SLEEPY BRiGHT EYEZ
Platinum Member
Actually it can help you a great deal with knowing what and how to write. Nor will it stifle any creative imaginings...that myth is ridiculous. If you have a creative mind and a large theoretical base of knowledge underneath that, all you have is a whole lot more options when it comes to playing and writing and thinking music.
That's exactly what I'm saying... I studied music theory in high school and in college. I've been away from its studies for a few years and really want to find the right book to help me continue my study on my own.
Theory won't limit you- only your imagination you limit you. Theory won't tell you exactly what to write (otherwise all of us who know theory would be writing the exact same song). It teaches you relationships between melody, harmony, rhythms, structure, and textures (to pretty much quote the definition of music theory). Understanding these relationships will certainly help you write. With that knowledge, you will know how a third feels compared to a fifth, or a sixth, or a diminished seventh- for example. It will teach you how to bring a chord back to the root in the natural way our ears want to hear it, but there is nothing saying you 'have' to follow that path. Knowing what it means to resolve the root, and how to taunt the ears and build suspense... that's all great to know! Obviously, as you probably know, there is much more to theory than even that. It's up to the composer (or band) to decide how to use these relationships to create their own style. For example, much of the music I wrote in high school involved great use of minor seconds. Made some people want to go on a killing spree. hahah! I loved the harsh spookiness it imposed- lol.
Think of music theory as a pencil. It's just like learning how to draw. First, you will learn how to draw basic shapes. Then as you practice, you learn how these basic shapes create more complex figures that we see in our every day lives. If you gave a pencil to five different artists, do you think they are going to draw the same picture?
It's also just like studying rudiments for drums- which most of you already do. Those rudiments are the building blocks for the larger picture. Music theory is the same. The idea that it kills your creativity is the invisible blockade that keeps so many from even trying to learn it.