Music theory?

Music theory sounds scary. And a lot of it is.

It also sounds speculative. But it isn't.

At a most basic level, here is what music theory is. Imagine you pick up an instrument you don't know how to play or just open you mouth and start singing sounds, making it up as you go along. As you go along you suddenly make some really cool sounds you like. So you do it again.

But what if you wanted to be able to come back tomorrow and do it again? You might remember exactly what you did and how you did it but more likely you wouldn't. And even if you remember it tomorrow, you'll probably forget by next week. What you need is a way to describe what you've done so you can repeat it. Make a note and stick it in a drawer. Or you could do make the sounds and record them or have someone take video.

That's all music theory is. It is a way of describing music so we can remember what we did last time and so we can describe it to others so they can do it with us. It can get really complicated but it doesn't have to. You only need to learn as much theory as you find useful. No one can ever make you do anymore than that.