Thursday, September 10, 2009

A Snippet. A Flibberdigibbit.

At Music Camp, the first thing they do is put you in a room and make you take a theory test. It's difficult. And frightening. And confusing. At that point I'm usually all pink and puffy because I've been crying as my Mum leaves, and it's embarrassing. And God. I'm horrible at theory. Whoever figured out how to wiggle math into music is a dead man. If you ask me how I'm feeling when I play a song, and what the song, in my opinion, represents I'll be fine. (Useless skill number twelve, up there with multi-journal keeping and the ability to level a paladin in WoW.) But if you give me a sheet of difficult theory and ask me to solve it, I may end up crying.
Basically, the camp theory test is unpleasant.
They make you take the test so that they know which theory class to put you in. (One being the lowest aptitude and nine being the best). I'm not going to lie: Both years, I've been in shameful theory two. The first year, it was excusable. But being put in the same low level theory class twice? No. Bad.
Things like this should be getting easier for me. My teachers have always been good, and understanding. I legitimately try hard. But they still end up kicking my ass so hard, that by the end of the week, I'm starting to hate music notes. It's, by far, my least favorite aspect of camp.
But today. Today, I have found the key to all. It's this chart. And oh dear god, it makes things so, so much easier..


b's #'s
0 C
1 F G
2 Bb D
3 Eb A
4 Ab E
5 Db B
6 Gb F
7 Cb C


If I had known about this very chart, three years ago.. I would have been a much happier person. So if you know an aspiring instrumentalist, who wants to pursue music theory, or even if they don't, drag them here.
And thank God for songwriting class.