Expert: Marbeth - 8/9/2007

Question
Hello, my name i Dekoy, i am currently a student in a music school here in Africa and i have role models such as Enya, Yanni and the great Fela Kuti. I admire this 3 peoples style of music and i have plans to produce my own kind of music by applying the 3 styles of the three artist mentioned earlier.

I am a bit sceptical about Enya's kind of music, i would want to know if Enya uses an orchestra or if she makes use of digital equipments to produce such distinctive sounds of hers. This is because lots of music equipments are being produced this days to harmonize and synthesis sounds.

Secondly, as a music student, i play contemporary guitar and little on the classical aspect, as i study music theory hoping to start "harmony-class" soon where i would learn how to harmonize. I would like to know if the knowledge of harmony would help me in the kind of music i would love to produce (African Percussions with the mass choir) or the knowledge of harmony isnt really required to make songs for an orchestra for back up(sometimes, i wonder if people like Enya or Yanni ever knew a thing about harmony and its rules).

Finally, i would like you to tell me if it is possible for a person to have the knowledge of music theory without the ability to play any instrument such as piano, violin but with a broad knowledge of music theory and music history.

Answer
I salute your goals!

1) Enya uses a live orchestra, not synthesized sound.  

2) Yes, I think harmony knowledge and training will help.  Tremendously.
 
I recommend you find printed scores of your favored performers/composers and analyze the chord progression in their pieces.  I am not sure what you mean by "learn how to harmonize."  I am wondering if it is "learn how to orchestrate."  The latter is learning which musical lines to assign to which instruments.  Flowing lines, for example, do not work well with trumpets.  They are better suited to string instruments, woodwinds, and keyboards.

Since choral music is harmonic, I think knowledge of chord progressions will be helpful.  Orchestration knowledge will help you use voices to best advantage.

If Enya and Yanni have no training (and I don't whether they did or not), they have an "innate knowledge" of what works even if they don't know why.  They "hear" what they want.  Another possibility here is that someone else is writing the pieces.  Or at least helping compose them.

3)Yes, you can have and use knowledge of composition/harmony/orchestration without ability to play the instruments for which you are writing.  

I would advise, however, that you ask a competent player to play the music you have written for that instrument to see if it "works" comfortably on the instrument.  Your performers will also be happier if their parts are "idiomatic," which means easy to play on that instrument.  

Your "test" performer can tell you this and suggest ways to improve or change (which you don't have to do!).

As to music history, I'm not sure this knowledge would directly impact what I understand your goals to be.  This coming from a music historian!  Of course, all knowledge is helpful, so if you want to absorb more information about African rhythms, etc., it would help, but I think you first should spend some time in harmony and orchestration.

I particularly advise that you have singers "test drive" your music.  Durations may be too long.  Notes too high or low.  You can learn what the note ranges of musical instruments are - - and these are standard - - but the voice is highly variable.  For example, singers don't want to sing very high notes for a whole page!  Or have notes that jump more than 1.5 octaves.  This sort of music is definitely not idiomatic, and you will not find it performed very often because singers (and directors who conduct them - - who are singers themselves) will not select vocal music that is difficult to sing.

Best wishes!  mb