Category: Music Theory

Why is Music Theory Important?

When we listen to music, we enter an expressive world full of soaring melodies and flowing emotions. But as with any language, there’s an essential technical foundation that underpins the relationship between the notes and the human soul. Music theory takes us into the detail of sound, time and pitch, and all the other aspects […]

Read More
The Down Bow and the Up Bow

If you're just starting to read music for the first time, you might come across these symbols which are especially for string instruments... This is called a down-bow ... ... and this is called an up-bow: Here's a newly updated lesson from our Starter / Musical Fundamentals courses, which explains everything you need to know:

Read More
Rhythm Bank 17

A syncopated musical rhythm, where a very short note is followed by a long one, is called a scotch snap. Here are some rhythms featuring the scotch snap for you to practise!

Read More
Body Signing

Learn notes quickly by tapping different parts of your body with both hands. Each part of the body represents a different note!

Read More
Musical Sums 6

Check these 'musical sums' carefully ... there’s a mixture of plus and minus symbols!

Read More
The Balloon Trip

An Adventure in the Air! Can you fill in the note names to discover what happens to the hot air balloon? Only those who know where the notes go can find out the end of the story! Click here to download the story!

Read More
Does Your Metronome Hate You?

Here's a clapping game that will help you to stop rushing when using a metronome by 'subdividing' the notes ... follow along with Simon from ViolinSchool as you clap and play the notes ... exactly in time with the beat!

Read More
Violin Key Signatures

What is a key signature? It's the group of sharp or flat signs written at the beginning of each stave. Read on to discover what that means, how it works, and why it matters...

Read More
Note Values

We've just added a couple of useful new resources to Online Course 1A. Check out this guide to types of note values - and how to say them in British *and* American English!

Read More
Musical Note Values: Basic 'Rhythm Names'

When you're first starting to read music, you'll quickly come across different types of notes. The rhythm of each note is represented by the SHAPE of the note-head and the stem. This PDF shows some of the most common note values that you'll see. The words on the right of each note represent the rhythm names for each note. The exact timing of notes will depend […]

Read More
The Circle of Fifths

The circle of fifths is a mathematical musical theory tool. It explores the relationships between musical intervals, based on discoveries made by the mathematician Pythagoras two and a half thousand years ago.

Read More
Violin Notes for Beginners

When you first start learning the violin, you will also start learning to read music. To a musician, written music is like an actor’s script. It tells you what to play, when to play it and how to play it. Music, like language, is written with symbols which represent sounds; from the most basic notation […]

Read More
An Introduction to Harmony

  For at least the last two thousand years, the majority of composed art music in the Western world has been made up of two or more simultaneous musical sounds or pitches. The name given to this combination of sounds is harmony. Most descriptions of harmony focus on Western music but harmony exists in music […]

Read More
LEARN VIOLIN

15 Palace Street
Westminster, London
SW1E 5HS, ENGLAND

Email: [email protected]
Phone: +44 (0) 20 3051 0080
© Copyright 2018 - ViolinSchool - All Rights Reserved
LONDON, UK
linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram