Quote to ponder

[DocBop]

I started reading a new book on music yesterday and there are a lot of quotes, two of which made me think of all the Pro/Con theory <fill in the blank> suck threads around here.

1. You have to know the rules of music in order to break them.

Like the thread the other day on Beatles tune and chord changes appeared unique to the OP, but it came to be a tool used in composition. So another quote The Music of the Past is still Present.

2. There are NO Rules.... Only EXPECTATIONS.

I think that second on really says a lot. Even if you don't study theory yours and your audience ears have expectations of what the music will sound like. IMO based on The Music of the Past is still Present.

Something to think about.

[EADG mx]

I agree with 2, not so much 1

[DocBop]

Originally Posted by EADG mx

I agree with 2, not so much 1

Well you could look at it as you may think your breaking rules, but playing inside the box far from being cutting edge. Too bad the word "rules" get used because I think the word is the hangup for most. What it boils down to is knowing what went on before, learning from the past so you don't have to reinvent the wheel. Isn't that how everyone learns whether they study and listen, or just listen and find their own way to label and organize.

No matter what style of music you play you listen to those before you to learn and then try to expand on what they did. Like it has been said many times you want to learn to play like <fill in the blank> find out who they listened and studied.

[kesslari]

Quote one makes perfect sense once you meet the guy who says "I don't know anything about scales, man, I just play free jazz"...
Trust me on this.

[OtterOnBass]

"You must know the rules to break them" was the theme of my Music Theory class. The instructor told us that the great composers discovered all of these 'rules' that make for harmonious music, and then broke them to push musical emotion farther.

I didn't care about composers, though, I cared about metal. Then one of the band members started telling me about Metallica and music theory. My opinion of metal vs. orchestra shattered and I saw the theory in the metal. Rule: Tritone sounds awful, don't use it - becomes the most suspenseful, intense chord in the repertoire, and thus a staple for metal.