Question:

Should I take Music Theory? A question for musicans.

by Guest34365  |  earlier

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I'm in college and I love music. I love it so much that I'm considering choosing music theory 1 as my elective next semester. Do you think it would really help me with my music? Do you think it would help me to play better? I don't think it would. I already know many of the basics: I can play many of bach's preludes on piano. So how would memorizing a bunch of chords and key signatures help me? This is a serious question so please be honest. There are electives I'd like to take. Also, please tell me if you're a musician and if you've taken music theory. Let me know if you feel it helped you.

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  1. I think you should take it just for the credits and knowledge

    because as they say, history repeats itself

    so you can't know where you're going til you know where you've been right?

    Learning key signitures may be helpful

    And I took a brief class of music theory, it was ok, but i don't think it was really the real thing, but it can't hurt to take it right?

    You can still take the other electives too

    Or take the ones you really want to take first and then take Music Theory


  2. YES! YES! YES! Take the class, it will provide invaluable insight and understanding of music and how it works. Music theory is not about memorizing a bunch of of chords and signatures, it's about the heart and soul of why music works and why a sound works or doesn't work.

    I began playing Violin at age 9, Saxophone at 10, and guitar at 13.  I performed and played in bands, I taught...You could say I was a well rounded and knowledgeable musician.

    At 22 I took a music theory class and it was an amazing, mind expanding class for me. All of the sudden I UNDERSTOOD why the key of G used a C & D chord, what the minor, the diminished, the suspended and the 7th was and what other chords/notes would work. My intuition and understanding improved by leaps and bounds. I wished that music theory had been taught to second and third year beginners because it would have helped so much in making sense of music.

    Because of the class my song writing improved, my ability to play by ear improved, my ability to explain and understand the whats and whys of music improved.  IMHO - Take the class, you won't regret it.  

  3. Taking music theory is one of the best choices I've ever made. Tomorrow i'm taking my advanced rudiments exam, and I'm at grade 9 level piano.

    Theory has improved my knowledge of styles of music, my analysis and thoughts about a piece, as well as my performance skill. It helps me to memorize music faster, and you don't have to just start at preliminary - you could begin at intermediate or advanced level. Also, if you enjoy writing music you should take the gr.3 harmony courses, as they educate you about chord progressions and rules of composition!

    Theory was a big plus in my life, and I've taken piano for 8 years - you should try it!

  4. I spoke with a friend of mine who recently graduated from college and earned his degree in music education. He told me that he had friends in most of his classes that weren't considering a major anywhere near music (computer science). That same friend took so many Theory classes that he was a short few classes away from minoring in music. Yes, take it. It's a great skill to have.

  5. Honestly, no. If you just want to play music and enjoy it, you probably know enough theory already. Music theory in college is really a sequence of about 4 to 5 course which will really change the way you think and approach music, and if you only want to talk one of those courses, it may seem overly difficult with very little pay off. You'd probably get a lot more out of taking a music history class, a composition class, or private lessons on a new instrument.  

  6. Well it depends on what kind of music theory.  There's like music history and technical theory.  Both kinds help you understand a piece of music at a deeper level and recognize patterns within it. If you're seriously into music, I'd recommend taking it cause it can be pretty useful and even interesting (and its not *that* hard) so it could help your grades. You don't have to take it now if you don't want though, you have all of college to take it :P

  7. If you love music, you wouldn't question about taking a class on a subject such as theory.

    But take it; take it; take it!!! I'm going to take it sometime during my college years as well. I gotta work up to it though since there are pre-requisites. But I am a musician. I'm 100% positive that if I asked my guitar teacher if I should take a music theory class (in addition to him teaching me things as well), he'd be strongly for it.

    What music theory does is it gives you a MUCH better understanding of how music works so you can eventually compose your own pieces. Basically every musician SHOULD know music theory. It's a much needed skill to have and since it gets difficult as you go on studying, if you can grasp everything and fully understand it all, you'll be a really good musician in the future.

  8. I took AP Music Theory last year, and it was hard but well worth my time. I would go for it, if I were you.

  9. Yes take it. You will be able to talk the talk with other people in music.

    Glory Rose

    http://www.chelseawebworks.com  

  10. Music theory is invaluable. It will help you with songwriting and it will help you see the underlying patterns in pieces you're playing which will help you learn them faster.

  11. I would definitely suggest taking music theory, but only if you plan on playing for a long long time!  Seeings how you play already, it will help you in time signatures, which is very beneficial if you ever want to write music and do it in "odd meters."  Such as 9/8, 11/8...etc.   Another thing theory helped me with is the development of my ability to play by ear.  Once you start to understand this road map to how music works, its a lot easier to decipher many different genres of music, as you can just about hear the changes and predict whats next. While ive forgot a lot of the technical terminology in music, I know what I studied for 10 years MANY years ago still helps me today in composing and playing.

       Good luck...and I hope you learn to love all styles of music, as its been a very rewarding part of my life.  

  12. Of course you should take it!!  I took music theory in college, and not only did I love the course but I gained insight and understanding as to how music works.  It shows you about harmony, tone, rhythm, and how the different components of music work together.  I'm a guitar player.  But, a mistake that I made when I was first learning was, that I just wanted to play Blues.  There's nothing wrong with the blues... I LOVE blues.  But, I let myself get circumscribed to a single GENRE, or repertoire of songs, instead of mastering theory.  In order to be a full-fledged musician, you have to master theory, and have an "umbrella" knowledge of music that transcends the boundaries of genre.  Definitely take theory, and you'll grow and develop so much as a musician.  Furthermore, if you want to compose you have to understand melody, harmony, the circle of fifths, and how the chords and notes work together.  Of course I had a wonderful professor, too.  

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