In my opinion (as a music professional of over 35 years), music theory is taught in the most confusing and painful way imaginable. An example of this is that students are often faced with multiple sets of systems to describe the same thing in different classes.
For example, Scale Degrees are referenced using numbers (0-9) in private lessons, Roman numerals (both uppercase and lowercase) in analysis, terms such as Tonic, Submediant, Dominant, etc. when you get to theory class, and something called “Solfege” (Do-Re-Mi) in ear training. Too often, the student has no idea that all of these systems refer to the same basic thing, degrees of scale. And this is just one example!
Scale degree naming schemes…
- Numbers: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
- Names: Tonic, Supertonic, Median, Subdominant, Dominant, Submediant, Principal Tone
- Novel: I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII
- Sol-fa: Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti
Can music theory be made easier to understand?
Yes you can. All that is really needed is to reduce the theory to its simplest form. Then present it in a uniform way, much easier to understand. For example. Let’s get closer to the presentation of the degree of scale mentioned above.
Instead of using different systems for private lessons, analysis, music theory classes, and ear training, we could use standard numbers (0-9) for all of them. We have removed the hurdles of having to learn solfeggio (including all solfeggio names for non-scale notes), English names for each scale degree, proper use of upper and lower case Roman numerals, etc., BEFORE any music functionality. can be learned We get to work using a system that all students are already familiar with, the numbers 0-9. Again, this is just an example.
With consistency across the board, all of this can be easily learned and retained. If you plan to attend college where all of these terms will be needed, you can always learn these terms and systems AFTER you understand how music works. Trust me, it’s MUCH EASIER that way!
As stated above, this is just one example of how something that can be explained so simply has become unnecessarily complex.
So the solution is to make music theory simpler, not the current trend of making it more difficult. I think the study of how music works can be boiled down to these two basic concepts… First, learn the major scale. Then use the major scale to learn everything else. Sounds pretty simple to me!
