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The funny thing about music theory is that the best musicians/composers always seem to break the rules. I've had some serious classes when I was younger and had
by CodeMage 17y ago
The funny thing about music theory is that the best musicians/composers always seem to break the rules. I've had some serious classes when I was younger and had more time, because I was genuinely interested. A lot of definitions were vague and/or rather complicated and were invariably followed (at some point) by a statement along the lines of "except that Mozart didn't really do it that way".
Not that I'm trying to say that analyzing music is useless -- far from it, it's always good to analyze and recognize patterns -- but it does put things in their perspective.
- cynicalkane 17y agoA lot of people teach music theory as a kind of musical analysis. This is wrong, both as a practical matter and a historical one--for instance, harmonic theory was first exposited by Hugo Riemann well after the classical period was over, and voice-leading by Fux long after the death of Palestrina, the greatest of the 'voice-leaders'. Analyzing music makes about as much sense as analyzing food. You can't describe musical deliciousness, you just taste it, and certain talented people can make new kinds, so long as they are well versed in the ingredients. That's what music theory is--being able to think about ingredients, so you can create and/or execute musical recipes. I hope that analogy wasn't too silly.
- Goladus 17y agoThe analogy isn't silly, it's very apt and I've used it before. The problem is that there's nothing wrong with associating analysis with music theory. Music theory is not merely analysis, but it's still an important component just as being able to identify the different spices in a dish is an important component of being a cook.