What can I learn by studying music theory?

Question:Would it really help me? I hear music in my head all the time and I'm going to learn the keyboard to try and bring them to life, that way I can use all the sounds of different instruments through one. I can't believe I gave my $400 keyboard away a few years ago because God told me to......now I have to shop for another one.

Am I crazy? Should I do it?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Would it really help me? I hear music in my head all the time and I'm going to learn the keyboard to try and bring them to life, that way I can use all the sounds of different instruments through one. I can't believe I gave my $400 keyboard away a few years ago because God told me to......now I have to shop for another one.

Am I crazy? Should I do it?

You can study music theory like a doctor studies medicine. You wouldn't trust a doctor to work on you without him first studying medicine. Well, you can better do stuff with music if you have a better understanding of it than if you did without the understanding. Some people may say that a person has to be talented or gifted to make music, but did you know that Mozart studied music theory for years before he started writing?
Music theory knowledge will open up an understanding of music that would not be understood otherwise. The greatest music creators have a vast knowledge of music theory. How did they achieve this? They studied, just like you want to. It wasn't automatically in their head, they learned it so they could actually put their ideas to paper and take their ideas and create actual songs. Music theory knowledge would give you the "language" to put turn your ideas into music.
You really need to have a knowledgeable teacher to learn it, though. It would be a bit more difficult to learn it on your own. It would be like trying to learn algebra on your own.

yea it will, it will proboly give you a better understanding of music ingeneral, harmanics, etc.

Of course!
How can you interpret music without first deciphering it? Music theory is the "language" of music--you learn how it's made, the structure, function, it's evolution through time and where it's progressing further. You can't expect to be able to understand music to it's FULLEST capacity if you don't know all of it's facets of creation. You can't interpret a piece if you don't know how to find it's high points, low points, and everything in between.

Studying theory in college has opened doors that I never even knew existed.

It's a challenging subject, but it's worth it.

The most important thing you can do by learning music theory, is to learn how to communicate with other musicians. If you speak the language, you will be taken seriously. Even if you have natural ability, and many do, it is important to codify what you know and communicate the relevant information to the other musicians you are working with. The other thing that learning music theory does is to help you understand the evolution and grammar of music. Rules were made to be broken, but not until you learn them and learn the spirit in which they were written.

Next time GOD tells you to do something that you would normally question, be sure and consult your elders. We join a congregation as much for mutual support as for spiritual nourishment. If you still feel bad about the decision, then it is obvious that you question it's validity, wisdom, or both. I am also fairly sure that you have already prayed over this and have asked for guidance. What you may not have asked for is wisdom however, and that can best be obtained by asking spiritually mature mentors whether the voice you hear is GOD, or another voice more interested in making you question your decisions, plant doubt in your mind, and a barrier between you and the voice you should really be listening to. If you truly do something in GOD's name, your faith should have been answered by now and you should be at peace about it. If you are not, it is not too late to seek that wisdom and learn from this experience.

Well you could become a world renowned music critic. Nonetheless, I say for you to do so. It will open the rifts of music and thus allow you to develop a trained ear to appreciate music even more. And then again, you could become a composer.

Music theory allows you to better articulate the sounds of the heart into the notes of music since you would know what to put here and there and so on so forth.

If you do so, I suggest you read the treatises of Schoenberg and Messiaen.

Most people I know who study music theory are really good at being cashiers and waitresses.

Yay! VH1: Save the Music!