Musical Theory Debate

[Gary_Rock]

So after a bit of a discussion in the tips area I wondered if others thought music theory is needed to operate a sampler or to simply make make good music?

[yo-yo crunch]

still a little confused as to the definition. i don't know how to read music or play piano but i know what two bars is. i know what a triplet is and i know what 93 bpm sounds like.

but its like saying going to the culinary institute will make you a worse chef... i don't see how it could do anything but help. certainly not necessary though--premier proved that.

[Gary_Rock]

but its like saying going to the culinary institute will make you a worse chef

Good point - but is making music really the same as cooking? Do you know you are cooking an apple pie before it goes ding and an apple pie comes out? Or do you let the track tell you if its an apple pie?

Music is art and not science to me. I play music as a release from the everyday logic and science of work. If I wanted to go about music like work I'd be using a computer for a start.

I also dislike theory as it's one way of looking at the art you are about to create that isn't any better then any other way that you might find for yourself.

I mean how many of you guys played an instrument at school but gave it up because it was boring? And yet here you are making music.

[nobdy]

....

[preqwal]

I think you just naturally pick up stuff as you go a long. As long as you develop an "ear" (knowing which two notes sound good together), then it's all good.

Saying that tho, I've been really getting into scales and chords and feel quite liberated. Trying to stay off sampling for my next tape, just playing everything it.

[fresh-produce]

i have a feeling that by "theory" everyone is refering to music theory as pertains to classical music or jazz. when a cowboy strums a g chord on a guitar, he technically has some knowledge of theory. the fact that he refers to the chord as a g major, even if he doesn't understand what makes it a g major, is still him demonstrating some knowledge of theory.

if a boom bap producer understands that snares tend to fall on beats two and four, that is utilizing musical theory.

if someone has an "ear" and they hear that two parts sound good together, this is most likely because the two parts are in key. you don't have to know why they are in key in order to be able to recognize this to be the case.

that said, learning some theory can't be a bad thing, i don't need a science class to understand that getting struck by lightning would probably kill me, however a basic knowledge of how electricity works won't cripple me.

[IIIII]

i'm taking a music class and its hard as fuck. it takes a lot of time for me to understand this stuff. we are on triads and i cannot wait til this is over

[Gary_Rock]

We all have a limited amount of time doing music - what do you spend your time doing? Playing or reading about playing?

I'd rather record with someone who has played so much that they can play a single note with emotion and feeling and make people turn to listen and feel something themselves.

I dont care how it is then written onto a peice of paper I just want to hear that note again.

If I need to write it down then I'll look up how to write it.

The two don't have to be mutualy exclusive but I'd always take a player over a theory nut for making music with.

[nobdy]

...

[LAZER BEAR]

Its kind of ridiculous that this is even a debate. If you want to make music then theory is essential to do it well. I wouldn't hire a guy to build a house if he didn't know the theory behind it, he would be able to get by on common sense but the guy who knows theory would be better. Plain and simple fact is that the more theory you know thebetter you will be at makking music. If all you know is a few chords then you will not be able to make as many songs as someone who knows how to build their own chords. With that said, no you don't NEED to know theory to make music, but your music will be better and you will have an easier time making it if you know theory.

[preqwal]

i'm taking a music class and its hard as fuck. it takes a lot of time for me to understand this stuff. we are on triads and i cannot wait til this is over

Triads are boring, jump straight to 9th chords

Seriously, if you get to grips with the intervals and the rules of a major and minor scale it'll get easier

[hseiken]

@OP - it doesn't necessarily make for a formula of 'better beats' but I think someone trained in music or another instrument can add their own personal touch with that instrument or studying of theory they did above and beyond someone without that training.

I also think that people that make music without formal training can have a very refreshing take on music in general because they haven't been weighted down by what's 'right' and accepted, etc. If that makes sense...

[Gary_Rock]

Its kind of ridiculous that this is even a debate. If you want to make music then theory is essential to do it well. I wouldn't hire a guy to build a house if he didn't know the theory behind it, he would be able to get by on common sense but the guy who knows theory would be better. Plain and simple fact is that the more theory you know thebetter you will be at makking music. If all you know is a few chords then you will not be able to make as many songs as someone who knows how to build their own chords. With that said, no you don't NEED to know theory to make music, but your music will be better and you will have an easier time making it if you know theory.

I'd argue that making music far less like building a house or laying a road or cleaning the toilets and far more like drawing a picture or creating a sculpture.

[LAZER BEAR]

The building a house thing was just n analogy. But here's another one, without knowledge of the theory of shading and perspective, an artist would be at a disadvantage over one who did know those things. And a sculptor without knowledge of the theory of his craft would also be at a disadvantage. The same analogy applies to all trades. The more you know about what your doing the better off you will be.

[Chopperman]

My 2 cents on it :
Music theory is based on what sounds good.
The more music you make the better your ear gets.
Learning how to make music that sounds good, by making music, is basically teaching yourself your own unique form of music theory.
I'm thankful I never learned the ins and outs of music theory. I may have doubted a new style I was developing because it didn't fit the confines of the "rules." I didn't like school and always loved making music so I prefer to keep the two separate.