Music Theory – Fundamentals for Composition in Any Genre TUTORIAL
This first part of the Warp Drive will ensure you have the proper foundation for further musical exploration.
It is separated into three main sections: Fundamentals, Mind, and Ear.
How it Works:
- Part 1 was designed to help reveal and strengthen your innate musical abilities.
- The goal is freedom and fluency in the process of writing music, allowing you to express your authentic sound without contrivance.
- The method is a series of lessons and exercises which target the most crucial areas of musical development and nothing else.
- There will be no sight-reading, no exams, no quick-fixes, and no diploma to hang on your wall. There will be deep listening, compositional challenges, personal reflection, and many hours of effective practice.
Is this a music theory course?
Definitely! However, it is theory in service of composition.
What type of composition?
The type most natural to you, whatever that may be. Musical Warp Drive deals with universal music principles rather than genre-specific details. These insights and ideas apply as much to dubstep as they do to country.
What to Expect:
Fundamentals:
Whatever your current level of knowledge is, the Gap-Filler series will bring clarity and solidity to your musical core. All terms accurately defined and logical reasoning made explicit. These concepts make everything else possible. Additionally, I recommend everyone gain a basic degree of keyboard ability as it is the best compositional tool we have right now. I have included a series of powerful keyboard practices at the end of this section for anyone not already experienced.
Mind:
The seat of all music, our mind, is all but ignored in most theory books and courses. To study music deeply is to explore our very self. Our mindset (beliefs, ideas, and overall perspective) regarding music and our relationship to it plays a central role in our growth. In addition, the way we directly experience music, as both listener and creator, can massively shape our own compositions. If you’re serious about expanding your creative potential, these deeper aspects will prove invaluable and the exercises given will unlock new insights unique to you.
Ear:
The state of our musical ear, perhaps above all else, determines the accuracy, speed, and degree of ease we have in the real-time activity of writing music. Left untrained, many hours are spent trying to translate sounds in our mind into sounds in the air. If the information and exercises given in this section are put into practice, the opaque will become transparent and a real sense of musical fluency will begin to emerge.
What you’ll learn
- Essential music theory fundamentals
- How to develop an accurate musical ear
- How to create all basic intervals, scales, and chords
- Exercises for greater creativity and confidence while composing music
- Powerful practices for rapid development