Re: developing musicians and a musical culture

[ernesto schnack <schnack@mailbolt.com>]

On Tue, 15 Jul 2003 17:37:06 -0400, Will Brake <wbrake@comcast.net> wrote:
> How can you break the rules if you don't know them?

I think this is one of the problems, that ppl think of theory as "rules".  
There aren't any rules so you can't break them. Theory is just for naming 
and studying what has been done.  So if you come up with some really weird 
finger-twisting chord (i.e. "breaking the rules") you can give it a name.  
That's it.

I think many people that haven't studied the fundamentals are under the 
impression that when you study music you're learning some magical formula 
to make music, and every time you make music you just do what they taught 
you in  class.  That is not the case at all.  When you write you still use 
your ear...theory, if anything, just makes the whole process a lot easier. 
Some ppl unfortunatley do get way too wrapped up in theory, but that is 
their problem, not theory's.

Of course one can still make great music without knowing a note you're 
playing, but if they think they're somehow coming up with some new musical 
language by "not knowing the rules" they are, more likely than not, 
mistaken.

I'm reminded of a friend that only knows the basic chords for guitar and 
he 
is practically scared of trying to play anything beyond that.  It has more 
to do with the person, not how much you've learned/not learned.

-- 
ernesto schnack
http://www.stringboy.net