Learn Music Theory your way with a TakeLessons expert

Improvisation on the piano is a useful skill for any pianist. It adds creativity and imagination to your playing, tests your musical and theoretical knowledge, allows you to adapt to any situation, and is an impressive skill to wow others with. For many pianists though, even piano improvisation basics aren't intuitive skills, and require practice to develop. Just as constant sight-reading will improve your reading ability, constant practice in improvising is important to improve your skill. 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

Music existed for thousands of years, long before notation came into being. The creation of music speaks to an innate human need, for it has existed for almost as long as humans have been in existence: there are prehistoric cave paintings illustrating instruments, as well as discoveries of actual prehistoric instruments such as a bone flute from the Stone Age. Music was also an important aspect of ancient civilizations, like the Egyptian and classical Greek civilizations, and was used for

Have you ever seen a 12 string acoustic guitar in a music shop and felt intimidated? Well, great news! If you can play a 6-string guitar, you can play a 12-string. I don’t mean eventually, I mean right now. Let’s take a closer look at what all those extra strings are, why they’re there, and what they can (and can’t) do. First of All, How is a 12-String Acoustic Guitar Tuned? The answer is, exactly like a 6-string but with each string doubled. So, going from bottom to top (pitch wise),

Sure, music theory is complex -- but there's no need to fear it! Here, Jamaica Plain, MA teacher Noaa R. shares four steps to get you started...   Many students tend to avoid studying music theory and harmony. This can stem from a fear of compromising one’s creativity with rules and numbers, a failure to connect concepts with application, or from feeling overwhelmed by the perceived volume of material to be learned. However, when you approach theory as an exploratory process that helps

What are the "keys" to identifying different key signatures? Read on for some great tips from Tucson, AZ teacher Lourdes C... Even if you’re a beginner, understanding key signatures is a critical part of reading music. A key signature is a set of sharps or flats at the beginning of a song that appears after the clef and before the time signature.  This symbol indicates which piano keys will be sharp or flat for the rest of the song. In other words, the key signature determines the home

As a vocal coach, I often need to accompany my students on the piano as they practice their music. Without adequate time to practice or the necessary skills as an accompanist, this usually means that I have to fake my way through new music to the best of my ability. Fortunately, I can fairly successfully “fake it” on the piano with many pieces. This is because I know how to quickly read lead-sheet symbols, which are commonly provided with popular sheet music. Lead-sheet symbols, or ch

Mention the subject of improvisation around a pianist, and you’ll get a mixture of intrigue, excitement, and exasperation. Some pianists love the idea. Others are terrified of the idea of playing notes that are not on the page. If you’re intrigued, you may be wondering how to improvise on the piano.  The amazing thing is that improvisation is no different than learning to speak a language. However, pianists sometimes get frustrated because they think that this specific language is so

Struggling to understand music theory? Try heading over to the piano -- seeing a visual representation can help a ton! Here, Lowell, IN teacher Blake C. shares how to get started...   Many musicians avoid learning music theory altogether because it can feel much like learning a foreign language; as a result, many musicians enlist in the anti-music theory organization. I will admit it – I was a member of the anti-music theory organization in my early years, declaring that music theory

Are you looking to learn non-traditional techniques on the violin? Wondering how far you can take this instrument? The violin is one of the most versatile instruments in the world.  It can accommodate a seemingly infinite amount of styles, sounds, and ensembles. The violin has 2 octaves of range in first position, making a wide amount of notes available to players of all levels. And you can use the violin to play almost any technique; making it possible to play an incredible number of sounds