Questions about theory

[isaac]

all right, gonna start relearning theory again. took a class on it a year ago and forgot most all of it. was wondering if there were any helpful things to keep in mind/sites to look at when learnin' all this stuff.

how practical is theory and how much does it really help when composing songs? what differences can you make out between someone who writes songs without theory and someone who does?

any help's appreciated. thanks a lot!

[JaDaRu]

good post...i've been wondering the same exact thing for months. I'm going into college towards the end of the month and still haven't decided on a schedule. Some sort of beginning music theory course will be in it if I can get my dad to accept that its a worthy use of his money........

Jason

[fatjack]

i think theory is definitely a plus...

i've been able to advance a lot quicker than most people because of it. i use it as a substitute for having an ear thats not so good. it also makes up for my lack of experience...

and you can usually tell the difference between songs that are based in theory and those that aren't. a song that was written by someone who knows theory will usually have more advanced chords and chord structure. and usually it will have more advanced rhythm as well

if you ever have any questions about theory isaac, just AIM me...

[DreaminBassMunky]

Theory is very important, it can teach you a lot of things you could have figured out on your own, but might have taken you a lot longer. Fatjack is right you can usually tell when a song is written with a prior knowledge of theory, so it can really help in writing really original progressions and stuff.

[isaac]

thanks so much for answering the questions, guys. i appreciate it, and i also appreciate the offer on messaging you, Josh. i'll make good use of it whenever i have any questions, and maybe just to talk, but uh, hopefully i won't become a nuisance.

thanks again, and now to get to work.

[fatjack]

thanks so much for answering the questions, guys. i appreciate it, and i also appreciate the offer on messaging you, Josh. i'll make good use of it whenever i have any questions, and maybe just to talk, but uh, hopefully i won't become a nuisance.

thanks again, and now to get to work.

don't worry about becoming a nuisance... you'll probably have to worry more about me doing that, and i just enjoy chattin to folks...