12:58 AM
Music theory, many would argue, is an essential part of playing
any musical instrument. However, when once looks at many of the various
piano tutorials out on the market and even online, they do not find a
mere mention of the concept. The theory and study of music is one of the
most essential elements to the growth of the art form. This article is
in defense of theory lessons, rather than simple monotonous instruction
of the piano or keyboard.
If you were to go to your local music
instruction store and randomly pick out a set of piano lessons, you'd be
shocked to see that music theory is a very little part of the subject.
Granted, the lessons are about learning the piano, but there are still
fundamental things one needs to learn to help their understanding of how
piano (or any) music works.
The idea that one can simply learn
how to play the keyboard and pay little attention to concepts of
consonance, dissonance, and more advanced topics of harmonization is
appalling. There can be no real mastery of any musical instrument if
there is not attention paid to it's basic fundamental theory. Learning
how music works (in time, space and on our emotions) is essential
knowledge if one hopes to provide uniqueness to the art.
What
you'll also find are lessons that focus solely on how to play piano by
ear through a series of different tricks to skip over studying theory so
one can apply principles many take years to learn. This could be
considered a cop-out in one way. For instance, they skip over reading
sheet music, when that is an essential skill for any musician.
Further,
people who refuse to learn music theory will be a slave to their
shortcomings as musicians. How can one begin to transpose songs and play
in different keys if they do not know how this is done properly? Music
theory instruction can do this. It opens up a whole new world of
possibilities when it comes to playing any instrument.
Another
argument for including music theory lessons in any music instructional
courses is that it can help with the ability to improvise. Although many
modern genres of music do not contain elements of improvisation, there
is something to be said about having the ability to do so. It can help
in composition, live performance and many other areas of playing.
So
it is clear that any musical instruction that does not strictly and
thoroughly encourage the study of theory in music, is not complete. It's
an essential part of being able to play music. Even on my piano blog,
which does not really have any section for music theory, per say, I
point people in the direction of websites that do. I truly think it's an
essential part of playing the piano. And I hope that in the future, all
piano tutorials will include sections on this important area.