Music theory is the study of why chords sound the way they do and how to build them, what makes melody so melodic, why different modes give different feelings, and much more. Now music theory for pianists has always been an integral part of the study of the instrument. However, today's fast paced world with its pop music, instant gratification, and learning everything (not just piano and not just music) "by ear" has made many piano students and even some instructors question whether there is really any value in music theory.
Except for people that are intellectuals, most people believe music theory is boring and needlessly complicated and music is supposed to be fun, not a mathematical exercise; and it's hard enough training the muscles of the hand and learning to sight-read without bothering with all that theory. Music theory helps tremendously with training your ear and gives you very enhanced improvisational and compositional powers and learning chords and how to play them is a very valuable tool for the pianist.
Unless you have perfect pitch, you need theory to truly gain a sharp ear. And, even if you are one of the rare ones who has perfect pitch, you still need theory in order to enhance your relative pitch and your sense of melodic and harmonic structure so you can compose, improvise, and perform with depth and dexterity. Just because you can hear a note and name it doesn't mean you understand it sufficiently, just like being able to read notes and play them back doesn't automatically give you great dexterity or allow you to write a great symphony.
Imagine listening to someone reading out loud using no expression or emotion, with a lot of hesitation. Still, they are able to read and speak the words. The problem is that they do not sound good because there is no understanding of the words they are articulating.
Even if they know the meanings of all or most of the words, the true meaning and all of the mental and emotional subtleties contained in the content are going over their head. They would do so much better if they actually knew what they were reading about. It's the same with a musician.
A music student with perfect pitch who can perform with uncanny accuracy and beauty still needs to acquire the knowledge neccessary to understand music theory. Most colleges require music students to learn music theory as a part of their program of study. And most music students know that it is necessary to study music theory to understand how music works. - 16747
Except for people that are intellectuals, most people believe music theory is boring and needlessly complicated and music is supposed to be fun, not a mathematical exercise; and it's hard enough training the muscles of the hand and learning to sight-read without bothering with all that theory. Music theory helps tremendously with training your ear and gives you very enhanced improvisational and compositional powers and learning chords and how to play them is a very valuable tool for the pianist.
Unless you have perfect pitch, you need theory to truly gain a sharp ear. And, even if you are one of the rare ones who has perfect pitch, you still need theory in order to enhance your relative pitch and your sense of melodic and harmonic structure so you can compose, improvise, and perform with depth and dexterity. Just because you can hear a note and name it doesn't mean you understand it sufficiently, just like being able to read notes and play them back doesn't automatically give you great dexterity or allow you to write a great symphony.
Imagine listening to someone reading out loud using no expression or emotion, with a lot of hesitation. Still, they are able to read and speak the words. The problem is that they do not sound good because there is no understanding of the words they are articulating.
Even if they know the meanings of all or most of the words, the true meaning and all of the mental and emotional subtleties contained in the content are going over their head. They would do so much better if they actually knew what they were reading about. It's the same with a musician.
A music student with perfect pitch who can perform with uncanny accuracy and beauty still needs to acquire the knowledge neccessary to understand music theory. Most colleges require music students to learn music theory as a part of their program of study. And most music students know that it is necessary to study music theory to understand how music works. - 16747
About the Author:
Georgia Reader writes for PlayPianoGuide.com, which is a website that reviews the latest and most successful piano courses currently online. Music theory is mandatory for piano students to learn as well as learning the notes and how to play the instrument.
