"The Oxford Companion to Music describes three interrelated uses of the term 'music theory.'"
The understanding of the basics of music, rhythm, tempo, beats, and musical forms that contribute to dance.
Rhythm: The organization of beats, durations, and accents in music.
Tempo: The speed of the music, measured in beats per minute (BPM).
Meter: The division of beats into regular patterns or time signatures, such as 4/4 or 3/4.
Melody: The series of notes that form a musical line or tune.
Harmony: The simultaneous sounding of two or more notes to create chords and progressions.
Chords: A group of notes played together that creates a harmonious sound.
Progressions: The sequence of chords in a song or piece of music.
Form: The structure and organization of the different sections of a song or piece of music.
Dynamics: The variation in volume of a song or piece of music.
Timbre: The unique quality of a sound, determined by its waveform and overtones.
Composition Techniques: Various techniques used to create music, such as melody writing, chord progression, and counterpoint.
Music Notation: The standard method of writing down music using musical symbols.
Musical Analysis: The process of breaking down a piece of music to study its structural, harmonic and melodic elements.
Musical Instruments: The various types of instruments used to create different sounds in music.
Genre: The different categories of music, such as classical, pop, rock, blues, jazz, etc.
Ballet: This is a classical form of dance music that is often accompanied by an orchestra. It often tells a story through dance.
Jazz: Jazz music features a unique rhythm and syncopated beats, making it great for improvising and dancing.
Latin: Latin music includes styles such as salsa, samba, and tango. These rhythms are great for dancing.
Hip-Hop: Hip-hop music is characterized by its strong beats and complicated rhythms. It is used in breakdancing and other urban dance forms.
Electronic: Electronic music can feature a wide range of sounds and beats, making it popular for dancing at clubs and parties.
House: House music is a subgenre of electronic music that emphasizes a repetitive beat and is characterized by its funky basslines and use of synthesizers.
Techno: Techno music often features a fast-paced beat and synthetic sounds. It is popular for dancing at raves and underground clubs.
Reggaeton: Reggaeton is a genre of Latin music that blends reggae, hip-hop, and Latin beats. It is characterized by its repetitive beats and use of synthesizers.
Flamenco: Flamenco music is a traditional form of Spanish music that is often used in flamenco dancing. It features a passionate, rhythmic beat and often includes guitars and percussion.
Country: Country music often features a strong beat and is perfect for line dancing and square dancing. It is characterized by its use of acoustic guitars, banjos, and fiddles.
"The first is the 'rudiments', that are needed to understand music notation; the second is learning scholars' views on music from antiquity to the present; the third is a sub-topic of musicology that 'seeks to define processes and general principles in music'."
"The musicological approach to theory differs from music analysis 'in that it takes as its starting-point not the individual work or performance but the fundamental materials from which it is built.'"
"Music theory is frequently concerned with describing how musicians and composers make music, including tuning systems and composition methods among other topics."
"A more inclusive definition could be the consideration of any sonic phenomena, including silence."
"The study of 'music' in the Quadrivium liberal arts university curriculum... was an abstract system of proportions."
"Music theory as a practical discipline encompasses the methods and concepts that composers and other musicians use in creating and performing music."
"The development, preservation, and transmission of music theory in this sense may be found in oral and written music-making traditions, musical instruments, and other artifacts."
"Ancient instruments from prehistoric sites around the world reveal details about the music they produced and potentially something of the musical theory that might have been used by their makers."
"Practical and scholarly traditions overlap, as many practical treatises about music place themselves within a tradition of other treatises, which are cited regularly just as scholarly writing cites earlier research."
"Etymologically, music theory is an act of contemplation of music, from the Greek word θεωρία, meaning a looking at, a viewing; a contemplation, speculation, theory; a sight, a spectacle."
"Music theory, as such, is often concerned with abstract musical aspects such as tuning and tonal systems, scales, consonance and dissonance, and rhythmic relationships."
"There is also a body of theory concerning practical aspects, such as the creation or the performance of music, orchestration, ornamentation, improvisation, and electronic sound production."
"University study, typically to the MA or PhD level, is required to teach as a tenure-track music theorist in a US or Canadian university."
"Methods of analysis include mathematics, graphic analysis, and especially analysis enabled by western music notation."
"Comparative, descriptive, statistical, and other methods are also used."
"Music theory textbooks... often include elements of musical acoustics, considerations of musical notation, and techniques of tonal composition (harmony and counterpoint), among other topics."