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Author here. I'd love to hear from HN which resources to study music (theory) might I overlooked so far. Everything counts: from books and papers on theory to e

Author here. I'd love to hear from HN which resources to study music (theory) might I overlooked so far. Everything counts: from books and papers on theory to ear training exercises to YouTube videos. The higher is rarity*value, the better.

ace2358 3y ago
Thank you very much for your work. As someone who constantly struggle to get music theory as an adult (mostly lack of practice I know, but sometimes life takes over) having as many different resources as possible really helps.
- vitaly-pavlenko 3y ago
  I feel you. I started learning piano at 25, and even though I messed with guitar during the middle school, I feel like everything takes ages to learn and master. I thought music as a set of languages is way easier than it happened to be. A CS degree and passion for linguistics doesn't convert into fluency as fast as I wished, and now I see why I'd need 4 years of music college + 4 years of an actual degree.
  - mfragin 3y ago
    My linguistics professor in college warned all students on day one: "if you are an English teacher, you may struggle in this class. If you are a computer programmer, however, you may do quite well." I love comparing the differences between piano and guitar as instruments for learning music. They have such different strengths and weaknesses. Changing keys with a capo is like using the "pitch shift" button on an electronic keyboard. Since music is only a strong hobby of mine, I have never come to any conclusion on those matters. I learned a LOT when I received a free high-quality piano (that had been in storage) and decided to tune it myself. That's a rabbit hole I am still amazed by. I got a lot of use out of http://piano-tuner.org/ http://piano-tuner.org/ Piano tuning is such a complex art and science.
medler 3y ago
For Common Practice theory, Dr. Christopher Brellochs’ lectures are very very good: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLw9t0oA3fHkxx1PgYpiXrMUPXaOiwh6KU https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLw9t0oA3fHkxx1PgYpiXrMUPX...
- vitaly-pavlenko 3y ago
  Thank you! Just added: https://github.com/vpavlenko/study-music/blob/main/parts/classical.md#video-courses https://github.com/vpavlenko/study-music/blob/main/parts/cla... Actually, I never bothered googling video courses on undergrad music theory and relied on books instead
DavidPiper 3y ago
Great to see 12tone and 8-bit Music Theory in the YouTube and Podcasts section! I'd also recommend: - Nahre Sol - https://www.youtube.com/@NahreSol https://www.youtube.com/@NahreSol (Composition, reinvention, exercises, more theory recently) - David Bruce - https://www.youtube.com/@DBruce https://www.youtube.com/@DBruce (Composition techniques) - Sideways - https://www.youtube.com/@Sideways440 https://www.youtube.com/@Sideways440 (Film and musical soundtrack analysis/rants) - Tantacrul - https://www.youtube.com/@Tantacrul/videos https://www.youtube.com/@Tantacrul/videos (Maybe. "Music meets sociology"?) Those 6 channels plus r/musictheory (pre-2018) are basically my entire Music Theory / composition education. A quick note that r/musictheory is not the same thing as it was back then. IIRC there was a big switch/restart some years back, not sure what happened. Still a good Q&A forum today.
- maroonblazer 3y ago
  I'd add MusicMatters - https://www.youtube.com/@MusicMattersGB https://www.youtube.com/@MusicMattersGB to the list. Great analyses and teardowns of all kinds of classical music. I'm especially fond of his Bach chorale analysis.
  - DavidPiper 3y ago
    Oh yes! Firmly seconded, I've been a subscriber in the past.
quadrangle 3y ago
Just Intonation and everything from https://en.xen.wiki/ https://en.xen.wiki/ and related, maybe some of the YouTube stuff from "Hear Between the Lines" is a good start for new accessible stuff. Music cognition such as Sweet Anticipation by David Huron and everything like that… especially note Music and Memory by Bob Snyder which expresses everything except harmony in a style that avoids traditional notation, and Sounds of Music: Perception and Notation (out of print) by Gerald Eskalin who also wrote Lies My Music Teacher Told Me For the most part, "music theory" amounts to music-notation-and-style-grammar because very little of it is actual theory (i.e. explanation) until you add real science which means music psychology (because notation patterns and physics patterns are not music, music is a mental experience).
- mkl 3y ago
  Looks like it's "Eskelin".
giraffe_lady 3y ago
Mathieu's Harmonic Experience. Definitive book on reconciling just & equal temperament and how to develop embodied understanding of the relationships between notes.
- vitaly-pavlenko 3y ago
  Wow, that's quite a unique book, I'd say. Have you gone through its exercises? How's your experience with it, over time?
  - giraffe_lady 3y ago
    Yeah it really is excellent for learning how to feel the different intervals, and how to reason about intervals as a representation of a more fundamental harmonic relationship. It's the best model I've ever seen for understanding and using the knowledge of how 12-tet notes "stand for" many different just temperament notes in different scales. I've also used the approach in the first few chapters to teach people with no music experience to sing the "ison" drone of byzantine chant. In my experience it's a dead simple and reliable way to introduce people to their latent musicality.
PaulDavisThe1st 3y ago
Because of the organization and the fact that I don't want to clone it right now, searching it hard .. but I think you're missing Ian Ring's amazing comprehensive study of all possible scales within 12TET: https://ianring.com/musictheory/scales/ https://ianring.com/musictheory/scales/ This is not particularly useful to most musicians, but from a music theory perspective, it's one of the best introductions to set theory (the musical version) around.
clouddrover 3y ago
Why does it need to be rare? How about Music Theory for Dummies: https://www.dummies.com/book/academics-the-arts/music/music-theory/music-theory-for-dummies-4th-edition-282411/ https://www.dummies.com/book/academics-the-arts/music/music-...
williamcotton 3y ago
In my early years as a musician I focused too much on theory. I didn’t really start to grow until I started to learn as many covers as I could and how to improvise a solo over the changes. The theory part helps only in that I know how a dim7 chord looks, sounds and feels but most importantly how it is used by composers. That being said, Mark Levine’s Jazz Theory book is excellent. And get a copy of a Real Book and watch YouTube videos on the voicings used by players and you’ll expand your harmonic palette immensely!

ace2358 3y ago

Thank you very much for your work. As someone who constantly struggle to get music theory as an adult (mostly lack of practice I know, but sometimes life takes over) having as many different resources as possible really helps.

vitaly-pavlenko 3y ago
I feel you. I started learning piano at 25, and even though I messed with guitar during the middle school, I feel like everything takes ages to learn and master. I thought music as a set of languages is way easier than it happened to be. A CS degree and passion for linguistics doesn't convert into fluency as fast as I wished, and now I see why I'd need 4 years of music college + 4 years of an actual degree.
- mfragin 3y ago
  My linguistics professor in college warned all students on day one: "if you are an English teacher, you may struggle in this class. If you are a computer programmer, however, you may do quite well." I love comparing the differences between piano and guitar as instruments for learning music. They have such different strengths and weaknesses. Changing keys with a capo is like using the "pitch shift" button on an electronic keyboard. Since music is only a strong hobby of mine, I have never come to any conclusion on those matters. I learned a LOT when I received a free high-quality piano (that had been in storage) and decided to tune it myself. That's a rabbit hole I am still amazed by. I got a lot of use out of http://piano-tuner.org/ http://piano-tuner.org/ Piano tuning is such a complex art and science.

medler 3y ago

For Common Practice theory, Dr. Christopher Brellochs’ lectures are very very good: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLw9t0oA3fHkxx1PgYpiXrMUPXaOiwh6KU https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLw9t0oA3fHkxx1PgYpiXrMUPX...

vitaly-pavlenko 3y ago
Thank you! Just added: https://github.com/vpavlenko/study-music/blob/main/parts/classical.md#video-courses https://github.com/vpavlenko/study-music/blob/main/parts/cla... Actually, I never bothered googling video courses on undergrad music theory and relied on books instead

DavidPiper 3y ago

Great to see 12tone and 8-bit Music Theory in the YouTube and Podcasts section! I'd also recommend: - Nahre Sol - https://www.youtube.com/@NahreSol https://www.youtube.com/@NahreSol (Composition, reinvention, exercises, more theory recently) - David Bruce - https://www.youtube.com/@DBruce https://www.youtube.com/@DBruce (Composition techniques) - Sideways - https://www.youtube.com/@Sideways440 https://www.youtube.com/@Sideways440 (Film and musical soundtrack analysis/rants) - Tantacrul - https://www.youtube.com/@Tantacrul/videos https://www.youtube.com/@Tantacrul/videos (Maybe. "Music meets sociology"?) Those 6 channels plus r/musictheory (pre-2018) are basically my entire Music Theory / composition education. A quick note that r/musictheory is not the same thing as it was back then. IIRC there was a big switch/restart some years back, not sure what happened. Still a good Q&A forum today.

maroonblazer 3y ago
I'd add MusicMatters - https://www.youtube.com/@MusicMattersGB https://www.youtube.com/@MusicMattersGB to the list. Great analyses and teardowns of all kinds of classical music. I'm especially fond of his Bach chorale analysis.
- DavidPiper 3y ago
  Oh yes! Firmly seconded, I've been a subscriber in the past.

quadrangle 3y ago

Just Intonation and everything from https://en.xen.wiki/ https://en.xen.wiki/ and related, maybe some of the YouTube stuff from "Hear Between the Lines" is a good start for new accessible stuff. Music cognition such as Sweet Anticipation by David Huron and everything like that… especially note Music and Memory by Bob Snyder which expresses everything except harmony in a style that avoids traditional notation, and Sounds of Music: Perception and Notation (out of print) by Gerald Eskalin who also wrote Lies My Music Teacher Told Me For the most part, "music theory" amounts to music-notation-and-style-grammar because very little of it is actual theory (i.e. explanation) until you add real science which means music psychology (because notation patterns and physics patterns are not music, music is a mental experience).

mkl 3y ago
Looks like it's "Eskelin".

giraffe_lady 3y ago

Mathieu's Harmonic Experience. Definitive book on reconciling just & equal temperament and how to develop embodied understanding of the relationships between notes.

vitaly-pavlenko 3y ago
Wow, that's quite a unique book, I'd say. Have you gone through its exercises? How's your experience with it, over time?
- giraffe_lady 3y ago
  Yeah it really is excellent for learning how to feel the different intervals, and how to reason about intervals as a representation of a more fundamental harmonic relationship. It's the best model I've ever seen for understanding and using the knowledge of how 12-tet notes "stand for" many different just temperament notes in different scales. I've also used the approach in the first few chapters to teach people with no music experience to sing the "ison" drone of byzantine chant. In my experience it's a dead simple and reliable way to introduce people to their latent musicality.

PaulDavisThe1st 3y ago

Because of the organization and the fact that I don't want to clone it right now, searching it hard .. but I think you're missing Ian Ring's amazing comprehensive study of all possible scales within 12TET: https://ianring.com/musictheory/scales/ https://ianring.com/musictheory/scales/ This is not particularly useful to most musicians, but from a music theory perspective, it's one of the best introductions to set theory (the musical version) around.

clouddrover 3y ago

Why does it need to be rare? How about Music Theory for Dummies: https://www.dummies.com/book/academics-the-arts/music/music-theory/music-theory-for-dummies-4th-edition-282411/ https://www.dummies.com/book/academics-the-arts/music/music-...

williamcotton 3y ago

In my early years as a musician I focused too much on theory. I didn’t really start to grow until I started to learn as many covers as I could and how to improvise a solo over the changes. The theory part helps only in that I know how a dim7 chord looks, sounds and feels but most importantly how it is used by composers. That being said, Mark Levine’s Jazz Theory book is excellent. And get a copy of a Real Book and watch YouTube videos on the voicings used by players and you’ll expand your harmonic palette immensely!