How many here understand music theory?

axisus

I would wager that I have possibly the least theory knowledge here. I don't even know many chords, certainly less that I used to. I'd love to get some lessons, but I would only bother if someone felt like the right person for me, and I don't even know what that means. 

randella

I understand, academically I suppose, how scales and chords are constructed, and how modes are derived from the major scale, that sort of thing.  I find it interesting so the information tends to stick.

There's a disconnect between that and applying it to my everyday guitar playing though.  Basically it comes down to learning the fretboard and regular, disciplined practice so there's no-one to blame but me when I've been leaning back on the same three Stevie Ray Vaughan licks and a fast mixolydian run for the last 20 years.

One of these days I'll find a routine that gets the information from my head to my fingers.  It slowly seeps through just by itself but I'd dearly love to reach that tipping point where it just comes out naturally.

DefaultM

Yes to all of them, but if anyone asks me to explain any of them then I struggle. 

beed84

Yes. And it wasn't as hard to understand as I thought.

stratman3142

Can I just check the question again, so I can answer YES or NO as you asked

The title says: How many here understand music music theory? To which I'd answer NO, because there are many things I don't know.

The text says: How many of you have any knowledge of music theory? I'd be happy to answer YES to that one.

They don't call me pedantic Pete for nothing

funkyfraz

I know enough to get by. I probably know alot more than I think I do (a bit like what Danny said). Ive never felt out my depth in any musical situation, which includes deps and sessions (bass)  so I'm probably doing something right

I'm going to actually take the time one day to learn more. 

TimmyO

Emp_Fab said:

That's what puts me off learning.  I know it sounds dumb but I'm a bit bothered that if I understand what I'm doing, I'll be thinking theory all the time instead of just being in the moment.  On the other hand, I'm sure I could be better technically if I knew the theory.

I don't think that happens to most people. It just means that more/different options suggest themselves to you when the moment comes.  Yes when you are learning and practicing new things you keep it front of mind and listen out for what you're doing, but once it sinks in it just joins the other stuff/old habits in there.

I've had a difficult history with learning and applying theory - I've tended to dive in and try and learn loads at once, rather than be consistent - consequently I struggle to keep it in my noggin. I'm trying to rectify that at the moment (see thread in Theory section from some time back) 

Someone on the old forum said something once that stuck in my mind - it was along the lines of "learning music theory is like living somewhere all your life, then suddenly discovering that there is a network of underground tunnels that clever people use to take shortcuts everywhere" 

I took it to mean that of course we can find our way to good musical choices, but knowing the tunnels makes it easier, and we can still choose to take the other route if we want to. Or something. 

EricTheWeary

If you are going to play in any group situation there's a minimum amount you should know in order to communicate with others and , at my level, I think that's the main purpose of knowing some theory. That's different in a Status Quo tribute than playing be bop maybe but you become very hard work for other people if you don't know about basic chord types, basic rythmns, transposing,etc. So for me it's about communication and knowing enough to do that.

For example, if our keyboardist said what's that note and I said it's an Ab and she said oh in this key it's G# my theory isn't right but it's the same bloody note so I'm okay with that. If my answer was fourth fret on the fat string that's a definite failure of communication. 

ThePrettyDamned

I do to a point. Jazz not so much - but the guitar jazz I have heard is mostly awful anyway. 

I used to make my own scales as a kid by raising or lowering a note or two. Turns out they are called modes. Once I understood the basic ones my playing got significantly better. 

I agree 100 percent with @Bucket . Knowing theory can't make you a worse player - playing shit music is a choice  

goldtop

stratman3142 said:

Can I just check the question again, so I can answer YES or NO as you asked

The title says: How many here understand music music theory? To which I'd answer NO, because there are many things I don't know.

The text says: How many of you have any knowledge of music theory? I'd be happy to answer YES to that one.

They don't call me pedantic Pete for nothing

What he said.

And I'd add that when I try to study music theory beyond what I know, I always get something out of it... BUT... it feels like orthodoxy. And I think music is a lot more fun and interesting when you just trust our ears/gut feel.

Flink_Poyd

Sort of understand parts as I'm learning as I go on. I really enjoy it as I like to know what makes things work in general  anyway

Chalky

goldtop said:

stratman3142 said:

Can I just check the question again, so I can answer YES or NO as you asked

The title says: How many here understand music music theory? To which I'd answer NO, because there are many things I don't know.

The text says: How many of you have any knowledge of music theory? I'd be happy to answer YES to that one.

They don't call me pedantic Pete for nothing

What he said.

And I'd add that when I try to study music theory beyond what I know, I always get something out of it... BUT... it feels like orthodoxy. And I think music is a lot more fun and interesting when you just trust our ears/gut feel.

What they said, especially the orthodoxy bit.  I play piano and sax by ear because reading the dots is too difficult and made me feel like a midi player (remember those).  Licks and modes leave me cold.  I'd much rather listen to a piece and try to copy it (and fail) than studiously work from tabs or other left-brain thinking material.  Sure its technically limiting, but its a lot more fun in my experience, and playing instruments is much more about the joy of doing it, rather than impressing an audience or those who can play far better than me.  

randella

Chalky said:

  Licks and modes leave me cold.  I'd much rather listen to a piece and try to copy it (and fail) than studiously work from tabs or other left-brain thinking material.

 @Chalky ; I think there's a balance though.  I'll hear a lick I really like and try and work it out - half the time I realise that there's a bit of theory involved, i.e. the lick's using the Dorian mode.  So then that leads to a bit of working out the Dorian shape that covers the lick's rough area on the fretboard which leads to more cool sounds.

That's how I tend to work anyway, at least sometimes.  The problem is I'll then forget it and go back to ripping off Billy Gibbons licks.

stratman3142

Chalky said:

goldtop said:

stratman3142 said:

Can I just check the question again, so I can answer YES or NO as you asked

The title says: How many here understand music music theory? To which I'd answer NO, because there are many things I don't know.

The text says: How many of you have any knowledge of music theory? I'd be happy to answer YES to that one.

They don't call me pedantic Pete for nothing

What he said.

And I'd add that when I try to study music theory beyond what I know, I always get something out of it... BUT... it feels like orthodoxy. And I think music is a lot more fun and interesting when you just trust our ears/gut feel.

What they said, especially the orthodoxy bit.  I play piano and sax by ear because reading the dots is too difficult and made me feel like a midi player (remember those).  Licks and modes leave me cold.  I'd much rather listen to a piece and try to copy it (and fail) than studiously work from tabs or other left-brain thinking material.  Sure its technically limiting, but its a lot more fun in my experience, and playing instruments is much more about the joy of doing it, rather than impressing an audience or those who can play far better than me.  

I think my post is being taken in a direction I didn't intend

I do read and write music, although I wouldn't claim to be able to be able to sight read. It's useful for me to write down charts and solos. I like to do a lot of transcribing. Writing down what I hear has helped me get my head around such things as the timings, such that I can classify the sound of certain timings such as 1/16 runs or triplets or semiquaver triplets etc, and then I can reuse that for my own ideas.

Also, I've studied scales (including their modes) and chord construction, plus the interrelationships between scales and chords. I find 'theory' useful in that allows me to give names to sounds I hear. Once I can categorise those sounds I can then reuse them and also extrapolate to create my own ideas.

This probably started in the early days when I used to copy solos by players such as Clapton and Kossoff. Sometimes they used note groupings that sounded happy and a 'bit country', and sometimes they used note groupings that sounded more edgy and bluesy. I eventually found out that they were major and minor pentatonics, so I had names for those sounds. Later on I extended that to add other notes and modifications to those scales, which led to being able to classify things as modes, arpeggios etc.

Theory is useful to me in that it allows me classify sounds and timings, and also to extrapolate that information.

lasermonkey

No.

viz

stratman3142 said:

Theory is useful to me in that it allows me to classify sounds and timings, and also to extrapolate that information.

This is the sentence that should come up when you google "what is music theory useful for?"

tone1

No...I put stickers on the frets like Spinal Tap 
G,A# etc

goldtop

randella said:

Chalky said:

  Licks and modes leave me cold.  I'd much rather listen to a piece and try to copy it (and fail) than studiously work from tabs or other left-brain thinking material.

 @Chalky ; I think there's a balance though.  I'll hear a lick I really like and try and work it out - half the time I realise that there's a bit of theory involved, i.e. the lick's using the Dorian mode.  So then that leads to a bit of working out the Dorian shape that covers the lick's rough area on the fretboard which leads to more cool sounds.

That's how I tend to work anyway, at least sometimes.  The problem is I'll then forget it and go back to ripping off Billy Gibbons licks.

A squillion years ago, after buying Ralph Denyer's book, I went through the modes. A lot of it did not stick, as I could not easily relate it to the type of music I was playing at the time. I should probably revisit it.

But now that I'm more confident in my ears, I've become happier to write/play what feels right and not second-guess the music by thinking about the key/mode/etc too soon. Classic case for me is a happy accident with the Roland MV-8800 that - like an Akai MPC - puts samples across a set of 4x4 pads. I'm no beat-maker, and I have no muscle memory for way the chromatic samples are laid out on the 4x4 grid. I had loaded an acoustic bass sample and hit pads until something musical happened. And I got a result that I can't play on bass (my chops are weak), and a sort of walking-bassline that I'd never have come up with on a keyboard. I have no idea what key/mode it's in, because some of the intervals are unusual.

Now this isn't an argument for remaining ignorant of the underlying theory of why it works. To flesh this bassline out, I will pick up a guitar and add organ/EP and at that point, I may not rely on guesswork, and may need more help from theory.

Chalky

randella said:

Chalky said:

  Licks and modes leave me cold.  I'd much rather listen to a piece and try to copy it (and fail) than studiously work from tabs or other left-brain thinking material.

 @Chalky ; I think there's a balance though.  I'll hear a lick I really like and try and work it out - half the time I realise that there's a bit of theory involved, i.e. the lick's using the Dorian mode.  So then that leads to a bit of working out the Dorian shape that covers the lick's rough area on the fretboard which leads to more cool sounds.

That's how I tend to work anyway, at least sometimes.  The problem is I'll then forget it and go back to ripping off Billy Gibbons licks.

Sure - and I've learned enough theory to do four and six part arrangements for woodwind. You're right, there is a balance. But I find as I get older it tips more towards just 'pick up my guitar and play'  

ourmaninthenorth

No. My brain shuts down on the occasions I've made a concerted effort to learn. I think I'm notationally gormless.

However, I seem to get along just fine without it for what I do.