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5 Reasons You
Should Learn Music Theory...
Many blues guitar students get caught up in a
certain myth--a harmful myth. They believe that blues guitar
lessons should never have anything to do with music theory. They
want to play the blues--and who needs theory for that? How much
theory did Robert Johnson know? How much theory does the Reverend
Billy Gibbons know?
The reality is--we don't know how much theory Johnson knew or
Gibbons knows. But one thing is certain: Johnson used it and
Gibbons uses it, even if just subconsciously. And if the greatest
blues guitar players don't know music theory--just think how much
better they could be if they did!
In some way or another, many of your blues guitar lessons must
incorporate music theory. You will only be a better musician for
knowing theory. All that "feeling vs. technique" crap is just
that--a country crock of crap. Yes, of course you need to train
your ear. But knowing theory helps you do that. It gives you better
technique, and that enables you to express a deeper feeling.
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There are five good reasons (at least) why blues guitar lessons
need to incorporate music theory.
1) Knowing music theory enables you to focus more on what you want to accomplish.
If you want to be a blues (wo)man, you need to understand the elements that create
the blues sound in the first place. If you don't understand how to solo minor over
major, you have a whole core element missing from your blues playing--and it will
be obvious to your listeners. It's like trying to master the English language but
avoiding the letter M (orsoe-thing like that). See?
2) Knowing music theory enables you to more effectively and clearly communicate
your knowledge and ideas to other musicians. This is very helpful if you want to
jam with other guitar players who aren't blues players or who want to combine
styles. It's also highly useful when you want to play or write songs with other
non-guitar player musicians.
3) Music theory opens up your mind to whole new possibilities that
you might not think of on your own. If all you do is learn by ear, you sound like a
copy cat mimicker of those players that you admire. Think of the disadvantage that
someone who is illiterate but fluent in speaking a certain language has. Their mind
is closed to tons of new possibilities because of their lack of knofwledge.
4) Music theory helps you improvise better blues solos. If you know how something
is going to sound before you even play it, and why it's going to sound that way,
you have more depth and more facility. Conceptualization enhances execution.
5) Knowing music theory makes your blues guitar lessons and playing more enjoyable
and, therefore, more effective. The more you enjoy something, the more you want to
do it. The more you understand something, the more you enjoy it. It's that
simple.
Blues guitar lessons may not be classical guitar lessons, but then again music
theory is not just for classical music. Great jazz musicians, who certainly know
the blues, know their music theory. Know music theory and expand your blues guitar
mind.
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