This thread is all about your thoughts, Opinions and experiences with Self Taught musicians and use of Music Theory.
I'm a left handed self taught guitarist/producer. I learned everything I know on my own terms and through my own experiences. I've spent countless hours making my own patterns/shapes on the fretboard and on a keyboard. I know small pieces of music theory (Not even scratching the surface...I wouldn't even consider it rubbing the surface.) Everything else on the other hand is all shit I've figured out myself.
I've met a few talented musicians in my day who don't much about music at all, for instance I've been jamming with a guy lately who is a fucking MASTER on the fretboard doing all kinds of crazy shit, but can't even recite the names of each string on the guitar. In some cases working with musicians like this is kind of nice, we speak the same language (Palm mute on 5, then dundundundun on open, etc) but sometimes it can be frustrating when you're using basic musical terminology and suddenly they go from guitarist to potato.
There have been more than a few times I've gone to jam with someone and they ask me "Show me a Minor Pentatonic in the key of A" or some shit like that, and I'm like "Oh fuck." I find it absolutely EMBARRASSING. But on the other hand, it's a great learning experience for me, I can get exposure to different methods vastly differing from my own. I'd love to learn Music Theory, but I'm a stubborn little shit and can't seem to grasp concepts as fast as others. (Woo! excuses!) Like I said before, I know bits and pieces, but I use my own terms and my own styles.
How do you guys feel about this issue?
i don't think the two are mutually exclusive
learning theory - which you can teach yourself, on your own - is basically learning the vocabulary with which to put into words things that we are already aware of by intuition because of the way our brains process sound
you could figure out most of the things that theory - more general areas of it anyway not so much crazy really in-depth complicated stuff - on your own without ever opening up a book if you just spent enough time playing with sounds and experimenting and getting a natural, not-quite-conscious feel for what you can do and what sounds right and different tricks that convey different things, and then after all that if someone sat you down and explained to you the proper theory you'd be like "oh that's the thing i already figured out how to do by myself i just didn't have a name for it"
but again thats basically only applicable at the simpler levels cuz then when you get into more complex and esoteric parts of theory it just gets into insane stuff no normal person would ever even think of without being told about it first
Trying to play jazz or western classic music without knowing theory means you waste a lot of time just trying to understand and interpret the piece. It's about what kind of music you make.
If you make noise music then theory might even stop you from making the music you want to make.
or alternatively it could lay out all the rules for you, which you can then be aware of and intentionally break if you're making noise or avant garde or something
definitely very true about theory's importance varying depending on what you're gonna play, tho
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