This is one of the most asked questions in music history, at least in the modern era: how much music theory do I have to know? The answer: well, it depends…

First things first…

Let’s be clear about this: I don’t have “the correct answer” to this question. I want to help you find out for yourself how much music theory do you actually need. Everybody’s situation is unique and so is the amount of knowledge that is needed for it…

I’ve always looked at the music theory as a (foreign) language. For instance here in Slovenia we border on Austria, where they speak German, and Italy, where they speak Italian. So, for example, if I go to Italy once every couple of years, I probably don’t have to speak fluid Italian if I don’t want to learn it. I learn enough to be able to order something to eat and drink, ask for direction and maybe where’s the next gas station – that’s it! But if I go there e.g. twice a month or maybe I even do business there, then my Italian should be a lot better. It doesn’t need to be perfect, but good enough to fluidly communicate. And, finally, if I’m a teacher or an official translator for italian language, then, of course, my italian should be perfect! Got the idea?

So, it depends on what?

It clearly depends on your goals! Same as with the example above with the italian language, you have to be clear what you’re aiming for, in this case as a musician. If you want to be a solo singer/songwriter kind of artist or a musician in a cover band and you have a good set of ears, I’m pretty sure you’ll be just fine with the basic music theory knowledge. If you want to play or even compose more complex music, then the basic knowledge probably won’t be enough. Some of you maybe have a wish to become studio musicians. In this case you’ll have to communicate with other musicians and it would be a good idea to learn their “language” so you can understand what’s going on, what they’re talking about and be able to join the conversation. And if you want to become an academic musician, maybe a music teacher, perhaps play in big symphonic orchestras or even become a performing classical solo artist, then I think the case is clear…

“But The Beatles didn’t know any music theory…”

This sentence is a kind of “ultimate defence” when we don’t want to learn music theory. Haha… Yes, at the beginning they knew very little but as time went by they’ve learned more and more. Hell, Paul McCartney has even written movie scores! That’s the way you learn as a autodidact (self-taught musician). You stumble upon something you don’t know but you want to understand it and incorporate it in your music – so, you learn it! You pick something here, something there… The more you’re hungry for knowledge, the more and faster you learn but unfortunately you often jump all over the place. In a music school you learn more consecutively and with a plan. I went through both paths but if I’m honest – I’m not sure which one is better. I’ve had a basic music education in a music school for the clarinet, but on the other hand, I’m a completely self-taught guitar player.

In a music school they take care that you learn everything you need and leave no holes in your knowledge. That’s a good thing but in the process you also learn stuff you won’t need later as a working musician. For me, it’s very similar to math in school and, trust me, I’ve had a huge portion of that in my life… 😜
The advantage of being an autodidact is that you only learn the stuff that you need at that point in time but, as we said before, there are also always holes in your knowledge. The bad side of this is that you oftentimes don’t have the time to learn the stuff because you need it right then, in that moment! And sometimes – take my word for it – that could be really embarrassing… 🥴

So, how much?

You still want to know? Well, I will leave you here with this Part 1 and next time, in Part 2, I’ll try to be more specific how much music theory – at least at the beginning – every aspiring musician should learn and what he/she have to know. So…

Until next time!