How to Make Music Theory Work For You.

Do you need to learn music theory if you want to be a composer?

Yes, and no! Let me explain.

There have been countless composers/songwriters who never learned theory, or even how to read sheet music! Did that stop them from writing great music? Absolutely not! If anything, it allowed them to write songs that only they could write using their own innate talents and creativity, unadulterated by what some consider to be the, “rules,” of music.

That’s a pretty condemning way to think of music-theory, so let’s give proper credit where it’s due! Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, and even 20th-century composers like Shostakovich and Stravinsky, all studied theory as if their lives depended on it. It was through these studies that they were able to enhance their own music far-beyond what it could’ve been otherwise.

Did you catch that little caveat? They didn’t use theory to ‘write’ their music; they used it to enhance it!

I contend: this is the way we should be approaching music theory as composers in the 21st century! Write the music that comes to you naturally, but take the time to analyze it afterwards so you can fully understand what’s going on, and see what you can use to potentially improve it! Further: analyze works from your favorite artists and use what you find (tastefully) in your own music!

One of my favorite musicians, Cliff Burton, did this all the time during his tenure with Metallica! 

((One of the greatest bass players to ever live))

He was the only metal musician in the 80s to have a formal education in music; and used his knowledge of harmony, melody, and other such concepts, to enhance Metallica’s already-awesome sound! Did they end up sounding like classical composers because of this? Not at all!

Their most-iconic track, “Master of Puppets,” features chromatic melodies, time-signature and tempo changes, and even techniques like whole-step modulation! Did all these concepts stop it from becoming the quintessential thrash-metal piece it is today? Absolutely not! They skyrocketed it to a whole new level of songwriting!

Theory can be a very-useful thing to us if we use it to supplement what’s already there–our own unique sound. Perhaps you’ll find that seventh-chords are what you need to get that sound you’re looking for! Or maybe it’s a certain kind of key-change! Whatever it may be, the study and practice of music theory will help you out immensely in making it work!

Just make sure to study what interests you, and not solely what you “need,” to.

P.S. Of course, there are some concepts that require more knowledge of the fundamentals (scales, chords, etc.,) than others. So, you will have to learn the basics pretty-much no matter what. This idea isn’t meant to absolve you from your fair-share of study; only to make it as efficient as possible to learn what will help you the most!