adding more melodies

[Hypnotist]

<b><u>The History of Music Theory</u>
by the Hypnotist</b>

Long ago, one person was <i>sick</i> and <i>demented</i> and went 72 hours banging away at some keys and wrote this CRAZY melody from the inner depths of their mind.

Another person heard this and tried to find the equation of how to get inside that <i>sick</i> person's head whoever wrote it and tried to capture that. Thus, music theory developed.

Chicken or the egg? Well, I know that the <i>sick, demented</i> person came first, and then someone tried to clock them. I mean, who's idea was it to tie a string to a piece of wood or wrap cowhide across a wooden cylinder anyway? They had to be <i>sick</i>. But today it's a theory, or shortcut, and everybody uses it.

A man named Milton Erickson developed a style of hypnotherapy where he would use rich metaphors and tell poems until the subject would just be cured. Yes. Just like that. When others studied him and wrote books on his style of hypnotherapy, he later read the information and said, "Oh! So THAT'S what I do! I didn't have any particular <i>method</i> to the <i>madness</i>, I was just being myself."

So <b>style</b> is for the <i>sick</i> and <i>demented</i>. <b>Theory</b> is for the rest of the population who can now call it <i>normal</i> and <i>procedure</i>.

Personally, I like to think of myself as <i>sick</i> and <i>demented</i>.

I'm being a little extreme, but just for kicks. The proper way to do it is to use both sides of your brain. The concrete side will tell you that <i>there's some way to map this thing out...</i> And the abstract part of your brain just says <i>"Aaaablephacklejebbighnaabnenhaaglin!"</i>

Really.
If you can pronounce that you're sick. And demented.

 

[J Cro]

see the thing about sound is its pure science and mathematics and therefore there is set of rules so to speak in effect

 

[classic]

lol u guys are a trip,
Theory is not a shortcut, music is an artform, all theory does is try to explain its structure just like there are people who study art or physic's. You can know everything about a painters work and tequnique, it dosent mean that you can do it yourself, theory is the same way.
The Music came first, music theory as we know it dident develope till the mid 1800's (and its still developing i.e 12tone).

When u get indepth into theory like the 12 tone system etc.. it becomes very mathmatical(and robotic IMO) and there isent a need for alot of theory in the more basic forms of hip hop but as you get more musical it becomes neccsarry(ex kanye's album)

On the other side,
You can't sit there and call yourself a producer and not know didly about music and its basic structure. IT also kills me when hip hop cats sit there an look down on people who are musicans and know theory like we are faking or something(i get hated on all the time), but yet, they sample real musicans....wtf???

Just realise theory is a tool, nothing more nothing less, it will not make u dope
U need talent, thats key. If your tone def, theory aint gonna mean shit, just like anything else you have to have a talent for it.

For example,
ive been creating music and playing instraments sense i was 6 years old. My grandmother was a music teacher and my uncle and father were jazz musicans. I predisposed to compose music. I really think i was born for this ish....Just like some cats are born to play ball or are natually good at math, while u have the natural abilitity theory is a way to develope that knack(just like lifting weights for a ball player)

now if ur a dude who hasent had the same background/knack as me. Dont expect to take one theory class and be able to compose the way i do ... it just dont work like that. (im not saying im the best ,but u get my point) learning it will give you a basic understanding of whats going on. To be honest i dont even think about theory anymore when creating music casue its internal.

WHen u are learning compose they teach u to forget everything you learn and go wit your instinct.... (just like when playin ball u dont think of the mechanics of shooting) Theoy just makes you more effcient but if the spark aint there your SOL

Also like i said theory dosent mean u know how to play and instrament. i KNOW cats who can play mad riffs on the piano and gutiar and dont know a lick of theory, Again if ur studying theory without learning and instrament, IMO its a waste casue ur not applying it and it wont mean anything...

whats the point of know what a dimished or augment chourd is if u dont know what it SOUNDS like or how to play it

Sorry for the long post

clas..

 

[J Cro]

sounding good and making something amazing is 2 diff things.
to be amazing u need talent. to sound good u need practice and knowledge.

thumbs up

 

[Hypnotist]

Very true, Class.

I hope you didn't think I was attacking "music theorists", I was just being stupid. All I was saying was that you don't <i>need</i> theory to compose the music. And I'm not saying that it won't <i>help</i> you compose as a tool, but it's not a necessity. I refuse to sample, unless I really think I'm doing it justice, or there's a reason for the sample. 99% of all my beats are composed, and until recently, I didn't know a thing about theory, except for inherent knowledge of what I feel I was born with. The only sampling I do is like when I took bottles and recorded them "kissing" into my keyboard, then played notes with them, and then blew across the bottle and made a flute-like sound, and played that on top of it. I had a friend take his guitar and add some finishing touches to it to bring it all together, and I think it sounds pretty musical. And all I was really doing was searching for notes and chords with my fingers as my ears did the choosing on what sounded good. I at least <i>think</i> I know what sounds good, and I've been told that what I make sounds good. I prefer to work with people who possess this talent than people who will come at it from a very literal position. But to me, if you <i>have the talent</i> AND <i>know the theory</i>, then in my eyes, you're just well-rounded and possibly superhuman.

Classic: Nice beats, by the way.

Pce

 

[classic]

Nahh i dident think u were attacking, i agree wit alot of the stufff you were saying

class...

 

[JPeg]

well i can say that i do not percieve any sort of threat from peeps learning music theory? why should i? lol

the point to not is that everyone is different learning music theory may benifit some but not others example diggers/jazz cats may of heard of a dude Ornette Coleman now if u research on dude he had no formal music training his shit was abtract came straight from the heart. Jazz critics often remarked that it is good that some artists neva learned music the formal way as that may have imposed upon the music they were making.

Plus in this day and age with all the software, and various other tech tricks there is less need for formal knowledge of music theory cos the structure of music has changed and the way shit is put 2gether has changed.

It is my opinion that the most important instinct to develop when making hip hop is the DJ ear when u have that u know which sounds will go 2gether to make a dope track.

 

[Katastrofy]

well im a sample-based producer so when i find a sample that i think needs more, i just go through my vinyl collection and try to find another sample i think will sound good on top of the previous sample and then tune it until it sounds right together. i dont like to add keyboards on top of my beats cuz it personally doesnt sound right to me.

if you want to learn music theory, thats great, but most people feel too much knowledge can limit their creativity, so keep that in mind. learning the basics is good enough.

 

[J Cro]

prolifik some times reading books helps you understand music on a whole and when your adding notes an stuff to know what style the sample is being played in can help you complemnt it by add hip hop style to it knowlege is allways good wit knowlege comes wisdom and when you apply the knowlege wit your wisdom you get an understadin so it neva hurts to read bo0ks on music like on the trian or bus or in the bathroom when you do'in ya thing you get mah drift stay in music as much as you can then it will come to and when it does you got it for life like ridin a bike feel me

yea that sounds kinda right lol