Going Back to the Beginning
The goal of this site is not to teach the history of music theory, or music for that matter. It is important to have a basic understanding of where music comes from, more specifically Western music, in order to understand how music theory developed. Below you'll find a very brief overview of some of the important pioneers of music.
Ancient Greeks - Pythagoras
Pythagoras was an ancient Greek mathematician whom lived during the 6th century B.C. Pythagoras, and all ancient Greeks, believed there was a direct relationship with music, math, and astronomy.
Pythagoras was one of the first people who looked at music as being part of a larger system, one bound by rules. His work also lead to the development of the 7 note scales that we use today.
Pythagoras was one of the first people who looked at music as being part of a larger system, one bound by rules. His work also lead to the development of the 7 note scales that we use today.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach is often considered to be, "the Father of Music". Bach lived during the 17th century (much later than Pythagoras). Bach was one of the most prolific composers of the Baroque era of music. He wrote so much music that his work defines the era. The majority of music that we will study, write, and analyze will be in the same style as Bach.
Why Bach? The music from this time period influenced all western music that followed it. Before the Baroque era of music, much of music composition looked very different from what we are used to reading today. Because Bach wrote so much music during his time, most composers, scholars, and musicians that followed him often looked back to his work for inspiration. Much of our musical theory system is also based on the compositional techniques that Bach created and mastered himself.
Bach often wrote music for church choirs. It is in this medium that we will begin writing and composing our own music. This genre provides enough structure and freedom without becoming overwhelming, and will allow us to explore a great deal of musical theory.
Why Bach? The music from this time period influenced all western music that followed it. Before the Baroque era of music, much of music composition looked very different from what we are used to reading today. Because Bach wrote so much music during his time, most composers, scholars, and musicians that followed him often looked back to his work for inspiration. Much of our musical theory system is also based on the compositional techniques that Bach created and mastered himself.
Bach often wrote music for church choirs. It is in this medium that we will begin writing and composing our own music. This genre provides enough structure and freedom without becoming overwhelming, and will allow us to explore a great deal of musical theory.
The Others
Of course there are other very important composers and scholars that all aided in the development of music and musical theory. In fact one might argue that all great and notable composers, even those in our modern day and age of music, have had significant influence on how we listen to and percieve music today. If you would like to learn more, visit this website.
