Is music theory compulsory for production ?

Music theory is optional, but if you want to get better, then it'd be best to learn everything you can.
The basics are by far less tedious, which is why it's easier to gravitate towards it.

If you want to know what notes are what notes, scales. want every 3 note chord that isn't dissonant?Integer notation.
Usually more complicated ways to say the same thing.
 
KonKossKang said:
Music theory is optional, but if you want to get better, then it'd be best to learn everything you can.
The basics are by far less tedious, which is why it's easier to gravitate towards it.

If you want to know what notes are what notes, scales. want every 3 note chord that isn't dissonant?Integer notation.
Usually more complicated ways to say the same thing.
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When something happens in South Central, nothing happens.....its just another nigga dead...dead....dead.....
 
The unfortunates didn't get to choose the thug life. I feel their struggle.
Good lucks to all them californian lovers.
 
BeatBassBanger said:
Not arguing or saying its not beneficial. I just heard and know a lot of producers barely studied it and are successful
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And probably a million times as many who didn't bother to study it and never made it. Some people have also been successful because they look good and barely not much else. This is not gonna happen for everyone, but being more proficient in your craft will increase your chances, even if just a little bit.
 
So I guess the final conclusion will that it's better to learn music theory but the question is how much ? How much should I learn . upto which part should I learn .. ?
And will learning music theory help in making better melodies in the paino roll . ?
 
The answer to that is to learn everything you want to/can up to the point where you feel like, because all of this is your decision.
 
i__abhi17 said:
Hey I am a begginer and I don't know how to play any instrument nor do I know any music theory and I can't even create melodies in fl studio ...i just don't know what keys tune good with each other ! 

Looking for some advice and should I go and learn any music theory will it help me for my productions ?
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Personally, I made music for over 10 years purely by ear. I would sit there and mess around with the keys until something sounded good, then I'd build from there. It wouldn't matter what the instrument was, I would just press the keys until I had a decent melody going, save that then find something to go with it.

Learning music theory has kinda streamlined the process for me, as now I know which keys I should be looking for when playing a certain key. But, honestly, I kinda enjoyed making music before, blinding hammering away at the keys until something happened.
 
pitch
scales
modes
chords as isolated entities and as derived from scales/modes
arpeggios (this means broken chords not the catch all term for anything that is repeated ad nauseum)
melodic devices
rhythmic devices
orchestration (aka layering)
arranging (aka structure)
 
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Learn some piano or just keep spending time in your daw working with a midi. Many people are "self taught", although not everyone has that sort of drive.. I recommend just getting a midi keyboard like a casio, or something that has a power cord and can be played standalone.. Watch a few basic tutorials on YouTube, most edm music doesn't have any insane chords either.. If it's easier for you, just stick with the white keys until you feel like learning more about notes, scales, and chords. If you can't tell what is and isn't in tune, I don't know what to tell you.

Push 2-3 notes that are right next to each other on your keyboard, that is what off tune sounds like. It sounds terrible, not hard to hear nor does it require any prior knowledge. It just sounds like shit. When you make a loop, just make sure it doesn't sound like that.
 
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I feel like some people are just innate with a sense of harmony, and can tell the difference between a dissonant sound versus something "in key". You don't have to spend a lot of money to learn basic music theory. Check out Welcome to Music School Online - Learn to sing and play piano, guitar, drums, bass, and more, pick an instrument you want to learn (or vocals) and you'll get the music theory for free. They have a 14 day no cost trial, so you don't lose anything if you're not into it.
 
I feel like some people are just innate with a sense of harmony, and can tell the difference between a dissonant sound versus something "in key". You don't have to spend a lot of money to learn basic music theory. Check out Welcome to Music School Online - Learn to sing and play piano, guitar, drums, bass, and more, pick an instrument you want to learn (or vocals) and you'll get the music theory for free. They have a 14 day no cost trial, so you don't lose anything if you're not into it. I feel like some people are just innate with a sense of harmony, and can tell the difference between a dissonant sound versus something "in key". You don't have to spend a lot of money to learn basic music theory. Check out Welcome to Music School Online - Learn to sing and play piano, guitar, drums, bass, and more, pick an instrument you want to learn (or vocals) and you'll get the music theory for free. They have a 14 day no cost trial, so you don't lose anything if you're not into it.
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This is exactly how I feel, music runs in my family I already created a few melodies from scratch, they suck, but they are melodies lol.
 
The thing is - you end up applying music theory even if you don't really know what everything's actually called. There's just more banging your head into the wall when you have to find out everything by trial & error.
 
At this point it sounds like you need to just do what you think you should do. Getting a bunch of opinions won't necessarily help you. Knowledge is power though, the more you know, the better. Learn as much as you can. It sounds to me like you are just wanting to get by with the least amount of something possible to still be good. That's a bad way to think if you want to go places.
 
I don't know any theory, I've never learned to play an instrument. and I don't use sample (loops). I just start banging around on a keyboard till something sounds good and build from there. But, I'm a rare case and I could've made things easier on myself by just picking up an instrument.

If you already have an ear for what a good melody sounds like, theory isn't needed. But, it helps. I would just dig in and start creating. That's the most important thing. Don't wait until you think you've learned enough to begin. Just start.

With that said, take a few piano lessons. It will streamline the learning process and if you practice enough, you could become pretty nice in 6 to 8 months. The main thing is to keep creating. Nothing is more important than that if you want to make your own music. And, you can never learn too much about music. Nothing goes to waste. It's all useful to you at some point.
 
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