Theory of Music

Theory is often treated as the homework attached to learning an instrument. It is more interesting than that. Theory is the account of why music does what it does — why a particular chord feels like an arrival, why a melody rises where it does, why one piece is restless and another is settled.

Who it is for

Two kinds of student take theory with us.

The first are instrumentalists. Most examination boards require a theory qualification before the higher practical grades, so at some point the subject becomes unavoidable. Students who have studied it properly find that it makes learning pieces dramatically faster, because they stop reading note by note and start reading in patterns.

The second are people who do not play at all, and simply want to understand what they are listening to. They are very welcome, and they often turn out to be the most engaged students in the room.

What you will learn

• Notation — reading and writing music accurately in all common clefs
• Rhythm and metre — simple, compound and irregular time, and how to feel it
• Intervals and scales — major, minor, modal, chromatic
• Harmony — chords, progressions, cadences, voice leading
• Composition — writing melodies and harmonising them
• Analysis — taking a piece apart to see how it was made

Format and examinations

Theory is taught individually or in small groups, in person or online. Graded theory examinations are available through Trinity College London, ABRSM, London College of Music and MTB.