Learn Western Music with Free Lessons & Tips

Western European countries such as Greece and Italy birthed many foundational philosophies of the humanities and sciences, including artistic styles, literature, theology, mathematics, and other scientific modes of thinking. The origination of Western music can be traced back to Ancient Greece, which produced the invention of the lyre, the lute, and the poetic character of Orpheus, who could control the laws of nature with his singing voice. Philosophers such as Plato and his contemporary Aristotle explored the various ways that music influenced the emotions of the human soul, while mathematician Pythagoras helped develop a philosophy called musica universalis, or music of the spheres, which was an important tenant in his mathematical equations. The Greeks believed that the celestial bodies of the galaxy including the moon, sun, and planets made music that proportionately harmonized with the frequencies of the Earth.

Ancient Greece was eventually conquered by the armies of Rome in the first century A.D., and many styles of thinking (including music and science) were adopted by the Roman people. The early Roman Empire was the dominant force in Europe until its fall in the fourth and fifth centuries which led to the Medieval Era, also known as the Dark Ages.

Hi Sandeep!! 

Reading Western Classical Music requires a 3 stage system where you get introduced to the basics like 1) staff ( 5 lines and 4 spaces on which we write musical notes and you'll have to memorize the names of the lines and spaces)

2) types and values of notes (whole note, half note, quarter, etc) and rests (whole note rest, half note rest, quarter note rest, etc). 

3) time signature (number of beats in a section of music and the value of that beat) 

Once you understand these three concepts, you can start to learn to read basic staff notation on your respective instrument - guitar, piano, voice, etc.