What tips, tricks or advice do you have for learning music theory?

Steven Mal said:
Nothing specific, I only meant the beginning of a student's lessons in music theory.
Click to expand...

I've thought about this a lot and asked my wife, who also has a music degree but in voice, where she would start.

She said she would and has started at a fundamentals level like you've said on how to build scales and chords from the scales.

Neither of us studied pedagogy for theory so I'm not 100% sure what would help in your situation.


Edit: I tried to explain why I thought theory was important and the challenges it poses to guitarists because of the different ways to play the same chords/intervals but she got lost in the attempt.
 
Uncle Bob said:
@Axis39 - I’m sure you’re right that nobody who learned theory ever regretted it. I do think that the importance of it is overplayed by many though, and for those who don’t know theory it must sometimes seem that they are missing out on some kind of magical ability booster. It’s not.

A lifetime ago, my teacher used to say “you only see what you can’t do”, meaning that once you can do something yourself it no longer stands out when others do it.

The other analogy I use, and you’ll have to forgive me for it, is the movie Days of Thunder (bear with me). In that movie Tom Cruise’s character knows nothing about cars, but he can drive the wheels off one!
Click to expand...

DreamTheaterRules said:
@Axis39 I love talking about this stuff and hearing how other players go about it. I'm not (would never!) criticizing or saying my way is better or anything like that. I just like hearing how other players go about their process. It's all very interesting too me and I love hearing what other players have to say. Even more interesting when you have heard the guy play some and can tie the way he plays and the way he thinks and learns together.

Heck, I'm the one people may "look down on" in a way, for never taking the time to learn more theory. I was too busy learning Van Halen and Ozzie songs to stop and learn theory.:)
Click to expand...

So, a few years ago, I was asked to play with a somewhat famous player. She was in a band that was the #1 seller for Alligator Records for 10 years. She has several W.C. Handy awards. She'd been a professional musician for 40 years, no other job or income stream.

We were going over a new (to me) song and I asked something about the chords and she said, 'I dunno. I don't know anything beyond a 7th chord and don't start talking all that I-IV-V ****. I know what I know and do what I do'. If I ever tried to show her something with a 9th chord, I always had to suggest a 7th... She literally had no interest in learning how to finger any 9th chord. (She did like to add Sus 2 and 4 chords here and there, even the odd diminished chord) At 70-something I wasn't about to start trying to teach her something she didn't want to know. My only regret is that sometimes she struggled to explain to me what she was doing. But, it never stopped us from playing, gigging and loving every time we got to do it together. I certainly never looked down on her for any of that. I miss playing with her so much! Hopefully, I'll be able to travel back to Virginia before too long.

My point is that you don't NEED theory to enjoy music, or make a decent living at it, even. Although, you better have a natural ability to write music and not plan on being any kind of a session guy.
 
Understanding theory has really helped my playing in the church group I work with. With so much driven off the piano and some weird chord structures, A lot of add 9, add 13, dim 4, a lot in E flat- and I hate using a capo so knowing how to structure e flat in a couple of places helps.
 
ScottR said:
When I hear the word theory...I generally run away arms a flailing. It's a built in survival mechanism for me.
Click to expand...
Understandable! Brings back memories of those scary times when we were all monkeys! Nobody wants to go back to that.
 
Axis39 said:
My only regret is that sometimes she struggled to explain to me what she was doing.
Click to expand...

They guys I played with who knew theory and would ask me those "what did you play here" questions, were solved with a simple facing their directly, fingering the chord, or playing through the notes, and saying "this." :) Or, if they were bluegrass guys, "this here." :p
 
PRSWILL said:
Understanding theory has really helped my playing in the church group I work with. With so much driven off the piano and some weird chord structures, A lot of add 9, add 13, dim 4, a lot in E flat- and I hate using a capo so knowing how to structure e flat in a couple of places helps.
Click to expand...

You bring up another interesting aspect with the capo. I know some bluegrass guys who use them CONSTANTLY. Every song that is in a different key than the last one, has them moving their capo. I've never used one and do not like them. Always thought of it as "cheating." But I've seen accomplished pros using them so...
 
I'm not a snob about a Capo, just tends to pull strings sharp and it's a retuning issue on the fly thing.
 
DreamTheaterRules said:
You bring up another interesting aspect with the capo. I know some bluegrass guys who use them CONSTANTLY. Every song that is in a different key than the last one, has them moving their capo. I've never used one and do not like them. Always thought of it as "cheating." But I've seen accomplished pros using them so...
Click to expand...

My first guitar teacher felt that way, and I felt that way for a long time. Then I saw what some guys like Davy Knowles, Tommy Emmanuel, and others do with them, and I see it now more as a way of getting voicings that would otherwise be unobtainable.
 
alantig said:
My first guitar teacher felt that way, and I felt that way for a long time. Then I saw what some guys like Davy Knowles, Tommy Emmanuel, and others do with them, and I see it now more as a way of getting voicings that would otherwise be unobtainable.
Click to expand...

One guy I play with will just use it so he's always playing familiar chord shapes, G,C, D, F etc., but up higher on the fretboard, to do key changes for singers. He asked me how I DIDN'T use one when she show up and the singer goes "that's a bit too high, can you lower it" or vice versa. My answer, barre chords. LOL One step up? No problem. Two? No problem. Wherever you want it, I can barre it there.
 
DreamTheaterRules said:
One guy I play with will just use it so he's always playing familiar chord shapes, G,C, D, F etc., but up higher on the fretboard, to do key changes for singers. He asked me how I DIDN'T use one when she show up and the singer goes "that's a bit too high, can you lower it" or vice versa. My answer, barre chords. LOL One step up? No problem. Two? No problem. Wherever you want it, I can barre it there.
Click to expand...

I've used mine to overdub and play different voicings to complement a main part. Some of them I could do with barre chords, some not so much - not enough fingers! Although I did recently record one song that I used a capo on just because the capo'd version had a little different chime to it that I really liked.

I do have a couple Spider capos that I've used to give a 'fake' altered tuning. I was really happy w/how that song turned out. I need to relearn how to play it some day.
 
ScottR said:
I dunno...this one pretty much RULES!! Well it's technically a chimpanzee but he has a gun, so it's irrelevant.
Click to expand...
no, according to some, we used to be one of those too, if I have the "theory" correct. :D

Heck, according to my wife, I act like one sometimes even now. Apparently we never completely "evolve" out of it. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

E
The low threshold to entry for guitar
3 4 5
Replies
90
Views
1K
Moondog Wily
Moondog Wily
SteveGlitch
What pedals do you use?
6 7 8
Replies
149
Views
2K
PAFF64
PAFF64
Huber Breese Music
Hello from Huber Breese Music!
Replies
8
Views
183
Huber Breese Music
Huber Breese Music
Ruben Bernard
How do you guys afford buying guitars???
4 5 6
Replies
112
Views
4K
Daryl Jones
Daryl Jones
Simon Says
What are you hoarding?
2 3
Replies
49
Views
823
markie
markie
Back
Top