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theory over rated

#61
Fassa Albrecht said:
I can only speak from what I've seen and heard for myself.
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Yes, exactly. That was kind of my point. If you really believe what you posted, or anything close to it, then it's clear you haven't seen or heard NEARLY enough to make that kind of judgment. Because, frankly, if you had, you'd never have made such an ill-informed comment. At least I hope you wouldn't have.

Hence the remark about casting your net more widely.
 
#62
almost all theory is crap... its called theory not fact. learn the patterns for major/minor scales and learn to read sheet music and thats all you need. you can learn more but when will you ever need to play hungarian minor flat 5?
 
#63
Fassa, they weren't talking about playing different types of music when they said cast a wider net. They were talking about getting out and meeting musicians out of your own circle and in more pro circles. The only musicians who see theory as boxes from which there is no escape are newbs.
 
#64
Thaos627 said:
almost all theory is crap... its called theory not fact. learn the patterns for major/minor scales and learn to read sheet music and thats all you need. you can learn more but when will you ever need to play hungarian minor flat 5?
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Spoken like someone who doesn't know anything past scale formation and the dots on the paper. For example, you brought up a hungarian minor flat 5. Don't know where the "Hungarian" part came from, but if you take a minor chord and give it a flat 5th, that would be known as a "diminished" chord, which musicians use constantly in all types of music.

Why are people against education? I do not get it. Education is a privilege that few across this world are able to receive, and in western countries where a high school education is available for free, it's treated like a badge of honor to be uneducated, especially where music's concerned. I will never get it why people actually like to be dumb.
 
#67
JimmyM said:
Why are people against education? I do not get it. Education is a privilege that few across this world are able to receive, and in western countries where a high school education is available for free, it's treated like a badge of honor to be uneducated, especially where music's concerned. I will never get it why people actually like to be dumb.
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Ignorance is bliss. :rollno:
 
#68
live one day at a time .... play one note at a time... when you are ready for theory you won't be asking this question... for now just play the bass... if you ever have the desire for more knowledge you'll seek it... i started out playing by ear and ran out of ideas so i learned chord theory, scale theory, jazz theory, classical training, improv and now i still...live one day at a time...play one note at a time .. Jaco went the same route
 
#70
helterschecter said:
Iv taken lessons for over a yr now and iv learned some theory. My question is do I really need to learn all the scales or should I just learn to play the songs I want to play..which happens to be the reason that I want to play bass in the first place
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Well, if your knowledge of theory is on par with your use of written English, you have a bright future as a Wal-Mart greeter...

It's similar- Without knowledge and understanding of the language of music (which is all theory is), you are limited to what you pick up in your own little world. And there's a big world out there that is available without compromising your own aspirations if you take advantage of that knowledge and learn to work in it.

John
 
#71
Thaos627 said:
almost all theory is crap... its called theory not fact. learn the patterns for major/minor scales and learn to read sheet music and thats all you need. you can learn more but when will you ever need to play hungarian minor flat 5?
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No, fool. It's called "theory" because it's a description of what works MOST of the time. There are two rules of theory (at least properly taught/learned theory) that are never broken, and they're related to each other.

A. If it sounds right, it IS right.
B. If it sounds wrong, it IS wrong.

Now of course there are very real differences in people's definition of what sounds "right" and what sounds "wrong", but theory is a discussion of what sounds right to most people in most circumstances. Not always, and no really good theory teacher would tell you (beyond exercises to focus on particular aspects) that you can never have parallel fifths, or play a flat 5, or use a b3 against a major chord. But theory can help you a lot to learn things that DO work without having to memorize every bass line ever played.

That's one of the best things about theory- being able to see a pattern and understand it so you can extrapolate to other situations and get the same musical effect.

John
 
#72
JimmyM said:
Spoken like someone who doesn't know anything past scale formation and the dots on the paper. For example, you brought up a hungarian minor flat 5. Don't know where the "Hungarian" part came from, but if you take a minor chord and give it a flat 5th, that would be known as a "diminished" chord, which musicians use constantly in all types of music.

Why are people against education? I do not get it. Education is a privilege that few across this world are able to receive, and in western countries where a high school education is available for free, it's treated like a badge of honor to be uneducated, especially where music's concerned. I will never get it why people actually like to be dumb.
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Hungarian minor scale has a flat 5 anyway. I think I'll make a report to the Department of Redundancy department. :D
 
#73
Hmmm...well I just looked up this Hungarian minor scale...it has a sharp 4th, not a flat 5th. The 5th is normal.

See, now there's even more reason to study theory...so when some interneter mentions the flat 5th in the Hungarian minor scale, you can look really smart by saying, "It's not a flat 5th, it's a sharp 4th, you malodorous cur!"

:D

But seriously, you guys need to keep that stuff straight...big difference between the 4th and 5th degrees of a scale...flats and sharps are NOT interchangeable...etc.
 
#74
JimmyM said:
Hmmm...well I just looked up this Hungarian minor scale...it has a sharp 4th, not a flat 5th. The 5th is normal.

See, now there's even more reason to study theory...so when some interneter mentions the flat 5th in the Hungarian minor scale, you can look really smart by saying, "It's not a flat 5th, it's a sharp 4th, you malodorous cur!"

:D
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No, doing this just makes you look like a complete and utter pretentious basshole.
 
#77
To me it makes him look like someone I'd want in my band.

It's not difficult. While the #4 and the b5 may be the same fretted note on your bass, the #4 indcates that the chord tone of a natural 5th is part of the chord structure. A b5 indicates that the natural 5th is not part of the chord structure, the b5 is there in its place.
 
#79
Munjibunga said:
Timing and meter are two fundamental elements of music theory.
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Thank you for pointing that out!

To the OP- there is no race, no timetable. Learning about music, and how to express yourself clearly with it is a lifelong journey. So learn those songs you want to know. Write down how long it takes you to get them close, and then how much longer it takes to get them perfect. Then go back and work on your chord theory (just triads and 7 chords for now), and then see if it helps you learn the next batch of songs faster.

The thing about theory is that, once you tie it into songs and how it sounds, it makes learning new songs, or writing your own parts for brand new songs, much easier. Not having to fumble over potential note choices, or being able to really tell what a drummer is doing rhythmically, will help your creativity, your flow, your groove- it will help your playing. But take it as it comes. Like a previous poster said, it's not a sandwich that needs to be finished in one sitting, and there really is a bunch of stuff in there.
 
#80
Theory is 4 loosers. U dont need theory 2 shred on teh base. most base playas who use theory cant play thier way out of a wet paper bag. rock and role has NUTHING 2 do with theory its all abowt how hard U can rawk or shred. teh most impotent thing in rawk muzik is yer image and how low U where your base (it shood be right arownd nee-levil) beesides theory is 4 loosers who want 2 play week-ass krap liek jazz which knowone lieks anywayz. jazz sux anywayz. stoner doom mettle is way h4rder 2 play. U dont kneed theory 2 play stoner doom, just the rite atitood.
 

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