Recently I’ve been reading Structural Functions of Harmony by Arnold Shoenberg. Schoenberg was a controversial music theorist and composer who developed his own system for harmonizing music. Essentially he believed in the equality of all twelve tones in music instead of the typical hierarchal thinking we have in tonal music today. Personally, I find his work to be extremely fascinating and it has pushed my to new heights in my songwriting – exploring the dissonant and dynamic with a newfound fervor. The interesting thing is, the higher up the musical food chain you go, the less pop and structured your music becomes, so while other musicians might praise your new song as being ground breaking and pushing the envelope, less educated people might find it annoying, crass, and absurd.

I do think there is a balance to walk when songwriting – a balance between genius and elementary. Often, for advanced musicians, the difference between these two disparate concepts is but a small step. Almost as if an artist may become so artistic and creative, that he comes full circle to producing music that lacks strong resolution, and thus leaves his audience feeling empty and confused.

As I read this book, I find it very eye opening to new ideas, but certainly a side of me is compelled to play within the box. I guess every musician must find his own path and let the song tell you where it wants to go. In short, I believe every musician should learn more music theory, as it will ultimately help define your music – to break the rules, you must first learn them. However, all musicians need to skillfully balance technique, and theory so as to not alienate their audience.

Keep Rockin’