How important do you think theoretical knowledge is for song composition? And why? [22]
Top Responses
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I believe it depends on the person, and the style in question. Some people just have a knack for writing music regardless of their level of theoretical knowledge, and the style they play doesn't require them to have a lot of that knowledge. With some styles a background in music theory is a must. However in any case, I believe having a strong background in music theory will only help open your mind to more possibilities. I reject the argument that knowing music theory will negatively influence someones style.
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That all depends on what kind of a musician you wish to be. If you want to be in a band that jams ideas and composes songs in that way, then it isn't important. If you compose music on your own and can produce it yourself so you either don't need others in order to play it or so that others have something to recreate, then it isn't important. If you compose ideas and want people to understand what you are doing and wish to explain it to them then yes, it is an important language to learn.
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It's not "Important" at all. It can either help or hinder. But the focus should be the sonic landscape you're creating. Not the maths and "Rules" behind it.
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Depends on the style of music/person really. Take Fredrik Thordendal for example, he knows little-to-nothing about theory from what I understand, but is a great composer.
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Not too important when it comes to Metal/Pop/Rock... sometimes I even wish I didn't knew so much about music theory... but in film/theater scoring situations it is pretty much important in my case
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Depends on the song. If you are writing a jazz/fusion song, it is crucial. If you are writing a basic rock, pop, or metal song...not so much. Theory definitely helps when connecting ideas and making sense of things, but ultimately, for me anyway...theory is secondary when I write a song. The ear and heart have to come first. There are changes in our music and tons of others' music that don't make sense theoretically, but they sound great. That's all that matters.
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Depends. I've heard plenty of incredible artists who know next to nothing about theory put out some amazing music, and vice versa. Personally when I write music I don't put a lot of thought into the composition, but in terms of soloing I'd like to think that I keep in mind the chord changes and the modal connotations that each one can have.
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I personally think it's important, i hate that shit on mtv/radio these days. It's like all made on a computer. That ain't music. It depends on the genre you're writing in i guess. But then again some people are talented and just learn to understand sound by playing and not studying it. Conclusion= i liEk music that is good and creative and took effort to produce, in some cases this does not need a lot of theoretical knowledge. Im gonna post this before i change my mind ageeeen
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It all depends on the type of music you're playing. For example to write a standard rock tune, you probably need to know a few chords, a few pentatonic/blues licks and maybe a couple of catchy rhythms (this is generally speaking). For a jazz musician, he/she needs to understand a great deal of theory in order to write jazz. A strong understanding of: chords and their derivative scales, complex and diverse rhythms, arranging parts for a wide range of instruments and a strong technical, almost virtuosic ability on their instrument are pretty much the basics.
To keep it simple, learn what you think you need to learn. If you have problems writing certain parts of your music, maybe seek out lessons or books on how to better yourself in that field. -
Use your ear. You don't need theory to write music. I don't know anything about theory
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I don't know theory, and writing by ear means that I usually take much longer to write songs because I only keep a riff or musical idea if I "feel" it, and not because it's theoretically correct or technically sounds correct. But it is much more rewarding when you write a song entirely by ear and it makes you smile because you just know by "feeling" it, that it's a winner :)
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it really depends. A lot of the best players i know (be they guitarists, bassists, drummers) are Kinesthetic learners, and play strictly from feel. For me it helps to spice up an already good song with things like Ger+6ths, ctdim7s, and so on. Opeth is a great example. the funniest part is, that at the end of the day, it doesn't matter how many theory classes you've taken or mastered, it's how the song sounds. you can be complicated as all hell and the song might sound like trash, or you could technically be out of key, and the song will sound amazing. case and point, the blues ;)
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I guess its dependent on what sort of music you want to write, as long as you know the basics then i dont see it as a problem.
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Its not if you have a good ear. It is helpful to get an idea started though, if you are stuck in a rut.
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If you can make good music without it, you're fine. It does help to know how to harmonize, chord progression etc etc
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It's not the most important thing in regards to composition. Having a knowledge of theory can help to make things more interesting (i.e. using more unconventional scales and chords, time signatures etc.) but it's not essential. There are many musicians who have written great songs without using any real kind of music theory at all.
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it's important to have at least SOME theoretical knowledge but it should only be used as a tool to develop your own playing style.
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incredibly important. it's basically the difference between feeling your way out of a cave in the dark ( which is respectable) with using a flashlight (which is smart)
come at me. -
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It can either really get in the way or help a lot. Iv learned to look at it more as tools rather then rules.
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