[duairc]

> If you want real understanding of music in a useful way for real people, I recommend Bob Snyder's book "Music and Memory: An Introduction" which was actually written to teach creative artistic people about how music actually works rather than how aristocratic European music notation works.

Thank you! I've long been suspicious of so-called music theory for exactly the reasons you outline. I always wanted to learn more about music and why it "works" as you say, so I assumed what I wanted to learn was music theory, but then when I tried to learn it it didn't seem to explain any of the things I was looking for. I'll have to check out that book.

[coldtea]

>Thank you! I've long been suspicious of so-called music theory for exactly the reasons you outline. I always wanted to learn more about music and why it "works" as you say, so I assumed what I wanted to learn was music theory, but then when I tried to learn it it didn't seem to explain any of the things I was looking for. I'll have to check out that book.

The reasons he mentions are bogus -- simply his bias against a term in common use ("music theory") , only because "theory" is used with a different meaning in academic contexts.

That said, there's nothing to be suspicious of in music theory, and what's in TFA is not "so called music theory", it's actual music theory, the way every composer, musician, etc in the western world knows as such.

That it doesn't explain other aspects of music (psychological, physical etc) does not make it any less "music theory", nor does it make those other things "music theory".

[quadrangle]

I did mention I have a music degree, right? I teach music lessons for a living. So if you were implying that I'm a scientist who doesn't get the value of this notation-system stuff and am just being pedantic about the word "theory", you're totally wrong.

The reason I complain about the term is exactly because of the post above yours: people actually do think they are going to learn explanations about the nature music and they don't get that.