Can you know too much or too little about music theory? Do successful musicians even use the knowledge they have?
We asked eight superb artists about how they think about their own music education. Some think they have quite a lot of knowledge and others say they don’t have much at all; but they are all creative and successful.
There are lots of ways of understanding music – it isn’t just about reading books or going to college. Maybe you’ve got a great ear and work things out that way, or perhaps you’ve learnt songwriting by learning to play other people’s songs – that’s musical knowledge too.
Featuring interviews with Cassie Kinoshi, Carly Paradis, Brian Eno, Isobel Waller-Bridge, Tristan Landymore, Lowkey, Ed O’Brien and Yazz Ahmed.
Tools, not rules
There is often someone in the room who knows some theory
Internalising musical knowledge
Music education is all around you
Final thoughts