I want to get into music theory EASY - any recommendations?

Question

I want to learn, slowly at first. I get frustrated with complicated things pretty easily, but I noticed my songwriting has become more and more stale, and songs are starting to sound alike. Anyone have any good (hopefully cheap but I'll do what I gotta) resources for gently easing into music theory?

Answer 1

Well, I'd say the first thing you need to do is decide whether or not you're self guided, or if you need a "course" or "class" with some structure.

If you're the self guided type, you can always count on youtube, or various websites and learn as you start to wonder things. Or even pick up a syllabus from a real music theory class and go thru it yourself and use youtube to learn the elements in the syllabus at your own pace.

You can check out this guy on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1302D94F247600CD

OR I love this site personally:

LightNote

Best of luck, there are plenty of resources out there but you specified easing into it, and I think these are the best ways!

Comments

Agreed - I think the self guided vs needs guidance is an important thing to know about your learning style in general - but especially for music theory.

Answer 2

I'll go rogue here and say get a teacher. If you really want to learn, there is no better way (In my opinion) than to get a really good teacher who you can stop and ask questions if things get too far beyond you. Also with a teacher if you are having a specific problem, he/she can draw upon their (hopefully) years of experience and help you out in a specific way - maybe tell you something that helped another student in the past.