[Vagus]

I have a bachelors degree in music and I hate to admit it, but for a while I had a bit of attitude people that couldn't/wouldn't read music. While I recognized brilliance in "unschooled" musicians, I liked it to great story tellers that couldn't read or write.

In my youth and arrogance that comes with it, I was probably just jealous that so many where considerably better and more talented than I who "knew" everything but couldn't "do" much of anything.

Truth is there are a lot of smart writers out there that can't imagine a story, and great stories that others don't know how to write. Likewise there are many many great musicians that can't read or write music, but people like me that are not as creative to help write out other peoples great ideas.

I do believe that someone that is really wanting to become a better musician should make an effort to learn the basics. Understanding the language of music is the key to its theory and open the doors greatly to communication between other musicians.

Some have said knowing theory and having "rules" tie up the creative forces, but I believe more often than not it helps give direction when the creative juices are slowing down.