Possibly because it taps into our emotions in a way that technology and science, which increasingly inhabit our lives, DO NOT.

Then again, perhaps music simply offers an escape from tensions of an increasingly pressurized society.

Too often, however, the repertory of the traditional theory programs strikes you as arcane, foreign (literally), and unrelated to the music that commands your day-to-day attention.

This situation has been a long time brewing, and it often leads students to question the relevance of music theory to their personal musical goals.

The result is a fundamental disconnect, and if students are not reachable, then they are not teachable.

An adult piano lesson program should attempt to bridge that disconnect by engaging YOU on a familiar ground (though music that surrounds YOUR daily life) and leading YOU toward the body of art music that comprises your heritage.

Part of this effort entails a recognition that popular music and jazz can be vehicles for conveying music of what traditional theory teaches and that apart from its own intrinsic merit that repertory can serve as a conduit to other musical styles.

WHY MUSIC THEORY?

Music has probably always come easily to you. I mean, you could always sing a Nursery Rhyme in tune when you were a child... you're lucky!

If it has, then you probably have difficulty understanding how utterly mysterious it can be to others, that can't sing in tune.

The fact is that the special mix of physical and mental attributes that translate into musical talent is a fit given to relatively few of the more than six billion inhabitants of this planet.

It makes you a member of a special group that sees and hears in music the things most others do not. Your decision to further you study of music indicates your desire to express yourself creatively.

MUSIC ENGAGES US PHYSICALLY

Music engages us physically (muscle memory and coordination are necessary to sing or to play an instrument) and mentally (we read music, we memorize it - we feel it).

Music theory aims to deepen our mental involvement. That's necessary because to communicate all that YOU hear and FEEL in music, YOU need to understand it on may levels. A deeper and broader understanding will make you a more effective player.

MUSIC ENGAGES US EMOTIONALLY

Just remember, that human emotions are translated into musical motion. Our bodies express these internal feelings through posture, gestures, and movements of various kinds.

Some are automatic, spontaneous and others are the result of thought or will.

What is the first instrument that must be trained in music?

The human body!
About the Author

Ron Worthy is a Music Educator, Songwriter and Performer. To learn go to: http://www.MrRonsMusic.com , http://www.PlaySmoothJazzPiano.com , http://www.PlayPianoTonight.com and http://www.PlayPianoLikeAPro.com