great post...afreshcupofjoe wrote:"Music theory" and "music reading" skills have very little to do with each other. I don't feel that being able to read music or not in this day and age will make much of a difference. For a professional musician who does gigs in jazz groups, orchestras, pit bands, or for weddings or events it is very important. You have to be able to learn and interpret lots of music quickly and on the spot. But for the average producer or musician making music at home, or playing in a rock band with friends it is not important. Most of the guys who got famous doing this stuff don't know how to read music either. Notation is just a way of communicating with other musicians, and since technology has created many other ways of doing that, as well making it easier for solo musicians to do most of the work themselves, notation is becoming less and less relevant.
Music theory on the other hand is a whole different story. I am of the opinion that the importance and relevance of music theory is usually very personal thing. I couldn't live without it. I'm a very technically minded person and it's just how my head works. I know a lot of people that would probably be much better musicians if they would just learn some theory. It also, like notation, helps you to be able to communicate with other musicians easily. It's nice to be able to tell your bandmates that you are playing a A7 chord with a 3-4 suspension than try to spell out all of the notes, or even worse, show them the frets or keys. Even better yet, given that chord you will already know how different combinations of notes will sound over it, and you can easily pick out the notes you will use to construct a melody that is appropriate for the genre or mood you are trying to create. Some people think that learning music theory will make them think too much inside the box, but this is complete nonsense. If you actually follow theory past the basics (which CAN seem rather limiting) it will open up many doors and make you think about and understand music in ways you never would have without it.
However, there are some great musicians who just never really get theory. It just isn't how their head works, and for them it probably will never really matter. So I guess it's a personal thing.
For most genres of music I'd say that knowing music theory is great, but it isn't entirely necessary. Film may be an exception though. Because you have to know how to write for different moods and generate certain emotional responses or suspense in certain parts of the film, it seems like it would be very important to know your theory. This is exactly what theory is good at doing: it helps you create exactly what you want when you want it.
i know a bit of theory and i can pick out notes one at a time, but i never do anyway, just by ear...i wish i learned that shit, and now i know enough to know how much i'm missing....
what a man...
).
