It is a forum avatar, of course a bunch of newbies and fanboys are going to use it. Then you go telling him not to spam like you own this place. Listen buddy, he can spam all he wants.
Yeah, I guess what I'm trying to say is what it really comes down to is what kind of music you want to compose. The only real reason this stuff is around is because back in the middle ages and then in the 15th century to the 19th century (Just a rough estimate.) you had to follow these rules or else you weren't composing music. Certain intervals and keys were even thought to be "the Devils music". So a lot of this stuff is a guide when composing music, and it is still used a lot because of how easy it is to make a song following these rules. But really it isn't something you need to know really. I really only use it when I get together with a group of people and we just improve.
Have you ever had concrete use for this kind of knowledge? I'm asking this seriously, as I suspect such knowledge would be more of an obstacle than a tool when composing music.
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It depends on what kind of music you want to compose. It is incredibly easy to compose music if you follow the rules though. Classical/Jazz/Blues/Western "Pop" music and many other genres all use this. If you are doing improvisation then it is incredibly useful also. You can also just say "screw this" and just not follow the rules of music theory and play what you think sounds good. I do both myself. The average person wouldn't really tell the difference. I don't know if I answered your question, or If I have forgotten to mention anything.
Anyone else have any question they would like answered on the topic of music?