It's dark out as you make your way down the lonely, dimly lit street. Your footsteps echo as you descend into the quiet solitude of the subway station. Pausing at a corner, the melancholy melody of a bansuri catches your auditory attention. Like a painful, desperate cry of longing, the haunting flute draws you closer. As you approach, the wails build to a terrifying climax. Then silence falls, and all is still. The man reveals his inanimate companion, and you are struck at the simplicity of the object: it's nothing but a tube with some holes carved in it. You inquire as to how this sound, this feeling, could be possible, and the man reveals his secrets.
There is a whole underlying science of mathematics that guides musicians in their choice of notes. The more advanced musicians often espouse the value of learning this math. Theory is the grammar of music. By learning it, one can express ideas with greater clarity, and broaden one's horizons into fields never dreamt possible.
All music starts with a scale. The first note of the scale determines the key. The following notes are determined by a pattern of intervals. Scales can contain any number of notes, but many scales contain 7. Notes follow a series of half and whole steps until an octave is reached. A half step is the distance from one note to the next chromatic note. A whole step is two half steps put together. An octave is the same note as the first in the scale, but the pitch is higher. The most common scale, the major scale, follows this pattern of whole and half steps: whole whole half whole whole whole half.
Not all music is contained by the major scale, and many variations exist. The pentatonic minor scale is a 5 note scale used widely throughout blues and rock. It's cousin, the pentatonic major, differs only in that the second note is a half step higher. But scales alone cannot explain all of music's magic.
Chords are groups two or more notes pulled from the scale. A major chord consists of three notes, the root note, a note a major third interval above the root, and a note a minor third interval above the second note. These intervals form recognizable shapes on a guitar, creating patterns that can be recognized with agility. Minor scales are also utilized commonly. A minor chord consists of a root note, a note a minor third above the root, and a note a major third above the second. In a major scale, each note has a corresponding chord. The first, fourth, and fifth notes all have corresponding major chords, while notes 2, 3, and 6 have minor chords. The 7th chord is diminished, whose construction is determined by a root note, a note a minor third above the root, and another note a minor third above the second. In a scale, every major chord has a relative minor chord that share two notes in common. A major chord's relative minor chord is found a minor third step below the root note of the major chord.
Theory can be intimidating to learn, but its practical applications are limitless. Learning chord construction allows a musician to more quickly dissect difficult progressions. Scales are useful in performing solos, and generating melodies in original works. They are also useful in performing back up behind vocals or other instruments. By learning scales, a musician can narrow down the number of notes to a much more manageable population, and even if those notes are chosen at random, the likelihood of them blending in a satisfying way is much greater than the odds of notes picked entirely at random, unshaped by the knowledge of scale construction.
Music is a language, and every language follows certain patterns that make for easier communication. Although not all musicians learn these rules of syntax, those who do often find it easier to communicate their musical ideas more clearly, effectively, and purposefully. These are the musicians that can perform with powerful emotion, with a power that transcends the written word, but not the spoken. This is the magic of music, the ability to generate feelings without ever saying one word.
The man returns his bansuri to his lips and resumes his hobby. The melody is light and cheerful now, far from the mournful dirge played not long ago. Your spirits are lifted with the joy of understanding, and you ride the peaceful waves of sound home to bed.
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