Last week we announced the release of our online music theory lessons, which we're providing to all members of all our online learning schools for no additional charge. The idea is to give everyone here a solid resource to learn more about music theory online. It wouldn't be possible without Jonathan Coopersmith, who is the man behind the music theory lessons here and who heads up the Music Theory Department at the highly regarded Curtis Institute of Music. We asked him some questions about his experience with teaching music theory, which will give you an insight into how just how deep his knowlege of music theory runs. 

AW:  In general, why should someone learn music theory?

JC: If you like to know how things work in general, then learning about how music works might be very interesting to you. And it opens up more possibilities for your playing...for example, instead of just learning one scale, learn the pattern for that scale and now you can play it in any key. Understanding how music works leads to a better understanding of what you're already playing, and can even spark creativity allowing you to explore other areas of music you might not have thought of on your own. The more you know, the more you'll enjoy playing and listening to music, and the more control you'll have over what you can do.