Music theory

What is music theory?

What is music theory?

Music theory is the foundation of great music, and the all-important set of rules that most music follows – from harmony and melody, to rhythm.

Find all our latest music theory features and analyses here.

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Music theory features

Circle of fifths new asset

What is the circle of fifths?

QUIZ: Could you pass Grade 5 music theory?

QUIZ: Could you pass Grade 5 music theory?

Lifestyle

muses greek mythology

Modes: What are they and how do I use them?

Music theory song

One song that teaches you everything about music theory

Music theory analysis

david cameron humming musical analysis

We’ve done a musical analysis of the tune David Cameron was humming outside Downing Street

Exclusive
Lady Gaga sings at Joe Biden's Inauguration

We asked a professional soprano to appraise Lady Gaga’s national anthem at the Biden inauguration

How good is Billie Eilish’s singing voice, from a classical music perspective?

How good is Billie Eilish’s singing voice, from a classical music perspective?

All I Want For Christmas Is You

A music theory analysis of Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’

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Most shared music theory features

Why do pianos have 88 keys?

How many keys does a standard piano have? It’s 88 – here’s why...

Rachmaninov’s second piano concerto inspired the songwriter of hit pop power ballad ‘All By Myself’.

Why ‘All By Myself’ sounds uncannily like Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No.2

Rachmaninov

David Bowie Life on Mars

David Bowie’s isolated vocals from ‘Life On Mars’ reveals the true power of his tenor range

Auld Lang Syne

What are the lyrics to Auld Lang Syne, and what does Auld Lang Syne actually mean?

What does this song teach us about music theory...?

Why ‘Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire’ is the perfect song to teach music theory

Bats have a wider vocal range than Mariah Carey, at an astonishing seven octaves

Bats have a wider vocal range than Mariah Carey, at an astonishing seven octaves

Music literacy matters T-shirt

‘I like to eat puppies’ – viral t-shirt shows why musical literacy is important

JS Bach Happy Birthday

‘Happy Birthday’ – but it’s in the style of a Johann Sebastian Bach fugue

Bach

Latest on Classic FM

The Aurora Orchestra performing in Printworks London

Beethoven’s Symphony No.5 fills Printworks in Aurora Orchestra’s thrilling immersive concert

Beethoven

Man plays ‘world’s largest flutes’, creating the perfect eerie soundtrack for The Whale movie

Man plays ‘world’s largest flutes’, creating the perfect eerie soundtrack for The Whale movie

Videos

The history of the castrati

What was a castrato? And what did they sound like? Inside their sinister history...

Classic FM’s Rising Stars: 30 brilliant musicians under the age of 30 we’re celebrating in 2023.

Classic FM’s Rising Stars: 30 sensational musicians performing in 2023

The Stumpff Lock in a laboratory at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Germany.

Scientific analysis of Beethoven’s DNA reveals he had Hepatitis B and high risk of liver disease

Beethoven

Classical Dreams is a Global Player exclusive podcast

Listen to new ‘Classical Dreams’ podcast episodes on World Sleep Day

Pachelbel’s Canon on trains

Pachelbel’s Canon… honked out by hundreds of train horns in a hilarious medley

20 of the greatest piano concertos of all time. Pictured (L-R): Arsha Kaviani, Mitsuko Uchida, Yuja Wang.

The 20 best piano concertos of all time

The 292-year-old Guarneri violin known as the ‘Baltic’

Centuries-old Italian violin breaks auction records after selling at £7.71 million

Kingdom Hearts; World of Warcraft; Final Fantasy

The 20 best video game soundtracks of all time

Latest music theory features

Amadeus Café, Mahon

This restaurant wanted to put some beautiful music on their menu… and made a really bad choice

7 months ago

Metrolinx’s new train posters have caused havoc among musicians online.

A train company poster features dubious music notation – and musicians are not on board

8 months ago

Why do we call classical music ‘classical music’?

Why do we call classical music ‘classical music’?

8 months ago

Tone Deaf Comics theory sheet

This genius music theory cheat sheet is all you’ll ever need

8 months ago

Kate Bush’s ‘Running Up That Hill’ musical analysis

The genius harmonic sequence that gives Kate Bush’s ‘Running Up That Hill’ its emotional power

9 months ago

Latest quizzes

See more Latest quizzes

What song did Olivia Olson sing in Love Actually? Take our quiz if you know the answer...

The Ultimate Christmas Movie Music Quiz

3 months ago

Lifestyle

We can accurately guess your birth month from your classical music preferences

We can accurately guess your birth month from your classical music preferences

4 months ago

Lifestyle

How far can you get in this classical music ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire’ quiz?

How far can you get in this classical music ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire’ quiz?

5 months ago

Lifestyle

Put the musical instrument in its correct place in the orchestra

QUIZ: Can you put the musical instrument in its correct place in the orchestra?

6 months ago

Lifestyle

How old is your soul?

How old is your soul, based on your classical music taste?

7 months ago

Lifestyle

Latest features

See more Latest features

Met Opera ordered to pay Anna Netrebko $200,000 for cancellations over Putin ties

Met Opera ordered to pay Anna Netrebko $200,000 for cancellations over Putin ties

4 days ago

New York Metropolitan Opera

Arsha Kaviani plays Rachmaninov

Virtuoso pianist plays mind-bending solo piano arrangement of Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2

6 days ago

Rachmaninov

Lang Lang performs a solo piano concert at Carnegi

The 16 best classical piano pieces of all time

7 days ago

Bill Bailey is a classically trained musicians

Why Bill Bailey thinks Debussy’s Arabesque is the perfect soundtrack to his life

8 days ago

Debussy

Debussy’s greatest masterpieces

10 of Claude Debussy’s greatest pieces of music

8 days ago

Debussy