Music Theory

J

James McFadyen

Guest
There have been a few threads on Music Theory, and although I do not want to go into any great detail about it, but through my own experience music theory is essensial. This forum has proved that about a thousand times, people on here are always asking about how build chords, how to write melodies, how to score for orchestra, how to build chords with different instruments, etc, etc.

I am classically trained, I did my postgraduate study in Composition at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, I think even the best writers (and that includes EVERYONE :) ) could benefit from classical training (otherwise known as music theory. :)
 
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im currently studying advanced level music in my schools 6th form and iv found it has helped loads in writing my music!

Dunno how this post is gonna help anyone but nevermind.

Chris
 
Any perspective helps... The problem most people have is that they expect to be able to read a book and automatically understand how to compose.

So when they're confronted with something that doesn't seem logical or a lot of information that doesn't seem immediately useful they give up (what we wouldn't give to all have personal tutors)

One example is the whole point of understanding keys. From a practical perspective picking out a series of notes and playing them in a random order to try and create melody makes absolutely no sense. Most people seem to skim over the most important part which is the relationship between the root of the key and each consecutive degree, and deriving from that how to create either resolution or suspense.

Very few interesting songs technically stick 100% to one key. And even the ones that can be technically defined as being in a key lean towards or hover around it's inversion (for example) to create some sort of tension.

A study of key is used more to understand how your ear identifies a fundamental tone through it's related overtones. And that's where a lot of the misconception that theory limits you comes from. It's not a set of compositional rules. It's a way of analysing existing information.

People also seem to skim over modes, which I've found far more useful in terms of composition than thinking inside the box of a single key.
 
P.S This is all evidence to back up my theory that people started thinking backwards when they started writing from left to right instead of right to left. ;)

The Arabians had the right idea all along.
 
Sorry James, but I don't think classical training is "essential" for being a great musician, be it hip hop, techno, new age, or orchestral scores. Sure anyone could benifit from it, but it can't create raw tallent. I think that's the most important thing. I don't think it makes me less of a musician for teaching myself cordes or how to read notes, and learining how an orchestra is composed on my own. As opposed to someone that may have gone to a big expensive school.

I've talked with musicians and read interviews where they (the companies they wroked for) had applicants that had all the music theory anyone would ever need but couldn't do anything good with it. Those people I like to call: "shoulda been a mechanic, programer, engineer, ect...". Very technical, but little musical tallent. Not kicking down school, but school or not, either you have skills, or you don't. With that said though, if you have the chance to go to school, do it. It can't hurt, and can only help, but it cannot define you as a musician.
-Ajari-
 
it's another big tool. there's more than one way to skin a cat...
 
theory and formal education cant hurt (except when it makes ur brain hurt:() i know alot of musicians that cant read, or dont know the names of chords, etc, and some do really well. i also have met over-educated musicians that are really close-minded and think "it can only go one way", or "if it doesnt follow these rules, than it isnt good". its funny, i think its the same personality, college kids who say "u suck if u dont use theory" or untrained musicians who say "u dont need it to be good, it just boxes your creativity, blah, blah..."

i would say, ear-training, tho, (sight-singing, transcribing, etc.) thats where its at. can u listen to a song on the radio and walk over and play it on piano? thats what really matters.

this is my opinion at this moment, who knowz about later...

peace
 
StoopidBeatz said:
theory and formal education cant hurt (except when it makes ur brain hurt:() i know alot of musicians that cant read, or dont know the names of chords, etc, and some do really well. i also have met over-educated musicians that are really close-minded and think "it can only go one way", or "if it doesnt follow these rules, than it isnt good". its funny, i think its the same personality, college kids who say "u suck if u dont use theory" or untrained musicians who say "u dont need it to be good, it just boxes your creativity, blah, blah..."

i would say, ear-training, tho, (sight-singing, transcribing, etc.) thats where its at. can u listen to a song on the radio and walk over and play it on piano? thats what really matters.

this is my opinion at this moment, who knowz about later...

peace
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I agree....the trick is to become educated without turning into a know it all, by the book, rules are everything, over technical, stiff, ass hole. Just remember where you came from, and school can't hurt your creativity. Man you hit the nail on the head with that one!
-Ajari-
 
Good points above. Yes, the reason for learning theory is not to show how much you know, but rather to learn a common language & understanding of music in order to work together with other musicians or producers more effectively. If you ever work with other more knowledgable musicians, it can be quite embarrassing to not know what they mean when they suggest a key modulation or a different chord voicing.
 
djfullshred said:
Good points above. Yes, the reason for learning theory is not to show how much you know, but rather to learn a common language & understanding of music in order to work together with other musicians or producers more effectively. If you ever work with other more knowledgable musicians, it can be quite embarrassing to not know what they mean when they suggest a key modulation or a different chord voicing.
Click to expand...

Again, I agree 100%. You guys are on a roll.
-Ajari-
:cheers:
 
I think just having a language to be able to think about music with helps immensely too.

I also don't think it's essential but it certainly doesn't hurt to have access to how-ever-many centuries of research into music-making. One of the advantages of human existence is not having to rebuild everything from scratch all the time :)

But, in that funny, hard-to-pin-down way the world works, it's also amazingly instructive actually trying to do just that...

A better way to put it, perhaps: music theory will never limit someone but their inability to let go of theoretical models and experiment for themselves will.
 
alex23 said:
music theory will never limit someone but their inability to let go of theoretical models and experiment for themselves will.
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I love this thread. You guys are dead on. This is what I have been preaching for years. Good stuff.
-Ajari-
 
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