Music Theory: It’s a Language thing

A lot of people get bent out of shape about music theory and the need to have a certain amount of knowledge before you jump into the world of music.  Here’s one of those thinkers helping us re-think that position:

These parallels between music theory and theology are observations that I really wish were mine, but they’re not. They are from a former podcast guest and all around smarty pants Jayson D. Bradly.

I love music theory. I’m a big fan of learning the rules before you break the rules. And I’ve spent enough time in the classical world to see music theory put on a pedestal. Yet, I’ve seen the exceptions that blow this paradigm out of the water, and similarly humbled me.

I remember being in the studio with one of my favorite drummers I’ve ever played with. He might be the closest thing to Jeff Porcaro (of Toto) that I’ll ever play with. I was in the studio to play keys not produce, but when he kept missing this one section I offered up, “it’s just a 2/4 bar before going back to 4/4”. He didn’t know what I was talking about. He said, “just play it for me”. So I did, and he got it. Turns out he had none of the time signature vocabulary, none of the theory, but remains at the top of my list of musicians with a huge capacity to get ‘er done.

Another guy, a gifted songwriter, was showing me the keyboard part he wanted me to play to this song he wrote, and I was trying to write something down to remember it, and I literally could not figure out what the chords were for what he was doing – I had to default to notation. Once again, theory wasn’t getting it done, musicianship was.

I think of the difference between a theologian who studies at a seminary and preaches each week, versus one who chooses the ascetic life of a monk in a monastery. Who is the better Christian? Similarly, one who knows all the theory versus one who can play what serves the song in the moment – who is the better musician?

May we not put ourselves on so high of a pedestal with our head knowledge, that we get humbled by those walking the walk.

At Building Your Band Worship Camps, we intentionally teach “Language of Music” courses to all attendees, because much like a child, music is first caught before it is taught.  Childewn don’t go to class at three before they can learn to say Mama or “pass the rice.”  They simply live the language and it becomes a part of them.  Later in life, they may learn to read and still later learn to write – but they start out communicating from very early in life.

Our approach to music is the same: give students basic musical tools so they can begin “communicating” . . . then once they start playing and singing, they may move onto deeper understandings that increase musicianship technically.