Why do musicians often downplay their understanding of music theory?
>>128481212That wouldn't have been very punk rock of Kurt to know music theory well enough to make good songs
>>128481212Depends on the musician. I don't know any punk who knows shit about theory.
>>128481212because 'talent' is more alluring than practice and hard work
>>128481212because they want to look like they're naturals. pure masculine intuition and talent. they want to feel like lennon or hemingway. not nerds. very nerdy to lie like that tho.
Do you think the average Joe cares about music theory? No lol he just wants music that goes hard as fuck. Muh theory is for pretentious snobs
>>128481383>understanding and learning something is pretentioushylic
>>128481235>>128481212he only used power chords and their variations. he knew 0 about theory
>>128481500Intellectualizing fucking sucks and it ruins anything it touches outside the stem fields
what theoryfags can't wrap their head around is some people can just figure tunes out naturally. it's called having a good ear, having talent. when I see college aged zoomers on discussion board studying theory I know it's over for them. They can't play, they're already grown ups, they think knowing the definition of 'mixolydian' is going to make them good but it doesn't
>>128481212Theory doesn't grow your talent, it stifles it, as it focuses too much on technicalities Nobody can teach you how to write a great song just based on theory. If that were the case, the world would be full of geniuses because they read a book on music theory
>>128481212>>128481383>>128481531>>128481553>>128481587Musicians downplay their understanding of theory because it sounds more romantic to claim everything just "comes naturally". But the whole debate is misguided. Theory isn't inherently good or bad; what's retarded is treating it as if it were a rulebook. In the modern age, people have turned theory into a separate, abstract discipline and then imagine that composing means either strictly obeying or defiantly breaking those "rules". That mindset has very little to do with how real musicians worked in previous centuries.Theory is a descriptive tool and a shared vocabulary for analyzing and communicating about music. Historically, it was just one tool among many because musicians learned by playing, listening, improvising, transcribing, and writing. Even when they lacked formal training, they still developed an internal logic or some kind of language to communicate with others. The best musicians integrated all of this, whether consciously or not. Reducing music to theory alone, or pretending theory is irrelevant, is equally retarded.
>>128481212Knowing a little bit about music theory, or any subject, leads to the realization of just how much is left to the field that you don't know
>>128481818kurt cobain didn't know any theory
>>128481212they learned a lesson from Zappa. Ol Frank really took one for the team by being a major asshole who looked down on other musicians.
>>128481854I'm clearly talking about good musicians, anon.
>>128481873your definition of good musician is flawed. youve been filtered
>>128481884You're illiterate, so your argument doesn't really matter and you have nothing to say. Stop posting.
>>128481896getting filtered by nirvana is embarrassing. just leave the thread already
>>128481531https://youtu.be/jKK9N0BPqdo?si=gVw2yTCyBTGajJ3oNo punk rocker that only knows power chords will ever make a piece of art reaching the dizzying heights of the Romantic masters. Do you think they were "intellectualizing" music? If so then why does it sound so good?
>>128481904Repeating "filtered" every time someone disagrees with you isn't an argument, it's just a pathetic attempt to deflect. You're failing to follow the scope of the discussion. If you can't engage with what was actually said, then you're not adding anything, you retarded faggot.
>>128481947kurt cobain didn't downplay his knowledge of theory. /thread
>>128481212because he's trying to tell you that you don't need to be an academic to learn how to play or write. self taught musicians are actually a really interesting breed that at the very least attempt to pave their own path
>>128483737Guitar is kind of a academic sort of a gatekeeping way into music and being considered a respected way of self expression
>>128483760Rock and guitars aren't supposed to be gatekeeping. Just express yourself as you see fit.Right now, we're in a bad gatekeeping sort of state of things though. Just like the end of the 80s and shredders were everywhere turning everything into a sport, rather than expression. It took a Kurt Cobain to get back to basics. Now I think Youtubers and internet bullshit has created a a similar bad impression on people. But I don't know if there's another Kurt.
