How important actually is learning theory?

freedoom

freedoom

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Ive been producing music for almost 3/4 years now, and just in the last 6 months i have started to teach myself music theory. I remember watching an interview with Deadmau5 where he said that he has absolutely no knowledge of music theory at all, and he is one of the biggest EDM artists out there. I assume there are a good amount of hip hop producers who are in the same boat...

So, really, If you have a great ear for music and what sounds good, does Theory really make that big of a difference?
 
EDM requires zero skill when it comes to sound and sound design. It's a case of throwing together some loops, a preset synth, penciling in an elaborate build-up and hope for the best. I don't mean to disregard the genre, but I mean come on, same 128bpm tempo, same kick pattern, same errthang...

If you want to produce music that has some realism or emotion, theory is a must. Even the very basics like common chord progressions help me enormously.

Checkout bandcoach.org and hooktheory.com
 
I think theory is a must for anyone who makes music. However, personally I found that getting too focused on the theory when you sit down to make a beat really kills my creativity. When I sit down now I just play a series of chords by ear and get a good groove going, and then work from there. I can't really articulate why theory is good to know very well at the moment, but it has helped me a whole lot.

If you ever jam with people it is also good because you can actually communicate your musical ideas to your jamming partners a whole lot easier.
 
@JC_Biffro: thanks for the shoutout

yes theory is important if you wish to move forward with your creativity; this is a similar question to the one "should I simply glide by on my natural abilities or should I study and become mega-mad?" answer to both is do the study, you will improve your basic skills ten-fold (at least) and your creativity will become unleashed in ways that you did not think was possible
 
Music theory can open new doors when it comes to creativity however you also have to be careful that you don't spend so much time in the one room that you stop exploring.
 
Theory is like a carpenter's tools. Building a house becomes much easier when you have the right tools and understanding of how to use them!
 
JC_Biffro said:
EDM requires zero skill when it comes to sound and sound design. It's a case of throwing together some loops, a preset synth, penciling in an elaborate build-up and hope for the best. I don't mean to disregard the genre, but I mean come on, same 128bpm tempo, same kick pattern, same errthang...
Click to expand...

You can say something like this with hip hop too....'hip hop requires zero skill when it comes to sound and sound design. Its a case of throwing together some samples, a preset bass, penciling in some hats, and hoping for the best.'

no disrespect, but no need to be ignorant. There are EDM artists who put great musical knowledge in their music, some dont. Im not an EDM producer, nor am i really an EDM listener, but cmon bro
 
Sorry,I have to agree with JC_Biffro about EDM.Not to attack any genre but some genres are easy to master just with some practice and very basic knowledge.
I've witnessed for myself how every time I learn something new my music gets better.You can only make what you know and the more you know,the more it's gonna reflect on your music.
Everyone can make a building by just putting together some walls and ceilings but it takes the knowledge of an architect to keep it from crumbling.
 
Depends, whats your goal? You wanna be average or the best? You arent gonna become a Allstar without a jumpshot.
 
in my experience theory can be a time-saver or a limiting factor depending on your approach. if you know theory you can go straight to the chords and notes that make sense and not waste time trying out all possible combinations.

but you can also get stuck within a conventional approach to composing. or rather, stuck within the confines of your own knowledge of theory. for example, if your knowledge of theory is limited to a basic understanding of the circle of fifths, you might never go from c major to f# major, but it could sound good in some situations. and those situations are explained by more advanced chord theory that you don't know. so it's important to keep an open mind and experiment even with options that go against what theory you do know.

but all in all it's obviously good to know at least basic music theory. it really frees up your compositions. i think i can tell when people who do music don't know theory and especially in electronic music it's boring, static, with no harmonic movement.
 
Theory is the material that holds a composer's building blocks together. Of course, one could use a cheaper substitute, but product quality would be hit and miss.
 
JC biffro you are showing so much ignorance!!!
Modern edm requires theory sound design and much more
Please hear bach to phuture by savant a substep song i bet you cant make anything like that even if you keep producing for 30 years
 
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Like everyone else has said its important. And to the people who say they dont know any theory are lying, because if they are just using their ears then they subconsciously know theory. Their ears know when they are not in key or a parallel key, without them really knowing it. So wouldn't you rather know where you can travel while your making a song, then just blindly running with your ears and getting lost more of the time than it would take just to learn the theory.
 
No, I don't think its too important for certain genres...Something like R&B and soul, which I do, I think its important to be on point....I know a good amount of theory, and im still learning something new everyday....
 
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If you want to write a book, you need to know the language.
If you want to write music... you need to know the language.
 
Usually I feel like I compose best when I dont have my head wrapped up in the theory. HOWEVER, theory is a very helpful thing to understand. Knowing types of chord progressions, phrases and the general way notes work together in a melody will save you a lot of time. Also you will be able to better understand your own compositions and learn from them as well.
 
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