hi this is Darren with Strumpatterns.com
and welcome to the Beginners Music Theory
Series! This is the first video and in it
we're going to talk about: What is music theory?
What it's not, Some of the pitfalls to
avoid as well as an overview of the
topics and goals for the series. So now you know,
so let's go. So, when most people think
about music theory they think of
something complicated like a high level
math or surgery or something like that.
But, really it's not that hard. Most of
the concepts I think you'll find are
pretty simple. It just takes a
little bit of time to learn how to apply
them creatively and usually without
having to think about them too much. So,
maybe in that way, it's more like a
language. But, I think you'll be surprised
about how quickly you will pick up most
of these concepts. So as I suggested,
language is a great way to think about
music and music theory. Just like if
you're writing a how-to manual, it helps
to be able to understand what a verb is
and a noun is so you can communicate
with people in a way that they
understand and that we all agree together.
But, just like a how-to manual is very
different from poetry/ where poetry seeks
to express something beyond something
that is factual- something that is true
or false or a method of doing something.  So,
poetry takes these rules and then it
breaks them or it bends the rules; Maybe
uses sound and shape and rhythm to color
the meaning so that the expression of
what they want to say becomes more
important than the logical true false
kind of nature of the words themselves.
So if you think about music theory-
that's the... those are the verbs and nouns
and adjectives and the things you put
together so that we can understand music
as a whole. But, the music is much deeper
than that. The artistry, the creativity,
the expression
that comes from that. When to use what
rules and when to abandon them. When to
use your mind and went to shed that for
whatever sounds good to you. But having a
basic understanding of the rules so that
you know when you're breaking them- I
think that is a very useful thing for a
musician to have.
So, often in life we have these kind of
chicken or the egg kind of questions where
we don't know  which came first. But,
when it comes to music theory and music,
we know. Music always comes first and
then the music theory- the rules of the
of the music, come later. Because, what
happens is you'll have a style or some
sort of rule set for the way you make
music, and maybe what is popular at the
time or the kinds of scales and modes
and rhythms and things that you might
use. Some people learn these outright and
sometimes you'd learn them just by
listening to a certain performer or a
genre for long enough you can absorb the
rules of the music. But, then what happens
is someone else comes along and they
create their own voice... their own music
and it will take some of those rules and
change them. And then what happens is
the music theory to express those ideas
has to change to catch up with the new
ideas. So, music theory always follows
after the music. And that brings us to
another important idea- that music theory
is not a prescription. It's a description.
Okay? So, it's not something that 
X+Y=Z. It's a description of "if you
apply minor chord but you throw in this
pitch underneath that's going to change
the way you perceive that minor chord." So,
it has some description of the kind of
feeling that you might get when you do
certain techniques but it's not a "do
this and then this" kind of recipe for
how to make music. Or, at least if you
want to avoid really predictable and
mundane kind of music. And that's where, you
know, sometimes music theory gets a bad
rep: because people are using it as a
prescription... it's just a formula. Do this
then do that and, voilà, you have your song.
But, good music,  music theory is just
descriptive not prescriptive. So,
you know, that's my kind of opinion. That
some people avoid music theory
because they don't want to get bogged
down with sounding like everyone else or
being to mental about their music and
they just want to say, "you know just let it
flow" kind of idea. But, if you ask me, I
think it's really good to learn these
things. But, then you can't be so strict
about it, that you only stick to it and
become formulaic with it. So, understand
that music theory is not a prescription
is just a description. So, what if you
wanted to write some music that
reflected this storm. Knowing that you
wanted to write something like that,
it might suggest certain ideas. So, for one
thing I know I'm going to want to use
more... some darker scales. So I might want
to use something like Phrygian or I
might want to use a Minor scale, or I
might want to use more chromaticism.
Whereas if I want to write
something like this, then I'm going to
want to use some brighter sounding
scales. I might want to use things like
Major or Mixolydian or something of
that nature... even some major pentatonic
ideas. Also, it's going to help me select
some of the rhythms that I want. When I'm
looking at this...
I want something that is going to be
slow-moving and creates kind of a
sustained feeling of peace and
tranquility. Whereas, when I come to this
storm, I'm going to want lots of motion,
lots of movement, lots of jagged edges.
OK? So, I don't want long notes. I don't want
really constant sound. I want abrupt
changes in loud and soft. So, knowing
these kind of things,
the kind of thing I want to communicate, 
suggests which tools of music theory for
me to use. Those are some of the things
we're going to look at in this series. So... what
are the different scales, in fact, what's
the basic musical alphabet? What is a scale?
Then what is a chord? What's the
difference between a C major seven chord and
a  C7 chord? or what is a C-sharp
diminished chord?
or what's the difference between an add
cord and a sus chord? I also want you to be
able to look at a chord sheet that just
has a bunch of lyrics and chords written
on it,  and help you figure out what kind
of key you're in,  so you know what kind of
scale to use with it. Or, if you're writing your own
music, what kinds of things can I add to
a G chord to make this less cookie-cutter...
to make this sound like my own song? How
can I adapt these basic chords that I
use and do something more creative with it? So, I
also hope to help you with
understanding barre chords and shapes
and patterns that those create as well as
how to use a capo. So, those are some of
the things will look at in this series.
And like I said, we'll start off real
basic. And then we'll build over time.
I hope that if you make your way all the
way through the series, that you'll have
a much better understanding of the stuff
You're playing.   You know, I've taught these concepts
a number of times to my students. But
they've always been right there in front
of me, so I can see on their faces if
something doesn't make sense to them. and
I can re-explain it or   re-go over
something with them. So, since I don't
have you in front of me, I really hope
you will leave a comment or something
doesn't make sense. Or, also in the
description box as well as at the end of
the video,  I'm gonna leave links that you
can contact me through Facebook and
Twitter and Google+ and all that stuff.
So if I get enough questions about the
same kind of thing, I will try to make an
update video to further explain those
things. And that's it for this video but
it's the first in a series so be sure to
click here to catch the next video in
the series also click here if you'd like
to catch the video from another series.
If you'd like to subscribe to my YouTube
channel click here so that you don't
miss out on future videos.
Leave any questions or comments you have
down below. Also you can follow me on
Facebook Google+ or Twitter by clicking
here. And, if you'd like to support me and
keep these videos coming, you can click
here to make a donation. Otherwise, we'll
see you next video and thank you for
watching!!!
