Friday 25 February 2011

Writing a song with no knowledge of musical theory

Image by Girl flyer

I'd bookmark the Songwriting Lab blog if I was you.

You can't have too much information to improve your songwriting - and your songs are where it all starts.

It's a great site with loads of great tips.

I liked this one as I've had exactly the experience of people thinking that they must somehow follow an 'approved' musical theory. You don't!

Is it possible to create attractive, appealing song melodies without having a strong background in music theory? I believe it is, and I say that as a person who has had a career-long interest in teaching music theory.

Every so often, someone will write me with a question that goes something like, “Can I have this chord follow that chord?” or “Am I allowed to [insert musical idea here].” In other words, they want to know if music theory “permits” their musical brainwave to exist. Are they violating the rules of music theory by going ahead with their idea?

My answer is always, in the nicest possible way, “Who cares?”

Read the whole post here.

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