I'm kind of the person that just likes to learn songs rather then learning music theory is that a bad thing because my plan originally was to learn all my favorite songs first then do music theory last or should i have started theory earlier now i'm stuck on what i want to do.
Music theory
- Thread starter Dk6661
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Basically, learning songs is the most useful if you know the theory as far as progress in your musicianship goes(what's the point of knowing how to sweep if you don't know how to use it In your own stuff). I'm a big advocate of learning songs instead of exercises but for songs to actually work you need to know how it works so you can apply it in your own playing (analyze the chord progression, try and figure out what you actually sweep, what scale is that, what technique is that etc.) It doesn't need to be fully 100% hardcore dissecting the sing but having some grab of the song alike the chords that are used is definetely helpful and for that you need some basic theory knowledge.
Not saying learning songs for shits and giggles is bad but this is just my viewpoint of learning other people's songs usually.
Not saying learning songs for shits and giggles is bad but this is just my viewpoint of learning other people's songs usually.
There are some amazing guitarists out there that know very little to no music theory. I went the opposite direction as you and spent significantly more time learning theory than playing, and I regret it. My playing ability is far behind my musical knowledge.
Learning songs by ear is in my opinion the best way to learn guitar, because the material you write sounds most like what you enjoy listening to. My proudest improv practices have almost always come after learning something by ear. Learning things by ear allows you to not get hung up on thinking about songs or parts of a song that are not entirely in a single key because you are playing by ear.
Music theory is nice to know, but ultimately I wished I had gone your route and learned more songs.
However, being able to recognize patterns and keys greatly helps you to learn things by ear because you have an idea of where the notes in a key are. If you are wanting to learn music theory, there are some amazing threads on this site to help you, and YouTube is a fantastic resource as well. Andrew Huang and Rick Beato are excellent channels that cover almost any theory topic you can imagine.
Rick Beato's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJquYOG5EL82sKTfH9aMA9Q
Rick Beato's Intro to Music Theory:
Andrew Huang's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdcemy56JtVTrsFIOoqvV8g
Andrew Huang's Intro to Music Theory:
Thank you ids ill give theory another shot i just have troubles understanding it and it frustrates me
Thank you i'll check out rick beato i think iv'e seen a couple of his other videos on theory already but i just didn't understand anything i'll give them another try
Music is aural. Theory is not as important as sounding good. Of course a little theory is necessary to play at all. You probably know more than you think you do already. I played for 5 or 6 years and was a pretty good player before I knew anything about theory. As time went on, I became more curious about theory - and then explored it. It mostly explained what I was already playing. But there were also some surprises that changed my playing.
Learning songs is a great way to learn. If there is a scale or a chord that intrigues you - look it up. Find out why it does what it does. It shouldn't be "one or the other". You can learn songs and a bit of theory at the same time.
Whatever path you take, have fun and play things that challenge you. That's how to get better.
Good luck!
Cheers!
pg
Learning songs is a great way to learn. If there is a scale or a chord that intrigues you - look it up. Find out why it does what it does. It shouldn't be "one or the other". You can learn songs and a bit of theory at the same time.
Whatever path you take, have fun and play things that challenge you. That's how to get better.
Good luck!
Cheers!
pg
I was watching a video by Rick Beato on YouTube and saw someone recommend a channel from a guy who explains music theory and stuff. His name is Brad Harrison. I checked him out and really liked him. He explains everything with a simple language and even make little jokes in his videos. So, if anyone is interested: https://youtube.com/c/BradHarrison
Rick Beato is amazing, but his basic music theory videos didn't feel so basic to me, a complete beginner, so Brad's explanation made more sense to me.
Rick Beato is amazing, but his basic music theory videos didn't feel so basic to me, a complete beginner, so Brad's explanation made more sense to me.
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