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Anybody any good with music theory?

Zephyr

Zephyr

Moved on
So this year I got a chance to take a music theory class in high school, and so far it's been incredibly easy (everything in class just sticks to me like glue), save for one thing: identifying intervals. I can nail unisons, 8ves, and perfect 4th and 5ths, and usually major seconds and thirds, but the rest is really hit and miss for me. I've been practicing with the interval ear trainer on musictheory.net, but I don't seem to be making many great strides. Does anybody have any other good ideas to help me out here?
 
Shadow Wolf

Shadow Wolf

Certified People sTabber
Uhhhhhhh, I just play bass. Your speaking some foriegn language to me.
What is an interval, and I might now what they are, but I've had very little actual music training/lessongs, so probably not. I'm even taking bass lessons just to learn it better, and better myself as a bassist. The thought of scales and arpeggios no longer have me thinking "huh?"
 
Zephyr

Zephyr

Moved on
Luke Wolf said:
Uhhhhhhh, I just play bass. Your speaking some foriegn language to me.
What is an interval, and I might now what they are, but I've had very little actual music training/lessongs, so probably not. I'm even taking bass lessons just to learn it better, and better myself as a bassist. The thought of scales and arpeggios no longer have me thinking "huh?"
Click to expand...
Heh, I'm a bassist too (along with cellist, guitarist, and crappy pianist). Scales and Arpeggios will help a ton, believe me. After getting my scales and triads down, improvisings sound so much better.

Music theory is nice to know if you want to make harmonies...also, I'll need to take a hueg (like xbox) amount of theory classes in college.
 
Shadow Wolf

Shadow Wolf

Certified People sTabber
After getting my scales and triads down, improvisings sound so much better.
Click to expand...
My overall sound is improving, and I'm getting much better at writing stuff.
Before I knew the notes, and how to read tabs. Nothing more.
 
Zephyr

Zephyr

Moved on
Luke Wolf said:
My overall sound is improving, and I'm getting much better at writing stuff.
Before I knew the notes, and how to read tabs. Nothing more.
Click to expand...
Yeah, practice makes perfect.

Btw, ever take a peek at the site in Aqualung's and my sigs? If you ever need some pointers, it's a good place to check up.
 
jimbob

jimbob

The Celt
the internet thing would have been my idea, but what program are you using? i had to learn how to time intervals exactly for my music teacher, and she used a headset thing with a button....i'll try and remember the name of it for you. i'd get a song, and the sheet music, and follow along. then play the song and try to figure out the intervals by yourself. i had to do this.
 
Aqualung

Aqualung

Tasty
jimbob said:
the internet thing would have been my idea, but what program are you using? i had to learn how to time intervals exactly for my music teacher, and she used a headset thing with a button....i'll try and remember the name of it for you. i'd get a song, and the sheet music, and follow along. then play the song and try to figure out the intervals by yourself. i had to do this.
Click to expand...

That's something I thought of when Zephyr posted this question at a music forum, but really, there aren't that many songs with minor seconds, for example. The majority of songs have the same few intervals in them, because these few intervals sound the best to our ears.
 
Zephyr

Zephyr

Moved on
jimbob said:
the internet thing would have been my idea, but what program are you using? i had to learn how to time intervals exactly for my music teacher, and she used a headset thing with a button....i'll try and remember the name of it for you. i'd get a song, and the sheet music, and follow along. then play the song and try to figure out the intervals by yourself. i had to do this.
Click to expand...
At musictheory.net they have a flash program ear trainer for intervals. It's nice because you can choose what intervals the options are and such. Still hard. Stupid minor intervals...
 
Wandered Off

Wandered Off

Sporadic Driveby Member
Here's a kind of odd suggestion, but it may help to tie a visual in with the aural. If you sit down at a piano keyboard and use two fingers to play an interval, try to memorize not only the sound but the picture of your two fingers on the keyboard. That way you can use the visual to count the keys between the fingers. Memory can be enhanced if you draw in more than one of your senses.
 
jamaesi

jamaesi

To Save A Lamb
I did see a copy of "Music Theory for Dummies" when I was browsing at the library today. ;) It comes with a CD!
 
ALifetimeToWaitFor....

ALifetimeToWaitFor....

Myriad
Ya my only advice is to buy a book because its extremely difficult for me just to read things online and put them into practice, without a highlighter its hard for me to take notes later and printing that information out. I would suggest any beginners music theory book and some sheet music with tabs and notation format is you play guitar. I recommend learning something very very familar at first.
 
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