How many of you know music theory?

[Geoffrey Taucer]

bullshit. complete bullshit. You learn why things sound the way they do, and the relationship between the notes regardless of your theory knowledge. It's better to learn these things by ear and expand your music knowledge by listening to diverse styles of music and understanding their backround.

To claim that one does not need any knowledge of music theory to be a good composer is ignorant in the extreme.

Now, you don't need to learn music theory in a formal setting to be a good musician; you can teach yourself a lot about chord structure and melodic composition by ear. But you're still learning it.

Some knowledge of basic music theory is absolutely essential. You don't have to know the proper terminology, you don't have to be able to read music, but on some level, you need to understand the concepts.

The classic example is Nobuo Uematsu; he has, so I've heard, no formal training whatsoever. But listen to the Prelude from Final Fantasy. Even those simple arpeggios could not possibly have been written by somebody who doesn't understand basic major and minor chord structure, as well as a few other tricks (such as the added 2nd in the first 6 arpeggios, and the added major 7th in the last 2). Granted, he may not have known the names for those chords, but he sure as hell understood how to use them.

[DrumUltimA]

Music theory is important to know if you taking a class about it. it's also good to know if you're trying to sound smart. It's also good to know if you ever want to explain your music to someone.

[Moseph]

I used to know what a German sixth chord was, but I've forgotten now. All that knowledge was ever good for was to pass tests.

[DrumUltimA]

b6, 1, b3, #4

[Fray]

So basically a dimished chord + a minor 6th?

[DrumUltimA]

actually it's enharmonic with a dominant 7th chord, starting on the flat 6th of the key. it's written that way because the b6 and #4 both act as tendency tones to the dominant

[Hemophiliac]

i actually used a german 6th in a remix to be posted...not that it matters, just thought i'd mention it.

also i've been trying to remember what a phrygian cadence is, anyone help me?

[Kanthos]

IV6 - V, with the root of V approached by a half-step from above

[Kanthos]

Crap, stupid typo. Good catch.

[Israfel]

I go with the idea that theory is an analytic rather than compositional discipline. I don't think there's any reason to not study it, and it's possible, even likely, that studying theory will have an affect (hopefully for the better) on how you compose--but it's important to keep these fields separate. You may get marked down in theory class if you don't resolve that V 4/3 chord a certain way, but when it's just you vs. the blank page, there are no rules.

But again, if composition is a major interest to you, studying theory can be extremely rewarding and beneficial.

[Hemophiliac]

Fixed. I know you indicated that by saying that the root is approached by a half-step, but Phrygian half-cadences are always minor.

The augmented 6th chords have very little application. I was going to say they have no application, but apparently Hemo likes to crush my dreams.

Neapolitan 6ths are awesome though.

ok that's the phrygian cadence, thank you.

and heck i like the sound of the augemented sixth chords thank you very much. they have plenty of application, they work like a subdominant pretty much.

[DrumUltimA]

yeah whattya mean augmented sixth chords have no application they rock