Can Someone With A Background In Music Theory Answer My Question

How do I start EDM production with no musical background ?

You better start off with FL Studio. It’ll be easier.Musical experience is important, You should be completely through and known to the genre you’re gonna produce. Everything develops with time.The answers to your question -EDM production can be learned from scratch. But you need to have your will power stronger than ever. But yes, Musical theory is necessary. Music theory helps you with various things about what comes next or what should’ve come here. Download FL Studio and start watching the tutorials on YouTube.Music theory is important. I wouldn’t say that it is necessary as long as you believe in your ears (Which is hard and comes with experience.) Learn atleast one instrument, that’d be enough.I am happy to see your determination. Yes, 2–3 hours per day for learning and watching tutorials would be enough for (6 months.) Yes, 6 months. Only learn and gain experience. Once you think you can go ahead, start experimenting in your DAW. It’ll take you almost a year for full production experience. (Don’t fear failure!)Necessary? I don’t think so. Because the money you’d invest in it isn’t worth it. If you really wanna spend money to learn, join Lost Stories Music Academy. By the way, There are lot of masterclass/How we made it classes on YouTube. Do watch them, they’re really helpful. And, Lessons of KSHMR! They’re available for free on YouTube.It will be difficult but not impossible. Once you’ve mastered one genre, you are free to explore more. I’d recommend you to watch HeadHunterz’s Youtube videos. How from a hardstyle producer, he turned to House and Future bass.Hope I’ve answered them accordingly. Never give up on your dreams! Keep learning and have fun!Cheers!

Can someone who can't even read sheet music learn piano without a teacher, on his own time?

Yes you can, more effectively than with sheet music.There are some great answers to this question. And certainly, some alternative view points.Here’s my personal perspective.I believe teaching yourself to play by ear makes you a more effective pianist. At least at the start of your playing career.I taught myself using online resources and music theory. Following this, I attempted to learn to read music. However, I quickly found that the solos I wished to play, had not been transcribed to music. Following this I started picking things out by ear.After 3 years of doing this from scratch, and on a casual basis, I played my first gig. 3 set of 45 minutes solo piano playing. Most of it including improvisation.A lot of the Grade 8 sheet music ‘traditional’ pianists I met at this time could not sustain the same level of playing - if any, without their music books. And even then, they could not improvise.I do of course speak for my background, living in the UK, in which ‘Piano Lessons’ generally mean ‘Eventual grade 8 sight reading piano lessons’.Following this, I've continued to play by ear, whilst studying music theory.Some people believe ear players to be illiterate, or ignorant of harmony, time signatures, etc. This is not the case; and theory has given me greater understanding into how to improvise and play the piano successfully.With regards to technique, from personal experience, I believe this can be achieved by dedication, rather than tuition. I’d often get compliments on my technique. Asking if I'd been trained classically. This isn't the case, although I do sit and play scales and arpeggios.Ultimately, my thoughts on sheet music are that it’s also an invaluable skill. And one that has a unique application. I don't play much classical. And I if you want to, you should learn to read music, and take piano lessons.But for blues, jazz and pop, being self taught allows you to find your own way and express yourself.Different jobs also require variants of both skills. To play as a piano bar entertainer, it's common for the pianist to be an ear player, with a vast memory for music (another bonus of playing by ear). In contrast to this, a Showband pianist on a cruise ship would need to be an expert sight reader, so that they can instantly perform whole sets of Abba, show tunes, you name it.Different pianists for different needs.Of course, the very best can do both.I hope this provides some interesting insight.Arthur.

Can a person be a good composer without musical theory?

Speaking from experience, I'm going to say yes. But as many people have stated it is harder.I think all musicians, theory taught or not, have a lot of natural instincts when it comes to music. For example when I was young before I got any formal training or learnt theory, I knew that certain chords sounded "sad" or "happy" or "uplifting". I knew that a I-V-VI-IV progression sounded good even though I didn't know it was I-V-VI-IV. I just messed around on the piano and discovered what sounded good and what didn't. I would unwittingly play complex chords and memorise them because I liked the sounds. After a while I started piecing those chords together and making music. I even started to memorise different scales in different keys. I knew how a major key should sound because all the white keys made a complete, resolute scale when played in succession. I didn't know why or the theory behind it, that's just how it sounds. (I think I had only one piano lesson as a child where I learned what middle c was and that it was the "beginning" note.) Of course, a lot of those standards of what sounded "right" came from listening to existing music.Now I know some theory and I can tell you I still pretty much write in the same way. What I mean by that is that I just play and hear what sounds right and what should come next. What theory has helped me do is get there faster and understand what might work and what won't. When I say what won't work I mean in the context of what I want to write (music is very subjective after all). If I want the next note in my melody to be tonally strong, I'll make it a root, third or fifth note. If I want to create suspense I'll add a suspended note. Theory has I guess given me the shortcuts to get where I want to go.I don't think many people actively and consciously use theory when they're writing music; you wouldn't say "theoretically a minor seven chord will work after that one" and play that, you would instead say "I want to go in this direction" or "I hear an A minor here" and with a knowledge in theory be able to get exactly what you want almost right away. Even people who don't use an instrument to write know what they want the next chord to sound like and write out the next note as so on the stave.So in short, you don't need to know theory to compose good music, but knowing theory will probably make your composing more efficient and you'll have more opportunities to write better music.