It seems to be a very common complaint that learning music theory is boring, especially various advertisers of online courses that teach you to play the piano.
First of all, the majority of people that claim that learning theory of music are kids and teenagers. The reason why they label it as boring is because it doesn’t involve playing their chosen musical instrument, it involves brain work and for kids and teenagers, it seems a lot like school work to them and of course school work is claimed to be boring (even when it is not). This is because many kids and teenagers would think it is not cool to claim to like and enjoy school work.
So I would argue that the basis of theory of music being boring is based on the opinions of kids and teenagers. Marketers of online piano courses have run with this opinion, like it’s a well established fact because it can and probably does help them sell more courses.
As mature adults, we can understand that some notions, ideas and thoughts that we believe are true, can actually be wrong. I don’t believe theory of music is boring at all. Certainly when I was a kid, I did buy into the notion that theory was boring and I really didn’t enjoy doing it. I only did the theory work because I was told to.
When I got to be quite skilled at the piano and I was around the 15 or 16, I realized that theory helped me understand the content and the structure of my pieces of piano music that I was learning. For instance, every year I learned to play a piece by the composer J.S. Bach, I really didn’t enjoy it at all and it was always the last piece I perfected before doing a piano exam. It wasn’t until my theory of music knowledge was advanced enough that I could suddenly see patterns and structures in the music I could never see before. To say that it was eye opening is an understatement – I remember that moment when my teacher took my piano music off the music stand and showed me all the intricacies and structure that makes J.S. Bach a genius. It was from that moment that I instantly went from thinking that Bach’s music was ho hum to being a fan of his music.
The advantage of learning music theory is that it helps you understand what you are playing and why certain notes and chords sound the way they do. It helps in the understanding of why composers wrote music the way they did. Theory can also help you see patterns in the music, which can help you learn to play a piece of music more accurately and more efficiently.
I personally reject the concept that music theory is boring, in fact I think it is fascinating and an excellent tool in helping musicians or music students to learn to play pieces of music quickly.