My over self-criticism causes so much counter productivity.

Both side of the argument are valid, I learn music theory as special reliable tools but most of the best melodies just pop out in my head at random moments or in dreams and then I remake them in the DAW, theory will help you not get stuck when you're no sure where to take it next. Music theory has help a lot for chords though, and chords can inspire great melodies. Jamming along to music and getting in the zone* helps a lot to understand and learn. To know the scale of a song, simply play any song and play on the keyboard over the song or a part of a song and decide which 7 or so notes work in 1 octave, copy onto 6 octaves and you have the scale.

  • "When jazz musicians improvise on their instruments in MRI machines, they show far more activity in the medial prefrontal cortex — an area of the brain linked with self-expression and activities that convey individuality — and far less activity dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, which is an inhibitory area involved in self-censoring and judgement. So musicians who work from the ear and keep their composition style more spontaneous are actually giving themselves more space to come up with unique personal expressions than artists who rely on pen, paper and hard theory."

A lot of great musicians don't know theory or how to read music (the actually know theory but not the language):
LInk

/r/edmproduction Thread Parent