i've given myself a 6 month goal involving getting better with my foundation of music. these videos are such a great find. thanks for uploading all of these. you're such a savior.
Christopher, thank you so much! Your lessons are very enlightening, it has helped me a lot to get back on track for music studies and harmonization. Thank you very much.
Thank you. I have studied the concepts up to this lesson before but as I go through your videos I get new insights. The explanation with the overtones of the natural sound was just beautiful! Thank you ❤
There is so much to learn and I continue to understand new connections between notes, overtones, etc. every time I teach music theory. Best wishes, Dr. B
Thank you so much for these video lessons! Had played piano for years and never had a good teacher teach me music theory. I had taken a break when I went to college, and now am glad to have found this and get back into it. Hopefully will help greatly when I decide to try music composition, it has always seemed to be a mystery to me.
Bitte schön! I lived in Germany for one year when I was 22 years old, so I'm happy to hear my videos are being watched there! Best wishes, Dr. B www.patreon.com/DrBMusicTheory
My goodness, I didn't know anyone could turn tedious rules and numbers into a game - until I found this channel! What a talent and what a delightful personality :) thanks and well done!
An Eagle bird's eye view of a most difficult, sometimes avoided, in music education. A compact but exhaustive whiteboard layout. Thank you so much Dr.B. Every music theorist needs this kind of unasked for feedback. It keeps you sharp and on track.
ok WOW. I studied music in college and am watching these because I've lost my theory skills after years away, and I don't think the overtone series was ever explained to me??? Maybe I missed that class, or maybe it was in the pre-req class I got to skip thanks to AP theory in high school, but this is a new concept to me and it makes so much sense?! Thank you so much for making these classes accessible!
I completed music theory courses in my university, but need to review music theory for graduate school entrance exam. I watched other music theory lectures, but I can centainly Dr. B's music theory course is the best of all! Thank you for sharing your knowledge and gift with all people!
It is tricky because some people like more consonance and others more dissonance, so there are preferences which are subjective. However, there are objective/scientific criteria, as I mention in the video, as to how consonant or dissonant specific intervals and harmonies are. Best wishes, Dr. B www.patreon.com/DrBMusicTheory
I always ignored music theory... thought a piece of music could be written through feelings. But after watching your videos, the whole conception changed. Thanks a lot Sir.
There are mediocre composers that don't use their feelings to write music; there are mediocre composers that just use their feelings to write music. A great composer uses both their feelings and craftsmanship (i.e. music theory) to write music!
Sir I dont have any knowledge on jazz... The place i'm from hardly jazz music is played. All i know about jazz is that it is very soothing to my ears.. Tried to copy but all i ended is sounding thrash
This makes a lot of sense of the circle of fifths. Because if you go one way it's a fifth but the other way it's a fourth. But if you count a half step each way it's the same note distance in half steps. So technically it's a fifth both ways and until this lesson I didn't realize that from say G to C is a fourth but it is actually an inverted fifth (C to G). This makes a lot more sense. The circle of fifths keeps yielding it's secrets more and more.
your video lesson are very rich and hitting all important small topics in it as extension that they could have lead to a lot of confusion later if the one never learned that . Very inclusive videos . Very informative lessons. I had lessons of circle of 5, jntervals before many times. I use them but, I never came across lessons like these. There are a lot more extensions and techniques you are mentioning in the topic, which are very useful.. TAKE YOUR BOW..thank you.
loads to take in, which I hope sinks in at one point. This is a lucid introduction to the nuts and bolts of music. I am learning to play the piano and hope to apply what I'm learning here to composition at one point. Onto video 4!
It is great that you're learning to play piano. Learning both piano and music theory go VERY well together. Yes, there's a lot to take in. Some people have said they like to pause or rewatch the video to make sure they understand everything before moving on. Hope you enjoy Lesson 4! Dr. B
Just to be on the safe side I said five Hail Marys each time he talked about dissonance. I'll hate to think about my knees when he talks about the Tritone.
Hello Dr. B. You are by far the best lecturer on music theory I have heard. Your first two video lectures have cleared up a great deal of the questions I've had about scales. What comprehensive theory books do you recommend? I am just learning theory but would like one book that covers the topic well. I would like to use this book in conjunction with your online lecture.
Good question and yes! These intervals have the simplest ratios for their frequencies: Perfect 1/unison = 1:1, Perfect 5th = 3:2, and Perfect 8/octave = 2:1. Acoustically what that means is that they reinforce each other in a fundamentally different way than major and minor intervals. For example a perfect 5th will resonate to produce a third pitch that is one of the originally two. By contrast a major 3rd will resonate to produce a third pitch that is NOT one of the originally two. Emotionally the perfect intervals feel more at rest, at peace or final. I hope that helps, Dr. B
@@ChristopherBrellochs Thank you! It will be a good idea if you can do a lesson for each interval how the ratios and frenquencies are formed on each interval, especially on the perfect intervals how they become perfect because of the harmonic resonance and give more examples. This topic no university is teaching why 1st 4th 5th 8th intervals are perfect. They just put them in order of the scale (c -c = unison, c-d = M2, c-e = M3, c-f= P4, c-g= P5, etc ) but I think intervals are more deep and quite spiritual to explain the symobilsm of each interval which are numbers. In Unison could be God? Because in latin the musical note DO it comes from the latin word Dominus (God). So each musical note has a meaning in latin that help us to have a clue why those intervals are like this.
I figured out that I needed to stand to the side and zoom in so people could see what I write on the board! It gets better in future videos, I promise.
WARNING: This can get complicated. Every pitch you hear has other notes above it that you hear as timbre, i.e. the characteristic sound of a specific instrument - it is why you can tell the difference between a flute and piano playing the same pitch. Although you hear the fundamental the overtones are in there. You can read more here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overtone Best wishes, Dr. B
Yes! I have always thought that the best pop music is created by people who know many different styles. For example, George Martin combined his knowledge to classical music to help The Beatles! Some of my lessons apply to all styles and some are more geared towards classical music. One of my newer videos deals with pop music, so you might really like it: ruclips.net/video/qgXPvKRh3QY/видео.html
Hi there, really enjoying your classes (best I have found). Quick note, at 17:05 you said Dissonance is tension and Consonance is relaxation. At 17:45, you said the opposite.
Harmonize C major scale in sixth(1-C, 2-D, 3-E, 4-F, 5-G, 6-A) (C-A)which is major sixth interval I think is sixth but my friend say (C -E ) is sixth I don't get can u help me coz ( C -R , C# - m2 , D - 2 , D#- m3 , E - 3 , F - perfect 4 , F#- Aug4th , G- 5 , G# - m6 , A - major sixth )so how C -E is sixth thank u
Thank you a thousand times for making these videos available. A question about interval inversions: when you invert a major interval it becomes minor, how does a major triad retain it's major character when it's put in the first inversion? For a C major triad, the interval between C and E becomes a minor interval in the first inversion but it still sounds major.
Great question and thanks for the comment! I intend to add new series of videos called, "Ask Dr. B About Music Theory," starting in August that answer some of the questions people post as comments - look for more good info soon. Hopefully I can get to your question quickly! Best wishes! Dr. B
I wrote a comment yesterday, and while I think it was a good idea, I feared it might be mistaken for seeming like a bit of an assignment. So I deleted it. I got thinking, I can't very well ask the man to do something and not be willing to do the leg work. I thought I'd look about RUclips and find some snippets I could use to lay out the background. My idea is that you might consider doing an analysis of a "great album." (Great in my assessment, anyway.) There are a few albums that I consider to be perfect. You might guess from my logo that Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon is one of them. The other one of theirs is Wish You Were Here. This documentary would place whatever analysis of the song, or songs, you choose in context. It's quite a moving one, both musically and thematically, IMO. I'm a slow learner, so I'm still working out many of the details involved in music theory. "Money," from Dark Side of the Moon" I've heard is in 7/8 meter. I remain unclear about what cadences are and how to recognize them in a piece. Same thing with phrases, and so on. For me, I think the concepts would lock in much quicker and more deeply if I were shown how the theory ideas were connected with music that I love on a deeply personal level. Anyway, here's a very thorough and well made documentary about the making of Wish You Were Here. ruclips.net/video/wbM2_-JeDuY/видео.html
i've given myself a 6 month goal involving getting better with my foundation of music. these videos are such a great find. thanks for uploading all of these. you're such a savior.
Just got done with lesson 3....71 more to gooo😃 thanks Dr B
You're welcome, and keep up the good work...because I keep making more so it will be more than 71 in the future :)
Best wishes,
Dr. B
Christopher, thank you so much! Your lessons are very enlightening, it has helped me a lot to get back on track for music studies and harmonization. Thank you very much.
I'm glad to hear you are getting back on track! Music is awesome and understanding it is even better. Best wishes, Dr. B.
Thank you.
I have studied the concepts up to this lesson before but as I go through your videos I get new insights.
The explanation with the overtones of the natural sound was just beautiful!
Thank you ❤
There is so much to learn and I continue to understand new connections between notes, overtones, etc. every time I teach music theory.
Best wishes,
Dr. B
Thank you so much for these video lessons! Had played piano for years and never had a good teacher teach me music theory. I had taken a break when I went to college, and now am glad to have found this and get back into it. Hopefully will help greatly when I decide to try music composition, it has always seemed to be a mystery to me.
You are at the beginning of a lot of information that will definitely help you when you try music composition!
Best wishes,
Dr. B
Really liked the ending statement about music, thanks for the upload
My pleasure!
A big fat thank you from Germany for making all these valuable videos available
Bitte schön! I lived in Germany for one year when I was 22 years old, so I'm happy to hear my videos are being watched there!
Best wishes,
Dr. B
www.patreon.com/DrBMusicTheory
All i can say is “ Thank you, Dr. B!”... good stuff! Learning so much, so fast...and the correct way too!
The fact that inverted intrevals always added up to 9 and invert the quality (minor to major, aug to dim) is the mental shortcut i needed.
Wow, learning about the overtone series did 100% blow my mind. Incredible.
My goodness, I didn't know anyone could turn tedious rules and numbers into a game - until I found this channel! What a talent and what a delightful personality :) thanks and well done!
We love you Dr B. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and for free, I've watched these vids over and over again. Thankyou from Australia 🙏
An Eagle bird's eye view of a most difficult, sometimes avoided, in music education. A compact but exhaustive whiteboard layout. Thank you so much Dr.B. Every music theorist needs this kind of unasked for feedback. It keeps you sharp and on track.
OMG😊…Im in music theory heaven...Thank you again Dr. B for sharing your knowledge with me😊…
@ChristopherBrellochs What is the name of the textbook you open at 13:51 ? I would like to get myself a copy of it!
"Tonal Harmony" by Kostka & Payne.
Enjoy,
Dr. B
ok WOW. I studied music in college and am watching these because I've lost my theory skills after years away, and I don't think the overtone series was ever explained to me??? Maybe I missed that class, or maybe it was in the pre-req class I got to skip thanks to AP theory in high school, but this is a new concept to me and it makes so much sense?! Thank you so much for making these classes accessible!
I completed music theory courses in my university, but need to review music theory for graduate school entrance exam. I watched other music theory lectures, but I can centainly Dr. B's music theory course is the best of all! Thank you for sharing your knowledge and gift with all people!
Thanks a lot, it clears my mind a little bit. Cause before, I think it's very subjective to judge a Consonance and Dissonance.
It is tricky because some people like more consonance and others more dissonance, so there are preferences which are subjective. However, there are objective/scientific criteria, as I mention in the video, as to how consonant or dissonant specific intervals and harmonies are.
Best wishes,
Dr. B
www.patreon.com/DrBMusicTheory
I always ignored music theory... thought a piece of music could be written through feelings. But after watching your videos, the whole conception changed. Thanks a lot Sir.
There are mediocre composers that don't use their feelings to write music; there are mediocre composers that just use their feelings to write music. A great composer uses both their feelings and craftsmanship (i.e. music theory) to write music!
Sir it will be very helpful if you make a video series on Jazz Music.
I'd love to make a series on jazz! What would you find most interesting: jazz theory, jazz improvisation, jazz arranging, jazz history?
Sir I dont have any knowledge on jazz... The place i'm from hardly jazz music is played. All i know about jazz is that it is very soothing to my ears.. Tried to copy but all i ended is sounding thrash
I understand. It might take me a while but I hope to get some videos up for you about jazz composition!
This makes a lot of sense of the circle of fifths. Because if you go one way it's a fifth but the other way it's a fourth. But if you count a half step each way it's the same note distance in half steps. So technically it's a fifth both ways and until this lesson I didn't realize that from say G to C is a fourth but it is actually an inverted fifth (C to G). This makes a lot more sense.
The circle of fifths keeps yielding it's secrets more and more.
The circle of 5ths is far more important than the circle of life, haha! Thanks for the comment!
The secret is that you don't arrive back at the same place if you don't use 12EDO after 12 fifths
You're a great teacher. This is very helpful.
Thanks so much for the comment. I hope you like the rest of the lessons, too.
Best wishes,
Dr. B
www.patreon.com/DrBMusicTheory
your video lesson are very rich and hitting all important small topics in it as extension that they could have lead to a lot of confusion later if the one never learned that . Very inclusive videos . Very informative lessons. I had lessons of circle of 5, jntervals before many times. I use them but, I never came across lessons like these. There are a lot more extensions and techniques you are mentioning in the topic, which are very useful.. TAKE YOUR BOW..thank you.
loads to take in, which I hope sinks in at one point. This is a lucid introduction to the nuts and bolts of music. I am learning to play the piano and hope to apply what I'm learning here to composition at one point. Onto video 4!
It is great that you're learning to play piano. Learning both piano and music theory go VERY well together. Yes, there's a lot to take in. Some people have said they like to pause or rewatch the video to make sure they understand everything before moving on.
Hope you enjoy Lesson 4!
Dr. B
very comprehensive very simple to understand. THANK YOU SOO MUCH
This will be my 5th time watching. Always learn new info!!!
Excellent ending statement.
Thanks! I'd like to keep working on connecting traditional music theory with what emotions are commonly elicited.
3 of my band teachers had beards like yours, I like to imagine it's like a right of passage into some music teaching secret Society 😎
Just to be on the safe side I said five Hail Marys each time he talked about dissonance. I'll hate to think about my knees when he talks about the Tritone.
Hello Dr. B. You are by far the best lecturer on music theory I have heard. Your first two video lectures have cleared up a great deal of the questions I've had about scales. What comprehensive theory books do you recommend? I am just learning theory but would like one book that covers the topic well. I would like to use this book in conjunction with your online lecture.
thank you so much! you're such a great professor!
Can you explain WHY 1st, 5th, and 8th intervals are PERFECT intervals?
Good question and yes! These intervals have the simplest ratios for their frequencies: Perfect 1/unison = 1:1, Perfect 5th = 3:2, and Perfect 8/octave = 2:1. Acoustically what that means is that they reinforce each other in a fundamentally different way than major and minor intervals. For example a perfect 5th will resonate to produce a third pitch that is one of the originally two. By contrast a major 3rd will resonate to produce a third pitch that is NOT one of the originally two. Emotionally the perfect intervals feel more at rest, at peace or final.
I hope that helps,
Dr. B
@@ChristopherBrellochs Thank you! It will be a good idea if you can do a lesson for each interval how the ratios and frenquencies are formed on each interval, especially on the perfect intervals how they become perfect because of the harmonic resonance and give more examples. This topic no university is teaching why 1st 4th 5th 8th intervals are perfect. They just put them in order of the scale (c -c = unison, c-d = M2, c-e = M3, c-f= P4, c-g= P5, etc ) but I think intervals are more deep and quite spiritual to explain the symobilsm of each interval which are numbers. In Unison could be God? Because in latin the musical note DO it comes from the latin word Dominus (God). So each musical note has a meaning in latin that help us to have a clue why those intervals are like this.
Such an amazing teacher. I was really confused with intervals. Completely got them now. Thanks a lot and please continue your RUclips videos...👌🏻👌🏻💖💖
Thank you so much for the comment. I've been working on other projects recently but this is the month I will be making more music theory videos!
Dr. B
@@ChristopherBrellochs thanks for replying me. that would be great and helpful.. I really need videos like this.
The inversions of intervals bit was great
[Raising hand]
What book are you referencing sir?
Kostka & Payne, "Tonal Harmony."
You're VERY GOOD DOC!!! THANK YOU
Could you tell me what books you are using? The one with the yellow cover. Thanks :0)
Tonal Harmony by Kostka & Payne.
Best wishes,
Dr. B
www.patreon.com/DrBMusicTheory
These lessons are great , I wish I could see what he is writing on the white board. But I can't all that well.
I figured out that I needed to stand to the side and zoom in so people could see what I write on the board! It gets better in future videos, I promise.
I am not sure if this will get a response but...I am confused at the overtone part. What is this talking about?
WARNING: This can get complicated. Every pitch you hear has other notes above it that you hear as timbre, i.e. the characteristic sound of a specific instrument - it is why you can tell the difference between a flute and piano playing the same pitch. Although you hear the fundamental the overtones are in there.
You can read more here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overtone
Best wishes,
Dr. B
Can a person use your lessons to create pop music?
Yes! I have always thought that the best pop music is created by people who know many different styles. For example, George Martin combined his knowledge to classical music to help The Beatles!
Some of my lessons apply to all styles and some are more geared towards classical music. One of my newer videos deals with pop music, so you might really like it: ruclips.net/video/qgXPvKRh3QY/видео.html
Totally fantastic brain food!!! Thank you so much
Does this lessons include harmoy too in higher levels? (◍•ᴗ•◍)❤
Hi there, really enjoying your classes (best I have found). Quick note, at 17:05 you said Dissonance is tension and Consonance is relaxation. At 17:45, you said the opposite.
Yep, he "mis-spoke" at 17:40. It's just an inversion, guys!
Beautiful 🙏🙏🙏 thank you
Mnemonic device - Major PAD and DAMm Minors. I, IV, and V = major. ii, iii, vi, vii* minors (and dim). Works.
Thanks for sharing. I might be a little fatigued but I don't get it...what does the P, A, and D stand for? And the D, A, M?
is there ever a reason why one might use key of B# major instead of C major?
Harmonize C major scale in sixth(1-C, 2-D, 3-E, 4-F, 5-G, 6-A) (C-A)which is major sixth interval I think is sixth but my friend say (C -E ) is sixth I don't get can u help me coz ( C -R , C# - m2 , D - 2 , D#- m3 , E - 3 , F - perfect 4 , F#- Aug4th , G- 5 , G# - m6 , A - major sixth )so how C -E is sixth thank u
Thank you a thousand times for making these videos available. A question about interval inversions: when you invert a major interval it becomes minor, how does a major triad retain it's major character when it's put in the first inversion? For a C major triad, the interval between C and E becomes a minor interval in the first inversion but it still sounds major.
Great teacher
lesson on consonance and dissonance in melodic interval would be super appreciable ☺
Great question and thanks for the comment!
I intend to add new series of videos called, "Ask Dr. B About Music Theory," starting in August that answer some of the questions people post as comments - look for more good info soon. Hopefully I can get to your question quickly!
Best wishes! Dr. B
Christopher Brellochs Good to hear that 👍😁
I wrote a comment yesterday, and while I think it was a good idea, I feared it might be mistaken for seeming like a bit of an assignment. So I deleted it. I got thinking, I can't very well ask the man to do something and not be willing to do the leg work. I thought I'd look about RUclips and find some snippets I could use to lay out the background. My idea is that you might consider doing an analysis of a "great album." (Great in my assessment, anyway.) There are a few albums that I consider to be perfect. You might guess from my logo that Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon is one of them. The other one of theirs is Wish You Were Here. This documentary would place whatever analysis of the song, or songs, you choose in context. It's quite a moving one, both musically and thematically, IMO. I'm a slow learner, so I'm still working out many of the details involved in music theory.
"Money," from Dark Side of the Moon" I've heard is in 7/8 meter. I remain unclear about what cadences are and how to recognize them in a piece. Same thing with phrases, and so on. For me, I think the concepts would lock in much quicker and more deeply if I were shown how the theory ideas were connected with music that I love on a deeply personal level. Anyway, here's a very thorough and well made documentary about the making of Wish You Were Here. ruclips.net/video/wbM2_-JeDuY/видео.html
Sir, is there is any reason or history behind 4th & 5th interval calling it as perfect 4th & 5th? Why do we call it perfect?
Hello Professor,
When you talk about consonant and dissonant intervals, are you talkng about scales or chords ?
What if you keep moving by intervals of 2 ?
Notice that fundamental has the word mental in it, to suggest you're mental if you don't enjoy it, you need to have a good time with this stuff.
What instrument do you play??? Anything? Or do you just write things down?
Why are you throwing out an Augmented 7th?
Great Man
Thanks!
had to give consonants and dissonants another 20 minutes to actually understand it
im not a beginner but a self-learnt musician and this really makes me feel I'm getting where I need to be
Music is not math
But it is mathematical
I just understood why the I⁶⁴ is unstable and leads to the V.
Thank you!