Do you need music theory?

[Clark Dark]

Theory
some use/need it
some don't
….but
Ludwig Von Beethoven
while going deaf
because he was so adept
with the concepts
of theory
and harmony
continued to write
masterpieces
because
if your theory is strong
you don't have to hear it
to write or play it

 

[Father Gino]

I've written and recorded about 100 songs. I've played in successful original bands and toured in the US and abroad. I've played in about 50 cover bands. I've performed with some well known musicians as well as some of the most talented on the planet. I currently earn most of my living playing bass.

I know very little, if any, theory.

That’s just not true. You may not know theory in a classical sense like they would teach in music school, but you have some theory locked in your old head. And you have an “ear” which trumps classical theory anyway. Music is math whether you are consciously aware of it or not. Just ask Pythagoras who sorta quantified our western scale.

 

[Minimalist]

No, you don't need music theory but the better the tools you are using, the better the outcome. That is no different than in any other profession. You just need to decide how much to invest in those tools so the investment is in relations to the outcome.

 

[glocke1]

Two ways of looking at the same thing... chord theory is more appropriate for bass and guitar anyway, particularly if you're a jazzer. The only thing missing from your schema is the 2 and 6 intervals, and they're easy enough to bolt on if you treat them as an inverted 7 and 3 respectively

I know what's seconds and sixths are obviously..not sure what you mean though in this context. example?

 

[SteveCS]

I thought if you read it on the internet then it HAD to be right!!!!

Yes, of course. Silly me. I'll get my coat...

 

[jdh3000]

If you want to talk to other musicians yes you need some theory. It's the language we use.

Good point... Two of us in this band understand theory and it is easy to communicate what is going on or what needs to be done... The one that knows absolutely nothing about it has to be shown how to make some chords. Not cutting him down, he's an excellent player and can play all these chords, but doesn't recognize them by name.

 

[RustyAxe]

You wanna be a musician or play cover songs lol?

Having theory knowledge is NO guarantee that one can write a decent original song. Go out to any open mic to see what I mean. What a ridiculous thing to say. When my cover band BL calls something off our list and says "country shuffle, one-four-five, two minor on the turnaround" and then calls a key ... we in the band use our knowledge of theory to make it happen.

 

[Garth Moore]

I was always told to learn it, then forget it. Make it a part of your playing so you're not thinking of the circle of fourths (or fifths) during a gig. No ever got worse from learning music theory, even if you play the way you play and play the tunes straight. But guitarists light up when you play a fifth or seventh instead of the root during practice. Knowing theory and your fretboard will make you better.

 

[Father Gino]

don't know who Bobby Vega is

I didn’t know either until recently. Worth a look on youTube. Amazing player.

 

[Father Gino]

People tell me stuff like it's a 5-3-whatever progression, and honestly - I dont have a clue what they're talking about.

Boy are you a dummy

Here’s a quick lesson from someone equally ignorant. Simplest and most common of all rock songs is a 12 bar blues, 1/4/5 progression. The song is in A. The 1 is A. The 4 is D,4 whole steps up, ABCD. The 5 is E, 5 whole steps up, ABCDE.

there, now you can enroll in Berklee

 

[Father Gino]

Boy are you a dummy

Here’s a quick lesson from someone equally ignorant. Simplest and most common of all rock songs is a 12 bar blues, 1/4/5 progression. The song is in A. The 1 is A. The 4 is D,4 whole steps up, ABCD. The 5 is E, 5 whole steps up, ABCDE.

there, now you can enroll in Berklee

 

[zubrycky]

Yes.

 

[Smooth_bass88]

yes

 

[rashrader]

...provided you don't mind them being wrong on your behalf...

 

[Tommy V]

consciously, subconsciously, or unconsciously, we all use it.

 

[OptimalOptimus]

 

[MegaSwing]

After all, it IS the lexicon of music. It is how musicians converse with each other. What compelling argument is there to make against it?

 

[Joe Nerve]

Boy are you a dummy

Here’s a quick lesson from someone equally ignorant. Simplest and most common of all rock songs is a 12 bar blues, 1/4/5 progression. The song is in A. The 1 is A. The 4 is D,4 whole steps up, ABCD. The 5 is E, 5 whole steps up, ABCDE.

there, now you can enroll in Berklee

And here you have it....

First, I'd have to count those notes out on the bass neck . Second, I'm still not even certain if that includes sharps.

On the flip side, because I've been playing so long by ear I CAN identify intervals on my bass neck. Just not on paper. I know the difference in sound between a G and a D#. I can hear it and play it, or know how to play it if those are the notes I'm looking for. I just can't write on paper or tell you what I did, outside of telling you the notes I play.



And no, I'm not proud of that.

I think its math anxiety or something. My brain just shuts down when it comes to remembering what's what on paper, or numerically.

That being said, of course those who understand theory inside and out have a clear advantage over those who don't.

I'm not knocking it, nor saying I don't know what I'm doing. I just can't talk or write about what I'm doing outside of posts like these .

 

[Joe Nerve]

When I was at NAMM about a decade ago, Gail Ann Dorsey (David Bowie's bass player) was doing a little workshop that I accidentally stumbled upon. There were about a dozen people there, and they were asking questions. They asked if she studied music or knew theory and she said with a smile, "I know most of the notes on neck. At least up to around this part," and rubbed her bass around the 10th fret. It got a chuckle, but I could tell she was being honest.

That actually inspired me. Thanks Gail.

 

[SteveCS]

Boy are you a dummy

Here’s a quick lesson from someone equally ignorant. Simplest and most common of all rock songs is a 12 bar blues, 1/4/5 progression. The song is in A. The 1 is A. The 4 is D,4 whole steps up, ABCD. The 5 is E, 5 whole steps up, ABCDE.

there, now you can enroll in Berklee

The folks who don't know why this is wrong probably don't care, and those that know why it's wrong have no need of further proof, so I won't bother.