Teoria Musical: Principios de ritmo, melodia e harmonia (Portuguese Edition)

If I were to write a book on musical propaedeutics, for exemple to simplify key signatures, I might say:

"The letter G is drawn with a single pencil outline, so it has one sharp for G Major.

For D, we make a line and then a curve, meaning it takes two strokes to write D, which is why D Major has two sharps.

For A, we draw just three lines, so A Major has three sharps.

For E, there are four straight lines, which means E Major has four sharps.

Now, for B Major, remember it this way: the number 5 fits perfectly inside the letter B, so B Major has five sharps.

And just remember, C Major has no accidentals, and that’s all you need."
There is also a methodology for flats.
Just remember that F major has one flat.

If D major contains 2 sharps, Db will contain 5 flats, because the frame, which is the mathematical term for the closing of musicals accidentals, is always 7, therefore: 2 + 5 = 7.

Following frame 7, if A major contains 3 sharps, Ab can only contain the difference, which is 4 flats.

If B major contains 5 sharps, Bb can only contain 2 flats.
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But what’s the purpose of all this? A beginner might not grasp why there are so many accidentals in the key signature. Simply put, if we play three songs in the same key, our flexible ears get tired and bored quickly. The hearing has only recently been understood in neurology, highlighting that hearing is a brain process rather than just a function of the outer ear.

That’s why modulation is so prevalent in music—it keeps us from getting stuck in monotony. Only songs for children should be simple and short, 8 to 16 bars.

If I were teaching rhythms, I’d use Leonard Bernstein’s audio method,
which compares rhythms from three extraordinary beat countries that without any doubt have created almost all of the rhythms, genres and musical styles that we still use today, which are three: Cuba, Brazil and the USA. Bernstein shifts just one accent, moving us from Cuba to Brazil, and by putting the accent on the weak beat, we transition to North America with rhythms influenced by former African traditions.

If a student is studying the Italian solfeggio method, like Bona, I’d suggest starting right from the first page and having the child conduct the orchestra from recordings, helping them understand what solfeggio is for. Teachers shouldn't just say, “You have to do it, end of story.”

To wrap it up, the concept they still call music theory is actually one of the easiest things to learn, I assure you. It does involve various pieces of information across different subjects, and it takes time to grasp each one. A dedicated person can take about 9 months to a year to understand it all.

Hard Task
However, the toughest part is the brain's processing related to our hearing after the cochlea in the inner ear, which starts sending electrical impulses who-knows-where—whether to Heschel's Gyrus or other areas of the brain democracy. It’s a bit like learning languages: speaking is easy, but listening is incredibly challenging.

This highlights that musical intervals are one of the hardest topics to master when it comes to sound. It typically takes at least three years to grasp, and believe me, even experienced musicians still make mistakes as they get older, up and down intervals.

Another challenging aspect is listening and transcribing, or simply writing down a rhythm played with a pencil or with your feet, as suggested by the German composer Paul Hindemith. It requires pinpointing where pauses and syncopations occur—a lot of work that can't be done in a month, it's like a baby who spends months listening until he says his first words, the sooner you learn, the more you will know.

A person over 30 will never learn it, they may even play some easy things, but they will never be a professional.

We have serious studies and even psychology in music, which is of no interest to poor mortals who will fail at the end of the tunnel. One of them is one of the few and rare examples of people who began studying piano at the late age of 16, as is the case of Arthur Rubinstein.