Are you in a practice rut? Mix things up with these ear training exercises and music theory games for kids and beyond, compiled by music teacher Alicia B...   It's no secret that professional athletes have to train rigorously to reach the top of the medal podium. The path of music is similar, and you'd be surprised how your training is no different! Learning to play an instrument takes dedicated practice, mental stamina, and an organized plan for success. But don't worry -- it doesn'

I’m so excited that you’ve decided to dive deeper into your musical studies with some music theory basics. Before we begin, I want to let you know that I teach multiple days a week on Takelesson Live. After reading the first article in this “Music Theory for Singers” series please feel free to come join me in a live class so that I can answer any questions you might have, and to help you better understand the material. This link will provide you with 30-days of free TL Live membership

As you learn songs and work through your music books, do you memorize the notes? Or do you read along every time you play? In this post, music teacher Vanessa G. discusses the pros and cons to the approaches...   Imagine your teacher gives you a piece of music to study. What's your process? Do you listen to a recording, memorizing the melody and the stylistic aspects before you begin, and then as you play? Or would you sit down and sight read the notes, and perfect it from that star

What Does it Mean to Change a Key? To change a song’s “key” means to shift the whole musical system to a higher or lower position. This process is called “transposition.” Performers often need transpose a song to better fit their voices. That way, a performer with a naturally lower singing voice (like myself) will be able to more comfortably sing a song that was originally written for someone with a naturally higher voice. Or vice versa.  For singers, transposition feels fairly

Staring at the Circle of Fifths and memorizing key signatures isn't the only way to learn music theory! Here, Brooklyn, NY teacher Liz T. shares some creative ideas to revive your learning...   Music theory is a very important part of your musicianship, whether it be mastering ear training, harmony, or sight reading. No matter what instrument you play or what styles you enjoy, those who learn music theory grow further as musicians. A solid knowledge can help you improve your performanc

Whether you're turning your house into a creepy haunted mansion, heading to a rockin' Halloween party, or getting the kids dressed up for trick-or-treating around the neighborhood, these Halloween party songs are the best way to get into the spirit. No playlist fit for consumption by ghouls and goblins is complete without these 10 essentials. Turn it up, and have a happy and safe Halloween! 1. Thriller Who doesn't love the "Thriller" dance? 2. Candy Because it's not H

One of the most common weaknesses for amateur musicians is a lack of music theory knowledge. Many people assume that learning theory is difficult (it isn’t) that it has no practical purpose (it does), or even that it will actively make them worse at making music (quite the opposite). I’m here to convince you that learning a little about how music works is one of the most important skills you can develop and should absolutely be part of your daily practice routine. Here are five reasons w

Test your knowledge of music with this innovative music theory quiz - and then keep reading to find even more fun quizzes you can take! A knowledge of music theory is absolutely indispensable to musicians. For beginners, it can seem intimidating, but experienced musicians will attest that theory is well worth the effort needed to master it. While you can certainly acquire proficiency on an instrument without a knowledge of theory, you’ll miss out on the depth of understanding that

Welcome to part two in this series “Music Theory for Singers.” In this article we’ll cover how to read pitches. In part one of this series we learned how to read rhythms. Rhythm is how long or short you sustain a note. Pitches are how high or low the note you are singing will sound.  In music there are 7 natural notes (pitch names) and 5 accidental notes (pitch names). The musical alphabet goes from A to G, and then just repeats after G, back to A. It looks like this. A B C D E F