Excellent Demonstration of applied theory

[mambo4]

skip to 2:10 and watch Anthony Wellington lay it out better than I ever could.

 

[Jeff Bonny]

Like he says in this clip ANYONE can think of a great line but it takes the knowledge and dexterity of a good musician to bring it out. He's not really applying his knowledge of theory to create his music as he is simply using it to explain and more clearly find the music he always had in him. There are subtle but important differences between the terms "applying" and "using". Theory is a tool to be used as required not a coat of rule paint to saturate your entire vision of music. You don't apply a wrench to bolts you use the wrench on a bolt and one size does not fit all. The more wrenches you have the more different bolts you can effectively turn. Once you get a grasp on theory this isn't really an issue. I think we get bogged down with misleading terminology trying to convince people who believe they can get the work done without the basic tools that they really do need those basic tools.

How Drew Gress is thinking about theory here resonates with me.

 

[Dmwphoto]

excellent

 

[mambo4]

He's not really applying his knowledge of theory to create his music as he is simply using it to explain and more clearly find the music he always had in him. There are subtle but important differences between the terms "applying" and "using".

I understand your point , although the terms "applying" and "using" are no where strictly defined as one thing or another.
Anthony is not actually "thinking in theory" :
he's hearing the sound he wants to play,
then because of his years of practice and familiarity with the instrument
he is able to execute what he hears in his head.

His ability to almost instantly translate it into scale tones and sing " six five four three two ..."
and know what the name of the pitches involved is
is probably being applied after the actual playing of the phrase.

I've posted elsewhere that "knowing" an aspect of theory involves 4 components:

1. the sound
2. how to make the sound on your intsrument
3. the name(s) of the sound
4. the notation of the sound

With numbers 1 and 2 being most critical.
I guess that's also ideally the order in which we ought to apply it.
Interestingly the order in which we learn is generally the reverse.