Mari Belajar Teori

Note: Actually aku plan nak post ni dulu before aku discuss pasal key. I wrote this at work but forgot to bring it home during the weekend.

Aku rasa ramai antara kita yang tak tau langsung pasal teori muzik. Memang common orang main gitar tapi tak tau teori. Maybe because a lot of people just want to learn how to play a song, not the things that make the song work.

Some people think that learning theory hurts their creativity. Aku ingat lagi a few years back aku baca pasal guitarist in ROTTW, nama dia Aru kot, from the band Koffin Cancer. Dia kate dia tak tau langsung pasal theory, because dia tanak terikat dengan theory in his work. He’s most likely a better guitarist than I am, but I think he’s wrong.

Learning theory doesn’t hurt your creativity, unless you use it incorrectly. Music theory is pretty much the study of what normally works, ape yang manusia usually suke dengar. It’s not intended to set the limit of what you should and shouldn’t do in your composition. If you want to solo in F# Major scale when the key of your chords is in C Major, do it. It’s your composition, it’s your right to do whatever you want to do. It may not sound good, but it’s your call. Your notes will sound out of place, but if that’s what you intend, who’s to say you’re wrong? But music theory would tell you that soloing in C major scale over C major key would make your solo feel like it belongs to the key, that it’s not out of place.

There are many legendary guitarists and other musicians that don’t know jack about theory. Hendrix for example. Would it make him less great if he knew theory? I doubt it, unless he devoted all his time learning theory instead of developing his creativity. And you can be a wonderful singer without knowing how to read music. But would it make you less of a singer if you know? No.

Point aku ialah jangan takut dengan theory. It’s knowledge, not law. Knowing more doesn’t hurt. It won’t automatically make you a great guitarist, but it will make you’re a more complete musician. Take your time learning it. I’ve been learning it for many years and I’m still learning it. I’ll do what I can to share what I know, and maybe learn from you too in the process.