I have not finished a whole song this year 2010. (Page 2 of 3)

I find it helpful to think like this: Music theory, like mathematics, is a human invention to enable us to analyse and communicate about music, amongst other things.

Let me give a (pretty OK-ish) comparison: You know how when a footballer kicks a ball in the most amazing curve and lands the ball just where he wants it? That footballer doesn't necessarily have any knowledge on projectiles and mechanics; rather it's all done by feel. And a mathematician could analyse that same kick with conventional physics and maths too. Ultimately, the "art" of the kick is what affects the reality, and the footballer - even if he's a great one - needs no understanding of the theory of projectiles.

Music and theory are somewhat similar to this. One needs no theory training to tell when something sounds good, or even to create great music, but knowledge of the theory can bring all sorts of new ways of looking at and communicating about music. Goes back to what I said earlier about theory being a "tool" for us to help us in our musical endeavours.

I do, but it's quite a rare skill. I'm blessed with perfect pitch and have been making music since before I understood what music really was, and I am musically trained to a very high level. So I have quite an advantage when it comes to working with musical ideas "in the brain" . A good musician will have to put the hours in just like anyone else who's good at anything. But all these skills can be learned (if you want to).

So did Johnny Marr, and that didn't stop him being perhaps the most influential pop guitarist of the '80s!

I'd like to say I don't have that problem , but I think it's something that humans in all walks of life will have to deal with, at least for the foreseeable!

Hope this is useful, and maybe reassuring, to you.

Last edited by InactiveX (Oct 25, 2010 8:27 am)

Its called spam son.

This one is very important. So much distraction.

oh i using hardware. that's an awesome tune.

Yes, I think most beautiful works of art come from a combination of experience and intuition, and not so often deliberate explorations of technical theory.

I doubt anyone does (although I recommend trying!). You will always build up a set of concepts, ideas and patterns from just making music (you probably do it intuitively and subconsciously) that you will come back to when you're composing the next time. If you are a human, you will analyze and theorize about most everything you do whether you want to or not.

Take some time to realize that nothing is perfect. What makes a song perfect for you? Also keep in mind that imperfections can highlight beauty.

EDIT: I think we need to define what "purely from ear" means. Literally speaking, it makes no sense of course, but I think that InactiveX and I are a few steps apart in our definitions. What I meant to say is that there's always some knowledge you build upon when creating music (or kicking balls), whether you read it in some book, heard it, found out by practice or were inspired by something else. I don't really believe in ultimate originality, and there's no such thing as making something up out of the blue, which I'm sure InactiveX will agree with. Just so that's clear

I guess that InactiveX interpreted the question more like "how many of you guys create music purely by intuition?" while my own interpretation was really too literal to be of any use at all.

Last edited by boomlinde (Oct 26, 2010 12:35 pm)

agreed with boomlinde, i can name very very few musicians in school for music theory right now who actually make good music on their own. years of theory definitely changes the way you think, i'm guilty of this as well a little bit, but whenever i hear someone with theory knowledge solo, they always go for modulations and key changes and just generally think of what to play in the most technical way possible to show off 'how good they are'
it's so cold and robotic whateva, rant over

it depends on how hard on yourself you want to be when making music.  An idea for a song can help you get started, but i dont think it helps you finish a song, in some cases no matter what, an idea can make you dislike the end product based off of how far you deviated from the original thought process.

No, do both.