Music Theory

Music theory is the study of how music is built, heard, and organized. It deals with melody, harmony, rhythm, form, scales, modes, notation, and the relation between sound and structure. On MusicTales the tag often appears in stories about unusual chord progressions, musical modes, compositional devices, and the hidden mechanics behind songs and instrumental works.

48 articles related to Music Theory:

SONGWRITER

Misirlou: from Ottoman melody to surf-rock lightning

Misirlou is one of those melodies that seems to belong to several worlds at once. Long before Dick Dale turned it into...
SONGWRITER

Lamento Boliviano: meaning and origin of the Mendoza rock anthem

Lamento Boliviano became the best-known song in the repertoire of the Argentine rock band Los Enanitos Verdes after...
Music Theory

Mixolydian mode in Led Zeppelin songs

It's no secret that Western music theory offers three major diatonic modes—Ionian, Lydian, and Mixolydian—each serving...
Music Theory

Dorian mode in Pink Floyd songs

It is no secret that accurately applying classical theory in songwriting contributes to easy song memorization as well...
Music Theory

Beatles' most used musical keys

In the realm of pop music, songwriters often rely on the 24 musical keys to create harmonious and captivating...
Music Theory

50 Beatles songs using Ionian mode

It is widely known that the Ionian mode—often referred to as major mode—dominates other compositional methods in both...
Music Theory

The Doors songs that use just three primary chords

The prevalence of the three-chord song structure in Western popular music has, at this point, become emblematic. More...
Music Theory

Aeolian mode in Led Zeppelin songs

The Aeolian diatonic mode is one of the most common songwriting techniques, allowing composers to harmonize a melodic...
Music Theory

Mixolydian mode in Pink Floyd songs

The Western music theory as we know it traditionally uses three major diatonic scales. Each scale's harmonic structure...
Music Theory

Beatles songs composed with just three primary chords

The harmonic analysis of The Beatles' output reveals their particular devotion to the Ionian mode, which is found in...
Music Theory

The Doors songs with Aeolian and harmonic minor modes

Known since the Baroque era, the homophonic texture remains the most convenient songwriting technique based on the...
Music Theory

Lydian mode in Led Zeppelin songs

The musical output of the English rock band Led Zeppelin can be confidently classified as classically oriented. More...
Music Theory

Phrygian mode in Pink Floyd songs

It is widely accepted that the Western system of seven diatonic modes, as postulated by the tonal theory, provides one... 2 comments
Music Theory

Beatles songs with harmonic minor and Aeolian modes

One of the easily explained reasons for the continued popularity of The Beatles' songs lies in their harmonic structure...
Music Theory

Dorian mode in The Doors songs

The Dorian minor mode is a part of the diatonic system that canonizes the usage of the seven heptatonic scales in...
Music Theory

Dorian mode in Led Zeppelin songs

Diatonic scales, as postulated by the classical tonal theory, are among the most convenient devices for composing...
Music Theory

Peace Frog: the only Doors song featuring Lydian mode

Peace Frog, released by the Doors on their 1970 album Morrison Hotel, has been met by a near-unanimous approval from...
Music Theory

Beatles songs with Dorian mode

The Beatles' phenomenal success is often attributed to the striking euphony of their polyphonic vocals as well as the...
Music Theory

Lost for Words: Pink Floyd's only Lydian song

Of all 138 songs and instrumental tracks released by Pink Floyd on their 14 studio albums, Lost for Words is the only...
Music Theory

Mixolydian mode in The Doors songs

It is no secret that the harmonic structure of a song and its adherence to the canons of musical theory is one of the...
Music Theory

No Quarter: two minor modal modes of Led Zeppelin's psychedelic track

No Quarter is one of Led Zeppelin's more psychedelically inclined tracks first released on the 1973 album Houses of the...
Music Theory

Beatles songs featuring Lydian mode

One of the main reasons for the long-term popularity of The Beatles songs is undoubtedly their developed and varied...
Music Theory

Things We Said Today: the only Beatles song featuring Phrygian mode

Things We Said Today is one of the tracks written by Paul McCartney for The Beatles's 1964 A Hard Day's Night, although...
Music Theory

9 Beatles songs that combine harmonic major with Ionian mode

The polyphonic structure of Western classical music distinguishes it from other musical traditions such as Indian...
Music Theory

Popular songs showing the submediant chord in all diatonic modes

In musical theory, the submediant refers to the sixth scale degree of the diatonic scale, and the triad rooted in the...
Music Theory

6 songs combining harmonic minor and Aeolian mode

The polyphonic structure of Western classical music distinguishes it from other musical traditions such as Indian...
Music Theory

Popular songs showing the mediant chord in all diatonic modes

In musical theory, the mediant refers to the third scale degree of the diatonic scale, and the triad rooted in the third...
Music Theory

6 songs to unpack Ionian mode and the major scale

The polyphonic aspects of Western classical music distinguish it from other musical traditions such as Indian Сlassic...
Music Theory

Authentic cadence exemplified by The Beatles songs

In theory, a cadence refers to a harmonic turnaround that appears at the end of a musical phrase, and the role it plays...
Music Theory

8 songs to introduce Aeolian mode and natural minor scale

Over the past centuries, the composition of polyphonic music has been primarily focused on seven diatonic scales...

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