.

Thus, it will be easier to understand music and the physics that accompany it up to whatever level suits your needs. Music history and the physics of sound are included for students who wish to expand their knowledge beyond that of learning a single instrument.

Anyone wishing to write music using music notation software is well-advised to understand what we humans hear and why we hear it the way we do. Students who find the section on acoustics the physical basis for sound initially uninteresting may even skip it at first, but eventually, the serious student-musician will need to understand what causes musical sounds and why we hear those sounds.

Music theory is a lot like grammar. Languages are invented for the purpose of communicating. Most of the time we communicate with others, while there are times when we communicate with ourselves. Mozart and only a very rare group of other people were able to keep everything organized in their heads. Most people need to keep a notebook to remind them of what they have learned.

What is music?

Music is a general melody of sounds that unify the mind and soul. Not even language differences can stop music from reaching out to our selected audience.

Even before recorded history, people created music, whether through drumming, singing or chanting. Some of our strongest emotions may be brought on by listening to a piece of music. In this modern age, we hear music around us almost all of our waking hours, in one form or another: radio, television or film music and our personal music (iPods, MP3 players, etc.) is with us throughout the day.

Most of us listen to recorded music or go to performances regularly, and some of us play a musical instrument. In earlier time modern audio recording technology, music was available only in the presence of a musician, or to those who played an instrument or sang.