Theory of Music

I am not available to Tutor this semester on a regular basis. =(
If you have a question though, please e-mail me and I will see what I can do.

Theory tip of the week....
Smooth voice leading is attained by going to the nearest chord tone.... I know you all want to get all fancy right away...but... making your melody line too difficult in the begining can lead to doubling problems... structure problems... and... oh no... Paralell 5ths! and Paralell Octaves!! Here is my suggestion for getting through part writing assignments with as little pain as possible:
1. Decide on your progression.
2. Decide on Open or Close structure.
3. Plop your Bass note down and pick a soprano note that fits your structure. Fill in the rest of the chord. (don't forget accidentals!)
4. go to the next Chord.... Plop down the bass note...your soprano note goes to the next nearest chord tone to the one you just came from.... if you can stay static that is fine... unless you are asked in the assignment to move. Don't change the assingment! *cough* (Jason!)Borring is okay.... boring is not neccisarily fun... but Boring will get you on to the bigger, better and more fun *grin*

Theory Cheat Sheet

On this page I have put up some of the devices I have found helpful in learning and retaining important ideas from Music Theory 101, 102, 201, and 202. I hope that you will get as much mileage out of them as I have. There will be more here as I have the time. (Yeah, I know......)

Circle of Fifths

Mnemonic devices: Order of Sharps (backwards is order of flats :) )
Funky Chicks Get Down After Every Beer. (F, C, G, D, A, E, B)
Order of Sharps and Flats
Augmented.Sixth.Chords

Church Modes

All of the images are my own. Ideas for various images and mnemonic devices have credits form many sources. I would like to thank Mr. Scott Edson and Dr. Kathy Moore for their inspirations. other sources include "Music in Theory and Practice" By Bruce Benward and Gary White, and "Harmony- Baroque to Contemporary" By Dr. R. Evan Copley.
If you find yourself with a question that is not addressed on this page, try some of the links that I have provided on my Links Page. If your question is still not answered, you may e-mail me and I will do my best to answer. If I am unable to answer, I will direct the question to one of the Theory God/desses I know, and we will get you an answer. Navigation Bar
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