Lawerence's Review

Shortly before the COVID-19 crisis, I had begun taking John Martin’s Music Theory LTS class in Pontiac Correctional Centers Medium Security Unit. Unfortunately, I was only able to attend 4 or 5 classes before the IDOC quarantine began, so no more music class for me. The majority of my immediate family and much of my extended family are musicians that play multiple instruments. I had thought I had a really good grasp on the basics of music. Boy did I learn quickly that I only had a finger hold grasp on the concept of music appreciation.

 

John quickly taught us how to maintain a rhythm on the keyboard and the basics of melody construction there intertwined. He also laid out the key of three for us, the basic harmony structure of modern music; i.e. rock, pop, and gospel. I can now hear, solely based on the rudiments I had time to learn, which hand is playing which part of a song on a keyboard instrument and now can more fully appreciate parts of melody that were just extraneous noise before.

 

I now cannot wait to attend full courses in music theory in order to expand my understanding and a more thorough appreciation of the art and joy of music.

 

Lawerence