Theory & performance connections

Question

How does studying music theory support my music instrument performance skills?

Answer 1

Every track to professional music performance will include studying music theory, and for good reason. Knowledge of music theory will increase your ability to make critical musical choices that will elevate your playing to the next level. Perhaps the most obvious example of this is improvisation, but music theory knowledge can be applied to all manners of instrumental performance.

Think about how knowledge about a piece of music has enhanced your performance of that work. It's the same for Music Theory - if you know how that piece was constructed on a musical level, you will perform that piece better. Let's say you're playing an orchestra piece. You can listen to the other parts around you, but if you know what role the other parts are playing in the harmony, it allows you to make informed choices about balance, dynamic, and melodic expression. Another example is musical form - if you're preparing a Sonata for performance, being able to study the score and identify the Exposition, Development, and Recapitulation is critical for performing that work at an advanced level.

Answer 2

I come from this as primarily a composer, so it would be great if someone more performance-oriented answered, but I'll give my thoughts. For improvisation, it can help so much, so I'm going to talk about for non-improvisation first and then move on to improvisation later.

One way theory helps me is learning new pieces faster. I'm a pianist, and because I can recognize why a chord progresses naturally to the next, it's easier for me to remember that section conceptually and then execute it. I also know natural voice leadings between chords, so I can predict how the piece will continue before I read it, again speeding up the learning process.

Theory dramatically sped up my ear-training. Theory is primarily one way to categorize music. It gives you a conceptual framework to understand common patterns in a lot of the music we love. I can hear details a lot easier now, so playing a piece by ear has become much easier.

You can see how these skills transfer to improvisation. I can group music conceptually, and I can try out ideas when improvising. I can also hear better what fellow performers are doing and then join in with my own reply. But even if you're not an improvisist, theory can help you appreciate the music you love even more because you can start developing your own ideas on what makes it work so well and touch you emotionally.