A Comprehensive Look At Music Theory Software

Recently there has been an increase in the numbers and types of music theory software packages available. These vary in price and in complexity. But do these packages really work? What do they actually do? This article will explore the popular music theory software packages available and some of the features that each one has.

I’ll start by saying that these programs are most suitable for technologically savvy educators. Teachers need to be familiar with computers, and such computers need to be installed with sound cards and speaker systems. However, none of the programs are overly complex to operate and a teacher with the basic requirements should have no problem in working with them.

Music Theory Builder is a software package that runs on Windows 98 to Windows XP. It also runs on the MAC. The goal of Music Theory Builder is twofold. First of all it is to help users to better identify visually, aurally, major, minor, diminished and augmented intervals. It also used to help uses to identify major, minor, diminished and augmented chords. The program has four sections of interval options and chord options which are listening, spelling, playing and also a quiz.

The next software package we will discuss is Sibelius Compass. This software allows students to explore music composition. Lessons are provided on melody, harmony, texture and form. And they are also 33 automatically graded quizzes. This software allows students to learn some more advanced principles of composition. There is a component of the software called Compass Tracker which is a music sequencer and it has more than 1200 motifs that includes chord sequences, rhythms and scales as well as tools for canons, inversions and ostinati. The music can then be transferred to Sibelius.

The next software package we will discuss is called How Music Works. This is a multimedia tutorial program and its purpose is to explain the basics of music theory. It’s suitable for students or established musicians and for these it’s to help them improve their musicianship by making them more of way of music theory. How music works has sections including scales and melody, chord and scale relations and also playing music with chords. Every one of the topics has visual graphics which illustrate the ideas and it also has sound examples that you can use to follow along.

The next package we will discuss is called Music Theory. Now Music Theory is quite a popular package and it covers more than 62 basic to advance music theory concepts. It includes things like note reading, scales and intervals and it goes on too things like secondary dominants on complex chord structures. A good thing about music theory is that it has many different instruments options so a student could choose the piano, the violin, the cello, the viola, the guitar or the bass as their primary instruments and then they can learn theory as it applies to that instrument. There are also options for the teacher. The teacher can grade students. The teacher can track student’s progress and the teacher can also change the difficulty or the level of the software for each student.

Music theory software is useful in the classroom because the teacher can use it for class enrichment. (Here I’m talking about the software as a group, not the specific product mentioned above that goes by this name). More independent high school or adult learners can independently use software to improve their understanding of music theory as a faster level. In most cases music theory software is suited to students at the middle or high school level. Occasionally college freshman might also use such software.

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