Read on Twitter
[THREAD] [1] A lot of songwriters/producers think music theory is more paralyzing than helpful because there's a huge gulf between the type of music theory advice you find on Google and music theory that's relevant to their craft.
[2] If you google "how to write a chord progression" you come across advice that may be useful for doing some textbook exercises, but is awful if you're trying to write a pop song or make a beat.
[3] For example, the first result for the search "how to write a chord progression" features advice like "Always start and end your chord progression on chord I" and directs your focus to I, IV, and V. Both pieces of advice are extremely inhibiting and irrelevant to pop.
![[3] For example, the first result for the search "how to write a chord progression" features advice like "Always start and end your chord progression on chord I" and directs your focus to I, IV, and V. Both pieces of advice are extremely inhibiting and irrelevant to pop.](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Egcc__MXkAAxtq8.png "[3] For example, the first result for the search \"how to write a chord progression\" features advice like \"Always start and end your chord progression on chord I\" and directs your focus to I, IV, and V. Both pieces of advice are extremely inhibiting and irrelevant to pop.")
[4] Other results talk about things like resolving the leading tone or tell you to use major chords for happy songs and minor chords for sad songs...
[5] It's not that there's nothing to learn from this kind of advice, but if you don't yet have the knowledge to tell the difference between relevant and irrelevant info, trying to incorporate this advice into your creative process will make your music sound rigid and uninspired.
[6] And that's when a lot of creators reach the conclusion that music theory is a waste of time and inhibits their creativity.
[7] My advice is - Whatever info you learn, from whatever source, check to see if it holds up when you listen to songs in your genre.
Do a lot of songs have progressions that start and end on I? (no)
Do a lot of songs have progressions that start and end on I? (no)
[8] Do a lot of songs focus primarily on I, IV, and V? (30 years ago, yes. Now, not so much)
Do happy songs have mostly major chords? Do sad songs have mostly minor chords? (extremely weak correlation. Rhythm, tempo, lyrics, production are all far more consequential)
Do happy songs have mostly major chords? Do sad songs have mostly minor chords? (extremely weak correlation. Rhythm, tempo, lyrics, production are all far more consequential)
[9] When you look under the hood of songs and genres, you'll find a lot of patterns that you didn't expect to see. You'll become much better at finding techniques that work and understanding why some songs follow certain 'rules' and others defy them.
[10] Doing this will give you powerful tools that will help you use theoretical information in a way that will enhance your creativity, rather than inhibit it. /END
