Knowing how music works is like having a trail map for the hike you’re on. Do you need a map in order to have fun hiking? Nope. In fact, it could be more fun to just wander aimlessly, free of plans or structure. Is a map useful if there’s a specific area you want to see or if you get lost? Absolutely.
So maybe the best answer is that you want to have the map in case you need it, but also have the freedom to put it away and just explore. This is exactly how I use theory. It’s not a set of rules. It doesn’t choke creativity. In fact it allows me to reach out further because I’m confident I can find my way back, if that’s even what I want to do.
When you’re just starting out learning music, you’re actually already picking up basic theory. The first part of learning theory is getting to know the essence and qualities of the actual things you’re studying(notes, chords, rhythm). If you’re learning how to cook, you need to know what the spices and ingredients taste like in order to know how and when to use them. I do this with my students all the time, we “taste test” different chord combinations. You might even start picking up patterns from different songs, like noticing certain chords always go together, or melody patterns.
This is where people like Kurt Cobain sort of stopped, and just started doing their own thing. You don’t need training to cook a good meal. You do need experience and a will to learn and make mistakes. Lot’s of great artists don’t know much past this point. Is your goal to make art or learn music though? Maybe a mix of both? Maybe you don’t feel like you understand music well enough to make art yet, or maybe you just want to know how music works, which brings us to…
The next stage of learning music theory. This is the stage where we put names to the faces and learn the relationships between them. We learn mundane things now that we later use to make sense of the mystical. We learn our ABCs, grammar, basic vocabulary so that later on we can read life-changing books. Maybe we might even write our own ideas out later. This is most of what you see if you look up videos about music theory. People talking about the circle of fifths, chord qualities, the order of intervals for a major scale, what a triad is. This will look like greek to you if you skipped stage one, which I’m surprised more people don’t mention.
After that second stage, its really an open-ended journey that depends on your personal tastes and goals. If you’re into jazz, you will study those types of chords and melodies. If you are into classical, you might dig into the beautiful, timeless chord structures of early compositions.
In conclusion, the question of whether you should learn theory or not depends on your own personal goals, which often change as you advance. You automatically get the basics of theory when you learn music, then it’s up to you how far you dig into how music works. Should you learn theory either way? I’d say yes. Is it absolutely necessary for everyone? Other than just getting the basics, maybe not.
J Holguin Music 