Basic Music Theory

Music theory is, simply put, “how music works.” If you want to make music – whether that means playing an instrument or writing your songs – then it’s very important you learn the absolute basics about how music works. You need to know what notes/scales/chords are and what notes go together, what rhythm means, etc. If you don’t know what the building blocks of music are, it makes it much more difficult to create or understand. You don’t need an in-depth, master’s level education in theory, but you do need to know the basics.

Technically, yes – the basics of music theory applies to whatever instrument you’re playing. You use the same notes and scales regardless of the instrument. However, different styles of music may have different theory rules. For example, western music theory differs in certain ways from “eastern” music theory. But many of the concepts, even then, will overlap various styles of music around the world.

Both – the fundamentals you need to learn like notes, chords, scales, intervals, rhythm/time, etc. are fairly straight forward to wrap your head around. However, there are more intermediate and advanced concepts that can seem cumbersome at first, especially if you approach it from an “academic” style. But if you really strip it down, the concepts become manageable. And you don’t need to learn the most advanced and obscure music theory in order to make amazing music – but you do need to know the fundamentals.

Absolutely – music theory is an essential part of understanding how music works. So if you’re planning on producing music or writing songs, you need to know what the building blocks are and how you can use them to craft your music. For songwriters music theory helps you understand what melodies and harmonies to write on top of the music, and when you’re producing theory will help you know what bassline works best with a particular chord progression or melody you created. Basic music theory is essential knowledge.

Technically, yes. Music theory is basically just math. But that doesn’t mean you need to be a wizard calculator in order to understand it. Really, basic music theory can be boiled down to recognizing different patterns – patterns of notes, patterns of chords, etc. Although the underlying mechanics of music theory are mathematical, you don’t need to do any math to learn how to make great music.

It’s important to learn the absolute basics and some of the more intermediate stuff involved with music theory. If you learn all about notes, intervals, scales, chords, chord progressions and diatonic harmony, rhythm and how to read music you’ll be in a great place to understanding how music works. Basically, just read the guides on this page and you’ll have a crash course in the fundamentals that are essential to your music making ability.

Absolutely NOT! Knowing music theory will not ruin your creativity, it will actually help expand your creativity. Think about it like this – if you want to cook a great meal, wouldn’t it be good to know what different foods and spices taste like before you just start throwing things together? Knowing what everything tastes like before you cook your meal doesn’t box you in, it actually lets you be more creative in how you combine the foods and spices you’re going to use. The same goes for music – knowing how the building blocks work together allows you to get more creative in how you use them. Learn the rules, so you can use them and break them to create something uniquely spectacular.