What is Music Theory?

I teach a class this semester called Music Theory. This is my second year teaching the class and I really like it. Here is what is odd. Last year I only had 6 students in the class and this year I only have 4. So what is this thing? Music theory is basically how music is constructed at its rudimentary levels. These students will learn why musical compositions are put together the way they are. They will also learn how to write simple 4 voice compositions that follow all the standard rules. Rules? Yes, there are rules as to how to write music in a theoretical fashion. You must know the rules in order to break them. Take Picasso for instance. His early paintings were so detailed they resembled photographs but people remember him for his abstract cubist paintings. He learned the very basics of painting in order to have an understanding of how to expand on them. Music theory is much the same way. Music theory is a passion of mine. I took a class very similar to the one I teach in high school myself. There were 3 people in my class. In college, I never scored below a 100 on any music theory test...EVER! I have taken many lessons from some pretty importantly composers in composition as well and have written may works myself. I also enjoy breaking a composition down into it basic components and discovering why things were written as they were. I also deeply enjoy teaching this subject. I open this class to anybody that has a passion for music. I have gotten a few "rock" guitar players in this class and I feel like for some of them this may the first time they have actually enjoyed going to school and studying.

I asked my boss if it was alright to teach a class with only 4 people in it and he told me at least somebody was willing to teach it so that was fine with him. We are the only school in Lexington county to teach it as far as I know.

Music majors in college are required to take at 5 semesters of music theory. I took 8! It is probably the most significant reason students change their major from music in college. I hope that my class helps those that wish to study music in college and maybe help some students to discover that their is more to school than just reading, writing, and arithmetic.