Music theory concepts ranked by importance (tier list)

[@DavidBennettPiano]

📌 SMALL CORRECTION: At 27:25 I've labelled the seventh harmonic as "E" when it should be "G". It doesn't take away from what I'm saying though, just a small typo. Thanks to Kroz Jr for bringing it to my attention. 😊

[@wornstrat5517]

Stop reading my mind. This was the exact video I needed!

[@ValkyRiver]

It is around 1/3 of a semitone flatter than G. Also, 27:25 is the ratio of a major limma.

[@ValkyRiver]

Western music: 81 = 80

[@fredashay]

"S" means super? I've watched so many tier lists from lots of different channels, and I always wondered why the top tier was called "S" because none of them ever said why the top tier was called "S." So thanks for that! :-)

[@squurdixplays8137]

Thanks! now i use this like a list of what i need to learn :-)

[@mas.dono9]

To me, you’re under valuing the rhythmic aspect of music. Understanding time signatures and knowing how to count is essential for every musician. Great video brother

[@castrucciocastracani0]

But probably for most of the people it's only a matter of binary and trinary beat (thinking of popular music)

[@FernieCanto]

To be fair, the *entire* "Internet music theory scene" underplays both rhythm and melody, and defines music as "a bunch of chords". It's the Burj Khalifa approach to music: it's all vertical.

[@PhoenixLyons]

Yes! Having worked with a lot of anti-music-theory musicians, I can verify that rhythm is a very common stumbling block, especially when playing in bands. It can be quite frustrating trying to get everyone on the same page without basic time signature or rhythmic solfege knowledge.

[@jont4638]

@@FernieCanto yes, you're right. Everyone is steeped in this highly evolved western harmonic concept of music. I think it's because academia pushes it, because harmony is where you can have an absolute field day if you're an academic. And this scene is heavily influenced by academia. I'd like Adam Neely/Rick Beato/David Bennett to listen to a 90 minute Nikhil Banerjee raga, and find that they can't say anything about it. Yet that does not diminish its value. The "internet music theory scene" just doesn't go there. If it ain't harmony, it doesn't exist.

[@stephenshoihet2590]

As a bass player, I'd put rhythm and articulations much higher.

[@maxwellclark2345]

It's official, now that you've made a tier list, you're a REAL KZbinr

[@JamieAndersonMusic]

Off to put a tier list on my channel ...

[@GavinMorris1]

Reaction? Unpacking? Click baiting 'quit' video?

[@arthurmee]

But has he done a 'What I wish I knew when I started out in music.? Or '5 things you need to know" or '3 things the pros don 't want you to know'. 🥸

[@WheeliGamer182]

'In this video I learnt music theory in 10 minutes!'

[@ForestWhitakerTulpa]

Right above S tier is SSS tier which is just the lick

[@JGHFunRun]

SS tier is empty, nothing comes close to the importance of the lick

[@itzscarrot]

@@JGHFunRun what about giant steps?

[@JGHFunRun]

@@itzscarrot still no where near THE LICK, S tier, probably

[@14shyuga14]

As a guitarist, the pentatonic should be there too

[@RetrOchannel]

I think you mean toan.

[@vineetbhatia8270]

I love how all the major concepts that apply to drumming were D and F tier

[@WoockerSocket2]

drummers are associated with rhythm that's why they always like to talk about it. But rhythm is important for every instrument and any instrument can do poly stuff too.

[@JeighNeither]

@@WoockerSocket2 A kazoo can't?

[@LeviBulger]

Rhythm is far more important than most people rever realize. I've taught guitar for about 15 years now and the difference in the kids that go on to have some success or even just become great players is almost entirely because they have the innate quality of feeling rhythm. When I learned piano as a kid, my teacher always emphasized that it was almost more important to play the notes at the proper time, rather than playing the proper notes, and I understood why years later. As an audience listening to music, we tend to pick up when things are off timing-wise much more acutely than if a note is missed or misplayed. Having an "ear" is more like a skill, something you can always improve, but having rhythm is pretty much something you either have or don't. A good example of realizing the importance of rhythm is watching two people on KZbin playing a guitar cover of the same song. They'll both play exactly the same notes(for the most part), but we'll perceive the person who is more precise with the timing to be the better player. And it's probably because they are.

[@Tuevon14257]

And arranging/orchestration.

[@radadadadee]

@@KP-by4eu I tend to agree and to support the claim, consider this example. In a room full of random people, see how many can clap along with the rhythm. It boggles my mind how out of rhythm people can be without even noticing. Even to the point of clapping between beats. It's astonishing. A lot of people have no sense of rhythm whatsoever. But play one dissonant chord and at least some people will notice.

[@isabelofthewoods]

as a drummer..... I have to say that note values (rhythm) DOES NOT come intuitively to most musicians... some form of it yes, but almost any instrument player whom I played with could greatly benefit from learning to read and comprehend rhythm better. and this is regardless of their knowledge of music theory or the genre we played together

[@jimjambananaslam3596]

An untrained person can generally hear and repeat a rhythm *much* easier than identifying a specific chord, for example. So if you're learning any instrument other than percussion, it would be silly to prioritize learning to read rhythm on a page over most of these other concepts.

[@lucasfontanasoliman2594]

@@jimjambananaslam3596 : 🤓

[@vaukest5888]

​@@jimjambananaslam3596you've clearly never improvised with a rhythm section musician. My greatest musical breakthrough was getting grilled like a child who's got a bad report card by a drummer after consistently failing to land on beat almost every time over the course of two hours. Just because you can repeat a rhythm after hearing it doesn't immediately mean you're a useful or talented musician

[@Simon-Sax]

​@@jimjambananaslam3596 This is truly a nonesense take

[@Prometheus4096]

For a professional or very serious musician, definitely. Making a connection between notation of rhythms and feeling/hearing rhythms is very hard to learn, unless you specifically practice learning it.

[@HofTheStage]

Dude, this is an evergreen video. This one will hit a million views at least. I had something to do but had to pause it for 30min :) This is definitely useful beginners wanting to find the best order to learn these things, and even for somebody like me who's learned most of this in music schools and music university, it will help me figure out where to go next. Thank you for another high level video!

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Thanks so much! I was really unsure about this video because the format is so different from what I usually do so I’m really glad to hear that it’s going down well! 😃😃

[@zenleek2129]

@@DavidBennettPiano Yeah this one is definitely working

[@OHYS]

This video will not get many views at all.

[@galef1986]

@@OHYS I suppose you're right, which is a bit sad. Video is top quality though

[@yoba6037]

@@DavidBennettPiano can’t wait to go back to “top 10 songs that use Mixolydian” lol

[@Pijetlo91]

I have met perhaps several hundred musicians in my life and I have yet to find one who said: "Man, I regret all the time I spent studying music theory. It has set me back so much."

[@DavidBennettPiano]

I know right! The way I see it is that nobody ever regrets learning more about the thing they love!

[@Pijetlo91]

@@DavidBennettPiano The dilemma mostly comes from individuals who have no knowledge of music theory what so ever, say for maybe the names of the notes and a scale or two. They have this false idea that when you know music theory that you are in some way compelled to follow it to the letter and thus limit your creativity. Which is total nonsense :D it's almost like if you know how to write and read that it limits the way you speak. Btw, I agreed with the rankings 75%, the rest were a tier up or down, but it's mainly due to my perspective as someone who plays in a rock band :)

[@Bossay6]

pretty much me

[@jont4638]

it's a little backwards though because "anything worth doing takes time and effort" doesn't mean that "if it takes time and effort it is worth doing". People are not going to admit that they wasted their time, or that they reached a point of diminishing returns. People are not good at knowing themselves in that way. And the annoying truth is no one will ever know; no one will ever know what they would have gone on to do if they hadn't done the thing they did. That's the nature of regret/not regretting. You'll never know.

[@naledi5332]

@@relicofgold no you don't have to

[@emmbeesea]

Lest we forget a very important skill: Being able to recognize Beatles songs in one second.

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Super super tier!!

[@gi5897]

Dude why are you everywhere I go lmao

[@Ms_Drake]

More like ultra tier.

[@MindControlUltra]

I can do that on every song of Gary Moore.

[@adwitatherealadwita]

This is me with Radiohead songs.

[@odontomatix]

I'm surprised you didn't include the Circle of Fifths (and Fourths). It's a very useful tool and relates to several of the concepts you did put on your tiers.

[@richardrichard5409]

How is it important in a practical sense? 😎

[@odontomatix]

@@richardrichard5409 (1) It helps identify the key of music from the number of sharps or flats in the key signature simply by counting around the circle. (2) It tells the I ii iii IV V vi chord names by their location in the circle relative to the root chord. (3) On fretted string instruments (guitar, ukulele, etc.) it identifies the transposed chord names when a capo is placed on the 5th ("up a fourth") or 7th ("up a fifth') fret. (4) It tells an ukulele player what chord fingering shape to make on a baritone ukulele (tuned "DGBE") if the player knows the chord shape on a standard "gCEA" tuned ukulele. (5) It helps transpose the key of a song and all of its chords. (6) It identifies the relative minor chord of a major chord, and vice versa. (7) Using their locations relative to the root chord, it tells the new chord names when transposing a group of chords to a new key. Search the KZbin channel by Brian Kelly for his lessons on other facts about the Circle of Fifths.

[@elhombre2711]

I was wondering that as well.

[@belenlg5978]

Maybe because the key signatures concept kind of contains the concepts of the circle of fifths (sharps) and circle of fourths (flats)

[@chazsmith20]

@@belenlg5978 Nah that's weak. The circle of 5ths is about the RELATIONSHIP of the key signatures. He likely just forgot.

[@sharoncorrell9801]

This list is SOOOO dependent on what kind of music you are doing and what role you are filling. I've done music for most of my life (60 years), and I've never needed to care at all about pentatonic or blues scales. But time signatures (not the signature but the concept of "beats per measure") and different kinds of note values seem very fundamental to me. And "ear training" is a HUGE area that involves all sorts of skills.

[@santaguba2572]

You are correct. Depending on the music genre you play, the tier list would be different. For example, in classical music you must take into account the time signatures and the key signatures, but in rock, the Roman numerals are more important to learn a song

[@gergoretvari6373]

@@santaguba2572 for rock i would say ear training is the most essential part, and articulation, but roman numerals?

[@santaguba2572]

@@gergoretvari6373 I mean, the chords of a song, or the chords of a scale are based in the grades of that scale, and those are represented with I, II, III, VI... If You learn a song, the chords could be like Ab7 or D#m, or they tell you the key and they show you the grades of the scale

[@rome8180]

I'm so glad you actually thought about this beforehand. Normally, when I watch a tier list video it involves the KZbinr debating with himself or herself for 10 minutes about whether to put something in A tier or B tier.

[@eyvindjr]

I'd place note values in tier S. Knowing how beats are subdivided is essential both for reading music and communicating rhythms to others. You need them to understand grids in DAWs as well.

[@matteusmaximofelisberto4385]

I think the rhythmic aspect of music should be learned by everyone, not only musicians, it really makes listening to music way more interesting

[@joshuadekruiff631]

This is what I was going to say. I understand that in the current age we have KZbin and Spotify (etc) allowing us to always hear a piece and therefore get a feel for the rhythm. But I grew up without the internet as a guitarist that learned everything through chord charts. I often had to make up rhythms and was almost always surprised at how wrong I was when I heard the actual recordings later in life. Getting my hands on Guitar Pro as an adult MASSIVELY elevated my playing because I could actually see note lengths as I listened to them playing and learned a lot.

[@JamesRone]

We're all on different pages. I don't need to know this at all - my drummer knows it, and I know enough to communicate my ideas to him. But we probably play a different kind of music than you do.

[@nuberiffic]

"You don't need to know theory to create music" Of course. You also don't need to explicitly learn grammar rules or how to write to be able to speak, but it sure does make you a whole let better at it.

[@roughysk9851]

music is more fun with music theory, my opinion

[@douglasj.arcuri1370]

Absolutely.See my previous entry dovetails this.

[@yeah8598]

Agreed

[@rathenslog8490]

Great point. I always try to tell anti theory musicians that it's the grammar of the language of music

[@LBVocals]

I’m glad to see other people share that opinion!

[@nicolasforfant484]

Intervals are the key to understanding music : why and how there are different scales. Should definitely be in S in my opinion.

[@calcal6508]

THANK YOU MY INTERVALIAN BRUTHAH

[@h0pesfall]

Yeah Intervals is a great band :P

[@Noitisnt-ns7mo]

Intervals are a tremendous waste of time. You might as well study counter-point while you're at it.

[@Wam_somp]

@@Noitisnt-ns7mo ???? But you can understand why arrangements of notes give particular qualities and better understand relationships between chords 🙁

[@Noitisnt-ns7mo]

@@Wam_somp Hearing a 4th or 5th or flat 5th by knowing the "key" is way easier than knowing how many "half-steps" there are, is much easier. Scales are less informing than looking at the fretboard as chordal shapes and structures. Once you see, hear and understand chords, the scales will stand out. But it is good to be aware of. I found in the college music classes a good way for them to suck up a lot of time and energy for very little return. If you look at the difference between Clapton and David Gilmore, you see the difference between someone who looks at playing from a scales versus chordal orientation. Of course IMO.

[@JacobH93]

So for those of you who aren’t interested in learning theory, the top half of this chart covers the normal stuff that musicians use everyday. The bottom half has all of the extra stuff that musicians use for fun!

[@gsm5104]

Unless you’re a classical musician lol. Then articulations, time sigs, tuplets, rhythmic solfege, cadences, dynamics, and polyrhythms are still very relevant

[@Coops321]

@@gsm5104 And cadences too

[@mallechilie]

Or if you play in a band. Everyone needs to be using the same rithm, so that's Time signature, tuplets and accents. And rithmic solvaige (idk how to type this) to communicate any of it.

[@astrosloth0199]

Im better with and prefer playing with the techniques from the bottom half of the chart lol. Except for ear training and major/minor scales, i dont even think about the top half

[@sal_vulcano_maybe6873]

For some reason time signatures are on the bottom half, so this isn't entirely true. Functional harmony as well, which should be far higher.

[@antoniohinojosa8370]

David: “puts upper chord extensions in B tier” Jacob Collier Somewhere: “🤬😡”

[@Kashimana]

🤣🤣🤣

[@mirkocegledi7511]

@@Kashimana There was also a "Sorry Jacob Collier" after microtonality went into F tier :D

[@jason3000tt]

lol....haha...love it!

[@kay-mk2sl]

LMAO

[@remcodekluizenaar]

I love how you start with the most important "tiers" in music theory challengeing the common youtube habit to start list at number ten and letting people wait for a number one that always is a dissapointment and often one ends up regretting having taken the time to watch 10 or 20 minutes. I subscribed because of this at 2:59. also your way of explaining with the sound of a major and minor chord layered under your speech when you say those words, makes it really good studymaterial that is fun and insightful to see/listen to. Thank you for going the extra mile to produce this video so aware of didactics and so information dense. Glad i found you amongst the many "i have the solution to all musicians problems gurus". I guess i'll stick around and will be watching some more of your material.

[@alex_montoya]

That was awesome. Literally a blueprint for my music theory learning journey.

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Thank you!

[@Jay_in_Japan]

I recommend jumping in at the deep end of the pool and starting with Piston's _Harmony._ That's what got me started

[@oibruv3889]

@@Jay_in_Japan wouldn't call the piston text the deep end (although i do like it). I would these days reccomend texts like Harmony and Voice leading (aldwell and schachter).

[@Jay_in_Japan]

@@oibruv3889 To someone who didn't know anything beforehand (me haha), it sure felt like the deep end! Until I realized my feet could touch the bottom. Then I found the xenharmonic theory wiki and that felt like being tossed into the middle of the freakin' ocean! I'm still treading water there

[@oibruv3889]

@@Jay_in_Japan i find xenharmonism rather simple as someone with experience with stem. Most of it is focused on resources. Resources aren't that difficult

[@leilanoonan8824]

As a classical pianist who teaches classically, I really enjoyed hearing your take on these concepts! If I was giving my perspective on these concepts, I would order them very differently based on how I teach. However, I've had some students come to me who want to learn some basic music-making tips (not necessarily note reading or notation), and I would definitely use this list to help me prioritize which concepts to teach first.

[@boomerdell]

This is one for the top shelf, front and center, of all-time great reference materials for any music learner. I know I'll watch this over and over again. You are a treasure, David, thank you!

[@nathanielfechtelkotter]

If I taught a music class, this video would be one of the first things I would show to my students. What a great video.

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Thank you! That means a lot 😃

[@relicofgold]

Why? Because your main goal is to ultimately discourage everyone in the class?

[@nathanielfechtelkotter]

@@relicofgold No. Quite the opposite. I’d show it to said hypothetical students as a sort of syllabus. In fact I’d say this video would be great in that role as it outlines concepts that would be gone over in class and show that they vary in importance. Also, unless someone is somehow being forced to be in a class where music theory is taught in such depth as to cover all of those subjects, the students would likely be in class because of an enthusiasm for the content and would be excited to hear about what would be covered.

[@relicofgold]

@@nathanielfechtelkotter It's about the most discouraging thing I've ever seen. Most of those rectangles are years of study.

[@nathanielfechtelkotter]

@@relicofgold They’re really not, when taught in an efficient order. Everything builds on the previous thing. It would only take that much time if you didn’t understand what came before. I think a more apt word would be “mastery” rather than “study”. But then again, pretty much everything in any field takes that sort of time. Especially in areas of art.

[@rafaele.zavalacamero3099]

As a geek of music theory I just have to say... Really love the video! Bravo, maestro.

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Thank you!

[@raicyceprine8953]

22:09 not a lot of people gives importance to dynamics but this is one of the reason why songs sounds great. Whether it be classical to pop songs

[@Timmie1995]

This video is fantastic! I've been really overwhelmed by KZbinrs like yourself, Adam Neely and Charles Cornell talking about all these concepts, and this is a great way to know more or less where to start. Thanks so much

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Thank you! 😃😃😃

[@XeroTa1ent]

A-Tier in 2021: MIDI writing (rhythm and melodic instruments) Reading notation for both rhythmic and melodic instruments is a pretty valuable skill, especially for producers and In-The-Box writers

[@1oolabob]

This is a great video. I'm glad you did this. One thing, though: different musicians/players of different instruments are going to have their own ways of ranking the importance of musical concepts. I'm primarily a percussionist. To me, dynamics are almost all of my range of expression because of the limited tonal range of most percussion--other than, of course, keyed percussion like piano, marimba, vibes, etc. With drums, playing at an appropriate volume and velocity is essential. So, a new uber-category. We can call it S-plus for super-SUPER important. Know what instruments are yours and what kind of music you play. With that knowledge, you can fully understand which theory concepts are more and less important for you. That's an important thing to know, which is why I say "this is a great video."

[@adfnjksnfdsod]

bro this is immaculate. someone commented an all time great reference material, couldnt agree more. much thanks king this is literally gods work

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Wow, thank you! 😃

[@DMLand]

I'd like to see variations on this chart for specific musical genres and styles: as a choral singer, key signatures, time signatures, note values, clefs, and rhythmic solfege deserve a higher spot, especially to support learning new pieces.

[@suzannefreedman6186]

THIS IS SO TRUE!! As a choral singer, I scoffed at several of these placements 😅. But I do think it’s really different based on instrument.

[@newmeta2668]

First off, it's good to see fellow choir singers! ❤️ Secondly, this music theory tier list seems to be quite biased toward skills useful for pianists and composers. As you likely know, choral music is unfortunately quite undervalued and unappreciated in today's society (at least in the US where I live). Because of that, it never seems to get the love it deserves and lacks any real standardization of teaching practices that other instruments enjoy.

[@DMLand]

@@newmeta2668 It IS "David Bennett Piano," not "David Bennet Vocals," so I suppose we oughtn't to be too surprised if it favors his instrument… It's a great channel, and full of excellent tips for music in general.

[@carlosclaptrix]

Music theory is the map, music is the landscape. Some people get lost in the map and loose their touch with the landscape - the expression of the soul. I got the spark of interest when my music teacher in school explained why the chords in Dvorac's 9th sinfonie, second movement (largo) create the image of a vast space. I always have the inner image of huge river flowing through the wide open land. So I learned on the distances of chords in the circle of 5th. This was so amazing to me, that I wanted to know the forms, the math behind music. I also discovered the CAGED system on guitar by myself as it just relies on finding different chord shapes for the same melody.

[@MacGyver5AF]

major and minor scales - both in "S" tier or "A" tier. Don't separate them. They are at the same level of importance and they are built from the same roots.

[@allenapplewhite]

I agree! My students learn a major scale along with its relative minor at the same time! I think they are both equally important!

[@VRNocturne]

and both are modes - which was also seperated a lot of these thing work together and build off each other, even if they are "not as important"

[@mikepapadopoulos5968]

@@allenapplewhite majors are more important in my opinion because they are more happy oriented

[@jojoyear]

@@mikepapadopoulos5968 That reasoning makes no sense whatsoever. Why do you imply/expect people prefer happy music over sad music? Who are you to say people want to write "happy" music? I personally disagree with both ideas and tend to dislike happy music a lot more often than sad music. But my point is not trying to argue about which preference makes more sense. It is just that: preference. My point is your reasoning is nonreasoning because it makes invalid assumptions that are subjective. There may be points to be made why some modes are more "important" or make more sense to learn first. How "happy" they are is not among them. "useful", "common", "easy", whatevs might make some sense, maybe. I tend to agree with people stating one should learn all modes and/or decide for thenselves though. :)

[@mikepapadopoulos5968]

@@jojoyear I don’t recall asking u to correct what I think… I am a professional musician the last 10 years, I also graduated Musicology Department @ university and started playing music at the age of 10. I was trolling obviously the internet as usual but it seems that people don’t understand that we purposefully use the verb “play” in music instead of “working on” or “executing” music because music is a playful process. Anyways, stay playful in life, have a nice attitude and don’t fall for the trap to correct anyone that has an unexplained opinion different opinion than yours. My best regards.Mike.

[@johnlisi3325]

Oh I think dynamics are SO so important, that's really one of the key things that differentiates 'good' musicians from really proficient ones. I guess it's more of a performative thing than 'music theory' anyway

[@jaked6674]

I think that knowing dynamics from a theory standpoint would be knowing the difference between mp and ff in a score. That skill is only valuable if you’re reading a lot of music in an ensemble. Knowing how to feel the music and play louder or softer is a performance skill, which I agree is one of the most important aspects of music which can separate a good performance from an emotionally impactful one.

[@keithkunikida1222]

I 10000000000000000000% agree, without dynamics you music will sound flat like a pan or sound like hammer hands playing cuz you might be too loud.

[@rrocktoo]

As a person who has yet to become comfortable with music theory, this is invaluable information. I will use it as a training framework. Thank you.

[@MikeScofieldComposer]

You have a terrific way of explaining concepts in an understandable manner. Your method of speaking, your delivery, is excellent.

[@lettucekisses]

Genuinely the small amount of theory that I’ve learnt from these videos has done wonders for my playing

[@louisehoward7548]

David, you are very much S Tier! Thank you for sharing all that you know. I have learnt so much by watching your videos over the last few weeks.

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Thank you Louise! 😃😃😃

[@RyanJamesOfficial]

Preface: Music teacher myself. I agree with most but I'd put functional harmony and control of dynamics in at least "A" tier. Ear training is number 1.

[@ithinkpaulmightbehavinastr8878]

Articulations should be a solid A tier

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Does a musician need to be taught functional harmony when they can already “feel” the functions at work? You don’t need to know what a dominant chord is to play C F G7 C and know it sounds resolved 🙂🙂

[@LadyJoolree]

@@DavidBennettPiano That instinctive knowledge really depends on if you play a chordal instrument. I'm a violinist and never learned how to play the piano (yeah, terrible I know!). I found learning about chord progressions, picking them out in what I could hear and understanding the movement of them extremely difficult, especially when it comes to classical music. It was only when I studied Kodàly musicianship I was able to learn about functional harmony in both an intuitive aural and intellectual way. When I did get that understanding it really opened up my interpretation. I also found most piano playing orchestral musicians didn't have the aural grasp of functional harmony that I had learned, which I found strange. It's a lot different for popular music I guess.

[@FernieCanto]

@@DavidBennettPiano From personal experience: I had been writing music for many, many years before I ever heard of the concept of "functional harmony" for the first time; and a lot of the music I had written before then can be easily seen as functional. I just got an intuitive sense of how it works just by listening to a lot of music. The cycle of departure and arrival in music doesn't _really_ need to be formalised if you want to play or write music, I believe. It's far more important for understanding and categorising Western music and distinguishing it, for example, from more free flowing harmonic styles ("non-functional"), or modal music from other cultures. I think people overstate the importance of functional harmony because people like things with pretty names. "Tonic-Dominant-Subdominant" is cute and makes you sound smart.

[@RyanJamesOfficial]

@@FernieCanto It's not to sound cute. It's to have a deeper understanding of the art we love. Knowing, from a theory perspective, as well as an auditory perspective why chords want to resolve or move to other chords can only make you a better musician. Knowing how to create working chord progressions (whether by ear or by using theory) is very important and I make sure my students know what works from a theory perspective, an auditory perspective, and possible chord substitutions/how to break the rules once learned. I teach theory that can only help the auditory/ear writers arrive at their goal even faster. Theory is a re-enforcement to the natural process.

[@lucapucci2591]

This is the kind of quality content that helps musicians a lot. Great job

[@Gennys]

This first minute of your explanation is actually quite good. I just want to point out that knowing music theory is only a language to describe the feelings concepts and things that you've already written to other people. Music notation simply and music theory complexly are merely a way to convey what music is to people that already know that language. We all know that music is music and things that sound good are fairly universal. That isn't to say that music by one ear is music by another obviously. I just wanted to point out that music theory is not a prerequisite for listening. It is only and I mean only a prerequisite to communicating from creator to creator as long as the other person knows this same language.

[@DevilDwarf165]

The best 30mins on the YT as of today. Awesome video!

[@The_Pedal_Guy]

Nobody whoever learnt any theory regretted it. It just makes life a bit easier.

[@sskuk1095]

Wonderful video! As someone who is very passionate about learning the piano and improving my knowledge in music theory I find this video very helpful in showing me what I should prioritise.

[@sskuk1095]

About the ear training. How do you achieve this skill?

[@sage7296]

@@sskuk1095 I didn't start grasping this until about 3 years into self studying music (ocasionally i did it in school but it was mainly on my own) what helped my ears grasp those concepts was becoming familiar with the 12 major and minor scales on the piano and solfege

[@MsGaheris]

Conclusion: melody and harmony require theory. For rhythm, timbre and dynamics "Just feel it"?????

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Unless you’re looking to be a professional musician... pretty much yeah!

[@haydenbosler2880]

@@DavidBennettPiano Unless you’re looking to be a professional musician who performs but does not compose! If you are performing your own material, you scarcely need to write it down.

[@tonybates7870]

I had to teach myself some theory when it came to notes, intervals and chords in order to progress. I simply had to. Rhythm/time signatures come pretty naturally - but that might be because more or less everything I like is some form of pop/rock and is almost all 4/4 or triple time.

[@adityamohan1773]

I would like to disagree on rhythm coming naturally to us. I have a good relative pitch so I can recognise and play a song by ear within a few seconds. But I cannot play it faithfully to the rhythm of the song. I also cannot compose any percussive bits but I can happily employ melodic and rhythmic concepts. If it were me I'd say we shud be putting basics of rhythm atleast in S tier

[@MsGaheris]

@@DavidBennettPiano is the concept of a pulse, even subdivision, and a system of rhythmic solfege theory?

[@francobonanni3499]

Rhythmic patterns is the essence of music without it we do not have the form, the structure of music. Without rhythm we do not have the motives that composition is made of. Only rhythm can be a song or a massage without scales cadences or triads. Our language is fundamentally rhythm like music. Thank you an excellent video.

[@FreakieFan]

Small Note: The Tritone Substitution is not limited to jazz, and is commonly found in classical music as well, though called differently. It's a (German/French/Italian) Augmented Sixth Chord, that is always used to resolve to the tonic. This concept has been used since Mozart, and it's very common in classical music. Very useful to know for composition!

[@shipsahoy1793]

Dave, as a musician, I can’t tell you how freaking important what you said in the first minute was !!! Listen players !!! No lame excuses !!!

[@CasualTrainspotter]

Great video, thank you. I personally would put intervals up in the S tier, because without them you would have trouble understanding and building triads. Also, you placed rhytm-related music theory concepts in B tier and below. I think that note values and time signatures deserve a higher tier, if we are talking about modern western music.

[@Choral-Tenor]

Indeed! Also, the human voice and ear are innately microtonal. The first lie we have to learn is that octave intervals are “fundamental”. They are fundamental to music theory, not to biology or physics. Frequency and duration are the true fundamentals.

[@ianstawarz7776]

Haven't watched yet but this a great idea for a video

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Thank you!

[@paulsoderquist4788]

I was just about to comment the same thing haha

[@doodoopoo]

same

[@ParadiseProjectsGroup]

I see lots of comments that are indeed opinions. I want to simply thank David for all his work (lots of time and effort), all his FREE information. I think he has one of the best channels for aspiring keyboardists. I am a 67 year old drummer that started playing at 10, I am now focusing on piano for about 5 years. David has be a huge resource. Thank you!

[@arthouston7361]

I think this video is extremely valuable for adult learners who are working their way through music without the structure of a music University, where they would be guided along the way by professionals. This really helps to relate the world of of music theory to where you need to start and how you can progress through it....so thank you!

[@christiancagnol2155]

A massive amount of information in a very condensed format! What an achievement. Thanks

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Thank you!

[@truebin1651]

I think Key Signatures should at least be A tier, but I personally would put them in S tier. My reason being that knowledge on key signatures would go hand in hand with knowledge on scales. If you’re going to know your scales or modes, knowing key signatures would be pretty vital.

[@DavidBennettPiano]

I would say that learning your scales is the far more useful skill there... but it is true that, if you know your scales, then learning key signatures will be much easier!

[@joeldcanfield_spinhead]

Key signatures are important for reading sheet music. For playing or writing music, not so much.

[@cassiejade413]

a lot of people dont read sheet music though

[@dar2vas]

@@joeldcanfield_spinhead _Writing_ music? Unless you're playing guitar or...accordion, I feel like having knowledge of your key signatures would help considering using accidentals for every sharp or flat note is extremely inefficient.

[@ledkicker2392]

It's maybe very helpful to learn other music concepts, but it's not applicable to all musicians for sure. For example, to play and compose songs in a band you generally don't need those.

[@StratsRUs]

Rick Beato once said '' You only need as much music theory as you _think_ you'll need ." And that has stayed with me. Well done on putting up with those people you have to endure, when you have such a great channel.You promote the Love of music so admirably well.

[@TigerWill]

As someone who knows basic theory i can tell you that you will never regret learning it

[@lamywater]

interesting, as someone with a classical/composition background I'd definitely have a different looking tier list. Not majorly different, but some notable differences for sure.

[@tjohns25]

Yes, came to say this. This list would look drastically different depending on your specific situation/experience/interests.

[@mattglasgow4383]

Same. This seems to more apply with rockers and live performers, maybe jazzers as well. But I think it would be different for composers, classical musicians, and country artists.

[@rosiefay7283]

Seems to me that this list is geared to people who only improvise. So they never have to tell other people musical ideas, or understand musical ideas from other people.

[@JamesRone]

@@tjohns25 And where you live in the world too! He acknowledges this in terms of microtonality, but there are plenty of cultures (even "Western" cultures) that value rhythmic skill and understanding over melodic skills and understandings.

[@JamesRone]

@@rosiefay7283 I'm not sure about that. Folk musicians around the world usually play pre-created music by definition, and some of it is pretty sophisticated, but they communicate their musical ideas in other ways. It's true that Western classical music would be really hard to communicate without sheet music though!

[@chrishb7074]

David, this has just cleared up confusions I’ve had about how to understand music theory for almost half a century, since those childhood Associated Board exams. Thanks.

[@tubthungusbychumbungus]

Oh lordy having to transpose on the spot for music exams was one of the main reasons I quit playing, my brain just could not do it

[@maxlove8894]

I found with sight reading part of the exam just expect to fail that and ace your pieces and scales

[@maxlove8894]

Or sing it instead

[@tubthungusbychumbungus]

@@maxlove8894 yeah that's what I had to do but I wasnt great at my pieces either, I scraped a pass and then cried on the train home lmao

[@maxlove8894]

@@tubthungusbychumbungus you still passed tho! You can always retake the exam or just work harder for the next grade (:

[@itsmeagain1745]

Transpose on the spot - no thankyou. I have had to transpose (given the piano tune and have to transpose for a Bflat trumpet), but I've always had overnight, and never anything complicated.

[@Debangshuification]

I love the idea of how he summarized the major concepts of music theory in a single page. That being said, this entire analysis is done considering the aspect that most people want to play by ear or trom the perspective of someone who doesn't read sheet music If you start learning music at a school, a lot of your mid tier concepts come on the very first day

[@keithc.4616]

Mr. Bennett, you are utterly brilliant to listen to, from here in Canada. I love how you can explain some very complicated concepts in a very understandable way. I could listen to you talk about music theory for hours. Thanks!

[@ronchorivera]

Great video! One thing everybody should keep in mind is that music theory isn't about "knowing a bunch about music", its a method of communication. Music theory is a language. Sheet music is basically stories communicated in sound.

[@alexevans9379]

Haven't even seen this yet but I am so excited for this. Very intruiging.

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Thanks!!

[@DurfMcAllister]

Inversions in the A tier but Dynamics in the D tier is gonna give me an aneurysm

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Dynamics are an important part of music but they are just so intuitive that you don’t really need to formally learn them unless you are faithfully reading from a score. There are lots of environments and situations where you can pick up on when to play softly and when you play loudly just with intuition. Inversions are certainly less important than basic chords but they are not really intuitive, hence why I placed them higher as a concept to learn 🙂

[@DurfMcAllister]

@@DavidBennettPiano Oh I get why you did it and you did a fine job explaining it in the video. I just dislike it because playing with people with no intuitive understanding of dynamics has scarred me for life 😂 Gimme someone that’s never heard of inversions over someone that has no concept of dynamic control any day

[@lerunya17]

@@DavidBennettPiano as a pianist I thoroughly disagree. Not even going to start with string players... In academy we literally spend hours, days, years! Trying to play the same note with different intonation and dynamics. This is something that splits armatures from professionals. Otherwise a really nice video! Cheers!

[@UmVtCg]

@@lerunya17 String players? I might stomp my supressor pedal and leave it on for weeks. It's low on the list for a reason, not everybody is on an academy. And somebody starting out on a musical instrument is NOT a professional. Therefore they sould start with the most important Theory. Which is NOT dynamics as somebody can quite easily get the basics of this. Just as a person naturally would do when talking. Try to think out of your own referece did you start your pre-academy mucial theory journey with dynamics? Nah, I didn't think so.

[@lerunya17]

@@UmVtCg we all start playing with dynamics literally from day one. As academics yes. Because otherwise you can't learn to be free in your expression and later on you will not be able to play as you feel it. Kids feel first and then understand why they played the way they did. The understanding in this case comes later yes but we begin with dynamics straight away.

[@dgemini2]

I would disagree about articulation. That's extremely important for the expressive qualities of the music beyond just the notes, chords, and rhythms. That's where all those things BECOME music.

[@lillycorrell4838]

Yes! I was sooooo shocked when he put articulation so low. Articulation is what brings music to life!

[@alelaera13]

you can articulate music without knowing what you're doing, but just by feeling the music, or by hearing it

[@dgemini2]

@@alelaera13 That's true, but articulation marks are still the most direct and accurate way to understand a composer's intentions. This tends to apply more to the classical world, though. And even then it's not always followed 100% given performance practice considerations.

[@alelaera13]

@useD raW whats annunciation

[@andrewhamson435]

at least in jazz yeah really is like 40% of the feel.

[@daroushmusic]

Dude ! You're young but explained the music theory like an old music professor ! Thnx man .

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Thanks!

[@rosiefay7283]

A difficulty I have with this video is that with some concepts, knowing the concept is perhaps more important than knowing its name, because you're more likely to have to play the stuff and not so likely to have to talk about it. Some performers can rehearse a piece together and play the notes without having to say chord-names. 14:15 By contrast, you'll have to know note value notation (even if you don't know the names). And unless you're going to stick to percussion, you'll have to know stave notation and your instrument's clef. If you perform, you'll have to play pieces of music you've never heard before, so the sheet music is telling you what the music is. (I'm not talking about if all you ever do is improvise by yourself.)

[@aadityakumar6380]

Alternate Title- Tom Holland teaching music theory for 30 minutes

[@doga5899]

I feel like a lot of people take pride in making a song without theory or classes, but youre really setting yourself back by doing it. I remember thinking that music theory would limit my creativity because I would have to follow rules, but after taking it in highschool it really helped me understand music and made me experiment more. If youre interested in music or a specific instrument learning from a teacher would really help in the long run

[@royalex21]

Interesting topic David!

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Thank you 😀

[@royalex21]

@@DavidBennettPiano 😉

[@lauraberry6729]

I truly appreciate this video. As a new, late-in-life musician, guidance regarding organizing and prioritizing learning these theory topics is enormously helpful. As a beginning string player (who lives with a pianist) it is especially helpful to see how pianists might prioritize concepts versus what's important to string player. And finally, having appreciated music deeply, and just now learning (at last) to read sheet music, I feel a little validation for the first six decades of my musical life! Thanks so much.

[@iipriorii]

The moment I found out the BASIC approach of using the modes around a pedal point (E), it all started making sense. Once I realized the emotional differences- it gave me the drive to learn everything past that- chords, etc.

[@paulsoderquist4788]

Love this! I agree with most of your assessments. I'm tempted to put the modes stuff in even lower tiers though because I don't think about them hardly at all when making music

[@DavidBennettPiano]

That's fair enough. I feel like a lot of the things in the C tier and the D tier could be interchangeable.

[@digitig]

But I'm a folkie, so Dorian and Mixolydian are pretty important to me.

[@jeffevarts8757]

This is among the best and most informative videos you've ever made. One man's opinion, anyway.

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Thank you!

[@ProffessorMusic]

Cool video! Largely agree, though I would argue that some of the things you refer to as being more related to reading sheet music (e.g. note values, key signatures, time signatures, dynamics, etc.) are WAY more essential than you rate them: phrases like "Play 16ths on the verses", "There's a bar of 2 coming out of the chorus", and "It loops IV iii vi II7 in Ab!" are things that working musicians say on a daily basis! (many of whom have no idea how to read). Also literally everything is more important than exotic scales, microtonality, and temperaments haha. I'd also rate modes of anything pretty low: knowledge of modes is easily supplanted and expanded by knowledge of the parent scales and functional harmony. (I say that as a guitarist, too! lol)

[@redstonecat1232]

Same. I feel reading sheet music is huge! I never would have been ever play my instrument if I didn't learn all these essential sheet music things

[@ProffessorMusic]

@@redstonecat1232 That's awesome! Though I think you misunderstood my point: I'm saying that while reading is among the absolute LEAST important skills, knowing things like rhythmic values, dynamics, diatonic chords, etc. are VERY important. The key is that you don't have to be able to read at all to understand those concepts and learn the proper vocabulary.

[@redstonecat1232]

@@ProffessorMusic Oh lol I did misread it sorry. But yeah, the extra ink stuff is super important to music. It's what makes it interesting! One thing is, depending on the instrument, some things are hugely important while on another instrument, it's useless. For example; Chords. Chords are massive if you want to learn piano or a stringed instrument. However, if you play a wind instrument, you never need to learn them. While on the other hand; rhythms, and scales are massive parts of any instrument.

[@ProffessorMusic]

@@redstonecat1232 If you play a wind or brass instrument and want to ever understand what you're playing or sound good improvising, chords are massively important: you still have to play them, albeit one note at a time.

[@ProffessorMusic]

@@redstonecat1232 Heck, chords are even important for drummers: if you can "play the changes" on a kit, you'll get a million more calls than the guy who can't, and the people calling you might not even realize why!

[@kshinji]

One of the most important pieces of knowledge is the structure of some field - what can be learnt and how it fits in the bigger picture. It allows us to learn more efficiently and plan according to our priorities. We can't really efficiently understand the field up front though, really. We usually have to resort to more random than informed guesses and just put in the effort to learn everything we hear about to an extent where we start to understand what it is and how it fits ourselves. That's why it's a great gift a person that has already been through all that can give to newcomers, especially those who prefer self-learning, is to explain what's ahead to them, give them a roadmap. Thank you.

[@sanguinettevibrella]

I know I'm joining the chorus of every other comment on the video but HOLY CRAP THIS IS SO VALUABLE. Easily the hardest challenge about self-learning music theory is understanding what's most practical to learn first. I think for the first time in my life, I actually believe people who've told me I don't need formal education lol

[@ianwynne764]

Hello David: This is wonderful. I constantly paused this video in order to take notes. Keep up the good work.

[@markallen381]

I like how you have given some priorities for learning even though I can't follow this as an unchangeable law. My main instrument is guitar, my secondary instrument is keyboard and finally recording as an art-form. I like pop music with a little bit of jazz flavor. This video is a great starting point for someone trying to assess their point in learning and where to go next. Good job! Thanks!

[@elliotanderson324]

Such a cool video. Hope this one goes far. I disagree with several things, like cadences, but that is expected for a tier list. I love your channel. I could also see a more subjective tier list on this channel being for rock, pop, jazz, folk, etc. bands and artists and having you rank them by your own opinion OR you could rank them by their use of music theory or influence or some other metric.

[@eli-shulga]

What a treasure! Print screened the final chart and saved this video. This will go with me for a long time. Naturally subbed - This is gold Thank you

[@АртёмСалахетдинов-ь9в]

One of the best music related channels on KZbin. Your content is super organized and very helpful! Keep up!

[@othernicksweretaken]

@14:30 first time I ever heard of note values such as minim, quaver or crotchet. In German it's pretty easy a 1/2 (halbe) , 1/8 (achtel) , 1/4 (viertel) and so forth, like fractions in maths.

[@Arycke]

It's a mostly Euro/countries of European descent or ownership i.e. Australia In US, we use 1/2 = half note 1/4 = quarter note 1/8 = eighth note 1/16 = sixteenth, Direct like the German usage.

[@revoxed93]

I feel like dynamics should have made it to a higher tier. Love all your videos, and enjoyed this one too.

[@lillycorrell4838]

Same! Articulation and Dynamics are the things that give music life!

[@Ty1ore]

But you don't have to know what the symbols mean, or how to read it. But yes understanding it, is extremely important. But playing louder or softer doesn't require theory, nor a symbol for you to understand

[@genarosainz9901]

It is nice to have mumbo jumbo giving us music theory classes Jokes aside great content :)

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Thank you! I trust you’ve seen the Minecraft collab video I did with Mumbo? 😉😁

[@nraelserutluc8669]

GD bless you Mr. Bennett. Ty for creating the content in the format which you did.Ty, for the time plus effort it took. I pray you have a very blessed New Year.

[@wilusa3113]

I have been playing and learning music (including college) my whole life. I'm 41 years old and never heard the term rhythmic suferage before today. Proof you can learn from everyone so you should never stop

[@ZPX945]

Thanks for breaking theory down; it helped a lot! :-)

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Great! 😃

[@ontaka5997]

Thanks for this very educative video. Personally, I would value "Time signatures" and "Notes value" at a higher position around "A". It's something one should learn before 7th chords and inversions, but that is just my personal opinion. I think this will be very important especially if you are playing an instrument together with somebody or even if you are writing a basic tune.

[@GUIDESPERSPECTIVE]

This chart is different depending on your instrument. I play many instruments, but percussion and set are my primary. I put Polyrhythms up in the top of the list. :-)

[@galbijim100]

Excellent video. As someone with no formal music training, I found it encouraging to see how many of these concepts I regularly use while listening to and writing music. Your explanations are incredibly clear and make it easy to understand complex ideas.

[@vus2093]

You’re so young and and an expert in music theory. It amazes me how much you know! You’ve taught me a lot! Thank you!

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Thanks!

[@Megatwilightwarrior]

I dig the tier list format for presenting it a lot. One criticism I have is that several of these concepts are easily taught simultaneously as one concept rather than several. For instance, I think if one learns extensions as a single concept, 7th chords and upper extensions fuse into one. Likewise, key signatures and Roman numerals (probably should just be phrased as "scale degrees" or something to be more universal) are devoid of meaning unless paired. Who cares that I'm in the key of A major if I don't know what chords are in A Major? This tier list is also only applicable to music in a traditional western context part of the classical school of thought. I don't think this is an accurate list for other cultures, and there are also some differences in position I could see if this was a Rock tier list or Jazz tier list. Overall, great video tho!

[@joe_z2042]

Very disappointed to not see Radiohead in S tier

[@emanuellandeholm5657]

Really good video! Love your work mate.

[@JobForAMaxboy]

I used to tell myself I didn't need any music theory, but that was before I actually learned theory. Once you know, even just a bit, you realise just how valuable it is

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Exactly!

[@JobForAMaxboy]

@@DavidBennettPiano sorry, you make the exact same point right at the start of the video... I should really learn to watch before I comment. Just discovered your channel, great stuff 👍

[@DavidBennettPiano]

@@JobForAMaxboy I’m glad you’re on the same page as me! I meant “exactly” in a good way 😃😃😃

[@n484l3iehugtil]

This video really highlights that different types of musicians emphasise different concepts. There's the classical musician (who is a sucker for music theory and sheet music), the band player (who mostly learns things by ear) (also depends on what kind of band, ranging from jazz to progressive metal to brutal death metal), and the electronic music composer (who uses a piano roll instead of sheet music, and cares a lot more about mixing and perhaps rhythm).

[@jamesdaniels487]

Hi David, which of the four Beatles would you say is your favourite, and what's your favourite post-Beatles album?

[@DavidBennettPiano]

John is perhaps my favourite Beatle, purely because it's his Beatles songs that I find myself most drawn to. And as for post Beatles albums, All Things Must Pass is cool, but I'd probably have to say Band On The Run by Wings!

[@cullenbrownmusic]

such an important video to have! thank you now i know what to focus on so i can get better quicker. thanks alot man

[@DavidBennettPiano]

I’m glad that you found it useful!

[@cullenbrownmusic]

@@DavidBennettPiano yes ive been intersted in alot if theary lately

[@DanielBedoyaR]

Thanks for the great content! I love your graphical representations for each concept. Could you post a pdf or svg version of your tier list? It would definitely make a great music theory check list / cheat-sheet. Keep up the good work.

[@luizcarlosdeoliveira8760]

GREAT video , it's kinda cool seeing these concepts being ranked by relevance

[@bodhibeats8257]

Really cool video! Enjoyed it! I think some of the concepts (for example, time signatures/note values/rhythmic subdivision) you put lower in the chart are actually vitally important to understand - but I think you are saying “they’re lower on the chart because you probably already know what you really need to know.” If someone can’t find the downbeat in 4/4, that’s gonna be a big problem. Maybe the biggest problem. But since most of us already have that down pretty innately, even if we haven’t studied music - they end up lower on your chart. Which is fair. Good stuff, David!