Question: My idea of teaching music theory through piano was always burning in my mind… at last I think I found the right place to learn more.
I am interested especially in harmony, including the right selection of chords, chord progressions, etc.
Kind regards,
– Achilles (Malta)
Albert’s reply: Many thanks for your submission, Achilles. I agree that it’s vital to think of music theory as something applied rather than as something abstract.
Therefore I consider it essential to learn music theory at the piano. In fact, all musicians – not just pianists – really should learn music theory at the piano, since the piano is capable of full harmony.
A piano is like an entire orchestra in that respect. In fact, when playing piano chords for instance it’s important to hear each note in the chord as if it were a separate instrument in an orchestra. This is good for ear training in two ways: first, you’ll learning to follow the voice leading of each note (i.e., where each note comes from and where it is going), and second, it teaches you to hear “colors” in the sounds you make. It’s possible through touch and time to create the illusion of different instruments at the piano.
We have a lot of piano theory materials in preparation behind the scenes at key-notes. (Pssst… if you join the mailing list by entering your name and email address at the top of this page you’ll be the first to find out!)
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