Advanced music theory is (in my opinion) one of the most fun and intellectually stimulating subjects. At the same time it allows for an extremely wide array of freedom and creativity. And my favorite part? People are constantly creating new techniques and combining them in new ways. There is always more to explore. In this post, we’ll
This guide is part three of a three part series. In this series, I break music theory concepts into 10 different levels to help guide what you might learn next. Read more about this level system and what is covered at each level in my master guide to learning music theory.
Before reading through this post, I recommend having a solid understanding of intermediate level concepts including: voice leading, counterpoint, and small formal structures. If you aren’t familiar with these just yet, be sure to check out my intermediate music theory guide.
Advanced Music Theory Levels
After completing the intermediate theory levels, the focus shifts drastically. By now, you should have the general tools composers use under your belt. And you should be able to see the larger path of your own musical education regardless of guidance. Now it’s time to put all those tools together to make real music.
At the same time, this is where you’ll discover less common techniques and tricks. These will allow you to craft your music more subtly and tell exactly the story you want. The focus will be less a step by step process and more on exposing you to other alternatives and possibilities to help craft your sound.
These topics can get incredibly in depth at times. And there will constantly be new ideas being generated. The point of this particular post is not to outline every possible topic in advanced music theory. It just isn’t possible. Instead, I want to present to you some of those topics (and hopefully open up that concept you maybe missing).
Be sure to check out all my advanced music theory articles to learn how to use tools like chromaticism, modes, large formal structures, orchestration, and more advanced concepts.
8.) Chromaticism, Chord Extensions, and Modes
Starting out advanced music theory are chord extensions, chromaticism, and modes. These are natural progressions from the concepts we learned in the intermediate levels. Music isn’t as black and white as the intermediate music theory levels teach. And these concepts can help craft those sounds in between. But they need to be handled in slightly different way.
In my opinion, this is hands down the most deceptive level of music theory. This is where I see a lot of young musicians (especially those self-taught) want to jump too soon. Understanding the basics is fairly straightforward. But truly understanding them will require a solid understanding of the intermediate levels first.
And don’t get me wrong, I totally understand. I did it myself! These tools are so much fun to explore and can transform your sound in such unique way. But knowing how to truly control them can open up a new realm of sounds.
Chromaticism
Throughout history, there have been numerous uses of notes from outside a key signature. These are referred to as being chromatic notes. The vast majority of these are harmonic devices.
Explaining all of these would take a long time and is beyond the scope of this particular post. I’ll list a few and I encourage you to explore their (proper!) uses and sounds.
- Secondary chords (particularly secondary dominants and leading tones)
- Altered chords
- Borrowed chords
- Neopolitan chords
- Augmented sixth chords
- Modulations
Chord Extensions
Often these are called “jazz chords” (or something similar). At their core, chord extensions are simply adding additional thirds on top of the seventh chords we learned in level 7. Start by learning exactly how the extensions are formed and how they relate to the major scale.
Afterwards, you can start creating chord extensions based off the modes (which we’ll talk about later). Each extension can be altered in a number of ways. The result is a wide range of chord types and sounds (which can typically be linked to a certain mode). Learn which extension is derived from which mode and when is common to use them.
Throughout this process, I highly recommend keeping your voice leading in mind. This is something I often see missing from younger musicians. But it can really make a huge difference if you put in just that little extra attention.
Modes
Personally, modes are my absolute favorite device. When used properly, they create those subtle shades in between (as well as outside of) major and minor keys.
Modes are a sort of variation of a scale. It stems from taking the same scale but setting a different note as the tonic. The result is a scale with a different interval makeup. In turn, the harmony is slightly different from the original scale. To begin, learn how to derive modes from their parent scale.
Afterwards, you can combine modes with the previous two concepts. Modal borrowed chords (chromaticism) used at just the right time can make a passage sound a little more hopeful or even more tragic (even with just basic triads). Modal chord extension create a whole new world of sound possibilities.
For the final step, start learning more exotic scales and derive the modes from them as well.
Be sure to check out all my theory level 8 articles. Here I give you tips, tricks, and other interesting information about chromaticism, chord extensions, and modes.
9.) Large Formal Structures and Orchestration
Level 9 is about taking everything we’ve learned about tonal music so far and putting into one complete piece of music. In the intermediate levels, we talked about listener expectations. Level 9 takes this idea and expands it even more.
- Rondo
- Sonata
- Concerto
- Symphony
- Serenade
- Nocturne
All of these terms have their own expectations in the mind of listeners. And by understanding what common elements are in each of them, you craft entire pieces that meet (or intentionally defy) those expectations. Even more fun, you can start to craft you own unique structures.
And admittedly, orchestration is topic separate from music theory (and one large enough that it deserves its own blog). But since it is crucial to composers, I need to include it somewhere. Often a composition is (at least partially) fleshed out prior to orchestration. And for this reason, I’ve included it here after the other compositional tools.
Be sure to check out all my theory level 9 articles. Here I give you tips, tricks, and other interesting information about larger formal structures and orchestration.
10.) ???
Truly defining what should be in this last tier of advanced music theory would be impossible. But I’ll do my best. For the purpose of this level system, I’ll define level 10 in these ways.
First, all concepts that fall our side the principles of tonal harmony that have been discussed in this series. These include (but are not limited to):
- Non-Tertian Harmony (secundal, quartal, or quintal harmony)
- Set Theory & Serialism
- Polychord & Polyrhythms
And second, any techniques that involve combination of any of the previous concepts at an unusually high level.
Be sure to check out all my theory level 10 articles. Here I give you tips, tricks, and other interesting information about any of these more advanced concepts.
Final Thoughts on Advanced Music Theory
The hardest part of a post like this is I can no longer recommend a precise learning path for you. At this stage, your musical goals should be becoming more unique to you. And you should be more aware of what path you want to take. For these reasons, I genuinely hope this post (and the advanced concepts within the blog) prove to be tremendously helpful.
Also, if you are at this advanced level of music theory, I am requesting your help in two ways.
First, creating this 10 level system for helping people learn music theory is something I am extremely passionate about. And it is highly subjective. So I am asking for your feedback on all parts of it. If there is any part of this guide that you feel should be reworked or reorganized, please contact me and let’s discuss your reasoning.
And finally, there is a huge amount of new stuff out there. If you find any new idea, concept, or technique out there that you haven’t seen me post on this site, PLEASE contact me and let me know about it! I’m always looking to better my own work and try out new ideas.
