The role of traditional music theory in the 21st Century is often extensively discussed amongst the artists. But how can music theory be defined?
A set of conventional, pre-established and organized symbols and rules generated to share and preserve the knowledge which has been crafted and collected by humankind over the centuries. Such valuable collection of resources lies at the very foundations of what is commonly defined as “Music Theory”. The same definition could be used to define every other field which relies on written language in order to progress and survive.
In order to understand music theory it is essential to be aware of the principle of interaction among all its constituting elements, as it would also apply to every other scientific field (for instance particles’ interaction in physics or simply numbers’ interaction in mathematics); therefore it is not always beneficial to isolate the study of a single concept, in fact most of the time an extensive and associative approach is required in order to achieve a better understanding of the studied matter.
Another very simple and fundamental aspect which, in a self-explanatory way, also establishes one of the major values of music theory is communication. In fact without music theory an effective communication between musicians, conductors, composers and every other artist involved in the music field would be rather difficult and, perhaps, close to impossible. As a result, without a certain degree of communication and interaction, all the performing musical groups (such as orchestras, string quartets, big bands, choirs, etc.) would cease to exist.
During the first stages of the music theory’s learning process the basic elements are almost immediately introduced to the students (for instance: notes, intervals, triadic structures, etc.) and those are then followed by more complex elements (for instance: chromatic chords, modal chords, etc.) and forms in which those elements are employed (for example: symphony, sonata, passacaglia, fugue, song, etc.). This process of gradually moving into more complex structures does not only apply to learning and teaching but it is also employed in every musical analysis of any level (from the analysis of a piano sonata to the analysis of a large- scale orchestral piece, from Bach’s fugues to Chopin’s Etudes, etc.) . Therefore the music student who knows and understands music theory will be able to both effectively communicate and discuss music with other individuals, producing a contextualised analysis of the music material. Such skill is extremely useful and important, in fact everyone who wishes to pursue a music career should dedicate some time developing it.
In the chosen path music theory serves the higher purpose of music creation. Following the writer’s opinion there would be no music theory if no music was written first as there would be no seasons if no movement was driving the Earth towards its orbit around the Sun. Nevertheless music theory is an essential tool that everyone who wishes to be a great composer needs in order to understand other people’s work as well as his/her own. Therefore the great composer knows music theory, both its potential and its limits. He/She plays with those two and exceeds them as
every great writer bends grammatical and syntactic rules to his/her own will. Music Theory is only an instrument, like one of the hammers in a blacksmith’s forge; it helps with the craft although it is neither the fire nor the sword (where fire and sword are allegorically and respectively the creative impetus and the creation itself).
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