Why is Theory important to new musicians?

Question

Theory has helped people pick up on small details. Sometimes, looking at what a composer has written and why a composer wrote it can sketch out the idea of how to perform a piece. Theory is more than just solfege, and sight singing; it is chord structure, reasons of why a note belongs in its place, and respecting small details like dynamics, time signature, and so on.

Answer 1

It's important so you know what the heck you're doing. Music, like language, has grammar, vocabulary and a writing system. Learning music theory not only helps you to understand and decipher that system, it helps you to reverse engineer it and see patterns that enhance your ability to learn further. Without learning theory, you'd be doing a lot of groping around. Similarly with language - You could learn a foreign language by immersion, and you would certainly learn something and perhaps even get fluency in that language - however the learning process would involve a lot of guessing and flailing about... and possibly some embarrassing moments. We all know that no musician likes to be embarrassed, well some do I guess.

Answer 2

Music theory like the engine of the car. Without the engine you can enjoy a couple of the cars features but it cannot move. This is true in learning music. It is absolutely wonderful to learn how to play one song but without learning why sounds interact with each other they way they do one cannot effectively learn music. Say one person took the same amount of time to learn chord progressions as they did to learn a song. That person will have a better understanding not only on how to play that song but also how those chords interact with each other, allowing them to quickly apply that to other songs. By understanding how the engine works, you can drive the car wherever you want!

Answer 3

Music theory, although not required, is incredibly helpful when making music. Theory as we know it was simply an analysis of earlier composers' works. We were able to derive certain rules and guidelines from this! On the more general side, music theory helps musicians understand the relationship between pitches as well as gives them a foundation for harmonic progression. Knowing the standard chord progressions used in the past and present only benefits us!

Answer 4

At the beginning, Music Theory is what you need to know so that you can read the music: it is the only way to become truly independent and to be able to pick up music that is not necessarily recorded elsewhere. Later on, Music Theory becomes what you need to know in order to really understand the music, to be able to pick up patterns and details to learn the music quickly and efficiently and make the music your own.

Answer 5

Music theory is essential for all musicians. From my experience - as a Guitarist/Pianist - music theory helps me see the relationship between notes in a clearer and more efficient view. So rather than just being a musician reliant on sight reading or experience, you can actually produce something - a chord/solo - that is personal to you.

And with some of my hip hop production experience, music theory as well as ear training has allowed me to efficiently create a beat that is coherent. Rather than just relying on "what sounds good" or just creating a loop, I can take a section of a song that I sample, chop it into small audio files, and rearrange it to create a chord progression.