The 5 Most Famous Musical Theories

Introduction

Musical theory is a complex subject that has been debated by musicians for centuries. However, there are five theories that have been so popular, so important and so influential throughout the history of music that they have stood out from the rest.

What is Musical theory?

Musical theory is to music what grammar is to language.  Musical Theory is a set of rules that define what music is, how it works, and its structure. It’s the language of music, and if you want to be able to speak that language fluently, then you need to know the rules. Music theory is an incredibly vast subject, and there are hundreds (if not thousands) of theories about how music works. So to help you get started with the basics, here are five famous musical theories.

List of the 5 Most Famous Musical Theories is a list of ten musical theories that have had a great impact on the history of music. Music theory describes the elements of music and how they are combined in composition. These theories were created by composers, musicians, songwriters, conductors, music critics/music journalists, teachers, etc.

For example, in 1725 Johann Mattheson published Der vollkommene Capellmeister (The complete Capellmeister—Orchestral leader), which was one of the first books to include musical descriptions in German.

These five theories changed how people think about music forever, and they have been passed down from generation to generation. Every musician worth his salt knows these theories by heart, and you can too.

Musical theory #1: The Major Scale

The Major Scale is the scale all others are based on. It’s an eight-note scale, with no sharps or flats.

The C Major Scale is the most important scale in Western Music. It’s the foundation of just about any song you can think of. Here’s how it looks:

C D E F G A B C

Musical theory #2: Melodic Construction

Melody refers to the ordered succession of tones in a piece of music. Melody is typically associated with the line that you can sing or whistle. Each note in a melody is called a “pitch”. Melodies may be made up of single pitches (like many folk songs) or multiple pitches (like an alto saxophone solo). A

Melody is based on creating motion in your listener. A melody will often move up or down, which creates an expectation for the next note within that chord.

Melodic motion can also be used across chords. One example of this is by using a sequence (a series of notes that moves up or down in pitch).

Musical theory #3: Harmonic Construction

Harmony is one of the most important aspects of music: it is this that allows us to perceive a collection of notes as a chord and to feel a sense of resolution when these chords resolve. Harmony is the artful combination of pitches to create chords and chord progressions that enrich and embellish a given melody.

Musical theory #4: Form/Structure

Music is organized into phrases and sections. The most basic of these sections is called a verse. A verse will almost always be repeated in some form when the song is played again. This allows you to take what you’ve learned in the verse and apply it to the next time you play the same song.

The verse takes place in a key center, but there are no chords that are defined by specific intervals. Instead, chords are formed by stacking up thirds. These thirds can be stacked in many

Musical theory #5: Lyric Writing & Lyric Theory

his time we will discuss lyric writing and lyric theory.

Yes, I am aware that this blog has nothing to do with music. It has nothing to do with singing or songwriting either. But I want to create a resource for all things related to writing (and speaking), and music (and language) are definitely related.

Additional theory The Circle of Fifths

The circle of fifths is a visual representation of how keys relate to one another. The circle splits the 12 notes in an octave into five groups.

Conclusion

With so many musical theories it can be hard to determine which are most important. In this article, we’ve put together a list of the 5 most famous musical theories that every musician should know about. We hope you enjoy it!