Time To Bring Up The "T" Word

 Yep it’s theory time.  Now bear with me, don’t run away because I’m going to try and bring this to you in a different light – I’m going to give you unbelievable power!
 
I love theory, have since I first started so the temptation is to approach this from a passion point of view but I can already hear you yawn!   Now most people tend see it as either an instruction manual or a rule book and it’s neither.  It purely explains what you’re doing in order to give you power and control.  That’s what makes me most excited – the more I understand what I’m doing the more control I have over it and the more power I have to decide what I want to say.  The only thing as important to me as theory is my ear – which has a longgggggg way to go to be even remotely developed *sigh*.
 
If you understand theory then learning new pieces becomes easier because it makes sense to you, it’s not just a series of notes any more, they fit together.   Think of it as seeing the picture of a puzzle, the more pieces that fit the easier it becomes to fit the next.  It’s also far easier and much more fun to “break the rules”!  To break away from convention, be different and make it work.
 
But what really sets my spidey senses tingling is the control element, understanding why two chords sound the way they do, or why playing notes in a certain order makes you feel a certain way gives me power over my music.  When I understand fully I will be able to utilise this information at will in anything I write to take you on the journey I want to.  Combine that with my ear and my (overly) emotional self and what I hope will happen is the ability to create/design stories, emotions, drama & adventure.   At least this is where I’m trying to get to – it’s a long journey but it’s worth the effort.  Think JK Rowling of the music world! J
 
You see – if you understand you can tweak what you’re doing using this information to push the message harder, faster, or slower (you little tease!).  Or you can use it to imitate something that already inspires you without copying – what did they do to achieve that very cool sound.  You can use it to move something you hear on one instrument to another etc.  See, if you think of it not as a boring book of facts but they key to unlocking your creative genius it’s suddenly very very exciting!
 
Told you theory was cool!