Faking it doesn’t work anymore. Plus it robs you of beauty.
Musicians that fake it are only hurting themselves. They are missing out on experiencing beauty in a chaotic world. It’s like walking through a park filled with flowers while wearing a blindfold.
The beauty of music surrounds us in everyday life. We just need to open our eyes and ears in order to fully experience it. That is exactly what music theory helps us do.
You can’t build your dream house until you pour the foundation first.
Why Music Theory is Important
Learning music theory helps you understand how music works. You’ll also be able to play your favorite songs like a pro! Music theory teaches you about scales, chords, intervals, key signatures, modes and more. These concepts help musicians write original pieces, play an instrument, read sheet music, and create arrangements.
Music theory is an essential tool for anyone who wants to learn about music. If you want to become a better musician, you must study music theory. If you want to write songs or compose music, you must understand music theory. And if you want to perform in front of others or teach someone else, you absolutely must master music theory.
What are the Benefits of Learning Music Theory?
There are many benefits to learning music theory. Here is what you can expect to gain while studying how music works.
1. It promotes creativity.
Music theory is not about restricting you from creating anything you want to create. It’s just another tool to help you understand what you’re doing. Identifying patterns and relationships within your own compositions makes writing music easier and faster. It also provides a framework for analyzing other composers’ works and comparing them to your own.
In reality, most people use music theory to make decisions about how to write songs. And while it’s true that every songwriter needs to know something about music theory, the way you use it doesn’t necessarily limit your musical freedom.
2. It broadens your knowledge.
Music theory is an essential tool for musicians of all levels. Studying music theory will allow you to understand music beyond what you hear in everyday life. You may not realize how many types of music are out there.
Wikipedia gives one definition of music theory as the study of rudiments. These are the fundamental elements of music. This is a good area to begin, but there is much more to music than just the rudiments.
Some focus on harmony, others on rhythm, and still others on melody. There are also genres like jazz, classical, rock, country, pop, opera, etc., each with its own specific style. Experiencing a wide variety of music helps you know more about what you like and would like to explore more.
3. It gives you a deeper appreciation.
Music theory helps you understand why certain songs sound the way they do, and it gives you a deeper appreciation for the art form. When you start understanding how music works, you begin to appreciate the craftsmanship involved in composing and performing music.
4. It helps you enjoy music even more.
Music is one of those things that brings people together. Whether you are listening to it alone, sharing it with friends, or playing it yourself, music touches our hearts and souls.
But what makes music beautiful isn’t just about how well it sounds; it’s about how much meaning it carries within itself. Music theory helps you understand why certain pieces sound good, while others don’t. And understanding music theory will help you enjoy music even more.
5. It improves your skills.
Studying music theory allows you to practice and improve your skills. This means you can play your favorite song at a higher level than before. You can also analyze your own compositions and make changes to improve them.
6. It helps you sight-read.
The better you can sight-read, the less you have to practice. Sight-reading is the ability to play a piece without having to look at the notes. Once you’ve learned music theory, you’ll be able to recognize chord progressions and melodies much quicker.
Music theory helps us recognize chords and intervals, allowing us to better predict how a piece will play out. This allows us to quickly learn a song without having to memorize it completely by ear first.
7. It helps you improvise.
Improvisation is when you use your imagination to come up with new ideas. Improvising requires you to think outside the box and try something different. Once a foundation is set by learning music theory, you are ready to build upon it by pioneering new ways of performing music.
8. It helps you transcribe music.
Transcribing music is the process of writing down music from a recording. It is also just rewriting a piece for other instruments. A common example is a film score written originally for a symphony orchestra that is rewritten for piano. This is how piano scores are produced.
Transcription is also used for preparing sheet music so that you may read it and play along to the original recording.
9. It helps you understand notation.
Notation is the language of music. Without knowing this language, you cannot fully understand music. Notation is made up of symbols that represent pitches, chords, rests, meter, dynamics, articulation, time signatures, clefs, accidentals, tempo, key, instrumentation, and more. In short, the written language of music (notation) is learned through music theory.
10. It helps you write music.
Music theory helps you understand what makes music sound like music. It teaches you how notes relate to each other and how chords form melodies. Music theory also teaches you about harmony and rhythm. You will learn how to recognize patterns and relationships between musical components. Once you’ve learned music theory, you’ll be able to compose original songs.
11. It helps you teach music.
If you’re interested in becoming a teacher or tutor, you need to understand how music works. Music Theory gives you the tools to create lessons and assignments that engage your students while helping them to understand music better.
12. It increases your confidence.
Music is an art form that requires knowledge about many aspects of life. When you understand all the elements of music, you gain confidence as an artist. You also become more knowledgeable and skilled. This leads to increased self-confidence.
13. It opens doors.
Studying music theory helps you get more jobs in music or create your own. Many people are hired on the spot because of their understanding of music theory. If you want to work for yourself, this skill set opens you to more entrepreneurial endeavors that can lead to an even bigger income.
14. It helps you connect.
Music connects everyone to everything around them. Music theory teaches you about the great composers and musicians of all time. You’ll understand why they made the choices they did, and how those choices affect your enjoyment of today’s music.
15. It’s fun.
Music theory is fun, but not necessary if you just want to play your favorite songs. However, if you want to understand why certain notes sound good together, then you might enjoy getting a deeper appreciation for music.
16. It helps you make sense out of chaos.
Music theory brings order to chaos. It helps us organize sounds into pleasing combinations by following certain rules and systems.
17. It helps you find beauty.
When we listen to music, we often hear things that we don’t notice when listening to our everyday environment. Music theory allows you to see these hidden details that most people miss.
The Importance of Music Theory Summary
Music theory is important because it opens our senses to the magical wonders of music. It helps us experience music in new ways that not only fosters a deeper understanding and appreciation, but opens us up to more creativity. It is the secret ingredient used by the greatest musicians and composers of all time.
What do you think? Why is music theory important to you? Please share in the comments.
More About Music Theory
✅ Why is Music Theory So Hard?
✅ How Long Does it Take to Learn Music Theory?
