I know that among some musicians — particularly rock musicians — it’s glamorous to say that you don’t know much about music theory.  Knowing too much will spoil it, they say.  It ruins the mystery and stifles creativity.

In response to that, let me tell you a little story.  I once heard a man who is a famous speaker designer, well-established in the high-end audio circles.  He said that when he was little, he used to take apart everything: radios, TVs, typewriters.  And tried to put them back together.  Some of them he couldn’t put back, but this activity gave him great insights into how electronics worked.  I don’t know when and what kind of education/training he received, but it sounded like that came after this era of taking things apart.

How We Learn and Understand

Among guitar players, we encourage beginning to intermediate players to learn from their heros.  Copy them, actually — learn to play what they played, by ear, preferably.  We all have to start from imitating — like little kids do with speech — and this gives us insights about how things work, even if they don’t know the system behind it.  Little kids don’t know grammer or spelling, but during the course of acquiring language skills, sooner or later they realize that there are systems and there are rules.  Learning these guidelines help them figure out what to do, for example, when they encounter words that they hadn’t heard before.

Music also has systems and guidelines.  You know that a song typically has verse-chorus structure, and that they usually end on the root chord of the key.  Well, you may not know that, or you may not be familiar with the words I used to describe them.  But when you hear it, you’ll know.  If a song doesn’t end on the root — well, it just has a different sound/feel to that ending, doesn’t it?

Whether you realize or not, if you’re making original music, you do have some understanding on the system behind music.  From 12-bar blues to 1-5 bass line, different genres of music have different conventions.  These are all rooted in music theory.

The True Definition of Music Theory

Music theory is often considered a set of rules.  And musicians hate rules, dont’ they?  Rules tend to limit and box us.

But you know what? They are not rules.  They are systems and guidelines.  And their purpose is to explain how and why music works.

If you are a songwriter, I’m sure you’ve come across bits and pieces that you like but you’re not sure what to do with it.  Or have a tune that’s stuck in your head, but the chords you try to put beneath is don’t just sound right.

Can you put together a radio without knowing what each piece does and how they fit together?  Yes, you can, if you have a kit with good directions.   But knowing the theory behind how they are put together and how they work — you all the sudden gain the ability to troubleshoot, modify, and make your own variation.

You Already Know Some Theory

Without knowing,  just by being a musician and writing songs, you’re already acquiring some knowledge of the system behind the music.  For example, you probably realize most songs have chords changing at a regular pace, like on each down beat.  Or that some songs are based on rhythms of four, while others are in three.  And there’s a chord that gives you a sense of ending or completion to finish off a song.  These are all bits of music theory you’re using without knowing what they are.  Your musical ears tell you that songs need to conform to some guidelines in order to have the effect you want it to have.

You Can Break the Rules by Knowing Them

And for all of you rebels out there, you ought to realize that knowing the rules is a step toward gaining the power to break them — intentionally.  And this is where things can get really interesting.  What will happen if a 12-bar blues had a 13th measure?  Or a turn-around in measure #11?  What will it be if instead of I-IV-V you went to I-ii-V?  And inserted flat II chord right before coming back to I? Now your generic 12-bar blues has gained all kinds of colors that make it sound distinct and interesting.

Knowing the theory gives you a starting point, and from there you can stretch the system here, break out a piece there — and start brewing your own little concoctions.  All the while knowing exactly when things are still working and when they stop doing so.

Or on the flip side, knowing the theory will give you the power to analyze what other people’s songs are doing — hear a cool chord, an interesting riff, or an impressive melody?  Now you can take the song apart, figure out what’s going on, and be able to steal the pieces that sounded appealing to your own writing.  Just like taking apart a radio and stealing cool bits to your own new invention.

No Excuse for Not Knowing

Knowledge is power, there’s no doubt about it.  Don’t engage in some kind of snobbism or Everything That Reminds Me of School Is Uncool attitude.  Unleash your curiosity and learn at every opportunity you get, soak up everything you can.  Because music theory is your tool box if you plan to build songs.  The more tools you acquire and learn how to use, the greater the range of music you can create, and the better your creation will be.

photo credit: martinhoward