Understanding Music Theory
by Matthew Brown
This article is not intended to explain music theory to you; rather,
it is intended to help you understand what music theory is and what it can
help you do. Many musicians beginning to study written music have an
unclear understanding of how music and music notation relate to music
theory, and so they view theory as merely a set of unpleasant and
unnecessary rules and restrictions.
Well, it is and it isn't. First, what can music theory do? Within the
confines of style (classical, Baroque, etc.) music theory tells the musician
what is and what is not allowed, like a dictionary that tries to regulate
the use of language, but it can be a tool to help any musician. Any style
- rock, funk, jazz, etc. - is subject to restrictions about what fits the
genre. Theory can help musicians understand what fits in and what doesn't,
as well as what is bending the genre. It is not simply a set of rules
telling you what is "correct" and isn't.
What music theory is turns out to be more complicated. Music theory at its
best helps to explain the interrelationships of melody, harmony and rhythm -
the basic elements of music - and how they work together to create different
musical styles. The term music theory is misleading, though, for in the
musical world (unlike the scientific one), theory follows practice rather
than the other way around. What is not allowed in one genre is often
tolerated and even encouraged in another. Telling a jazz or rock musician
to avoid parallel fifths in chord progressions is futile and pointless, just
as telling a Baroque improviser to avoid them is simply following the best
historical practice.
In fact, one difficulty many have when learning music theory is that so
often it is taught from this standpoint of music history, instead of as an
aid to the practicing contemporary musician. Thus the restrictions: if you
intend writing a three-part invention in High Baroque style, you'll have to
follow the rules for that style. Because it so rarely serves their goals,
many contemporary musicians are understandably impatient with this approach.
If you are one of these musicians, take heart! Many fine books have been
published describing music theory as it applies to contemporary styles: rock
and jazz, foremost. And the different, related styles like hip-hop, reggae,
etc., essentially follow they a common set of conventions and rules. Also,
if you are learning music theory as it applies to classical music
(traditional theory), then you will find that the language of traditional
theory translates very easily into any genre. Even if the rules of practice
change, the musical structures underlying them don't: the first inversion of
the tonic triad functions pretty much the same way most of the time (pace
Stravinsky). Or as some longhaired musician once said, "The song remains the
same."
So use theory as an aid to understanding musical structures - chords,
rhythms, melodic motifs - but don't let it rule your musical life. Above
all, don't let yourself be misled by the do's and don'ts of the more
traditionally minded theory teachers and texts. Just as spoken and written
language change, so does musical language; music theory exists to describe
how music works, not to restrict your creativity.
