Theory is boring to me..

[prsplayer12]

Im in need of some pointers. I have the book Musoc Theory For The Guitarist by Tom Kolb (its a Hal Leonard book) and am trying to work my way through it because i think it was really help my improv skills and just overall playing skills. The problem is that i find this stuff some of the most boring information ever. And i have read some very dry textbooks in school. I can only get about a page or two done and then i need to go do something else.

How would you get around this? There are other books/lessons that have and want to work through as well. Should i be working on those and the theory book at the same time to sort of balance it out? I wouldnt even bother with the theory but i feel like it really will make me a better player.

[mr. beaumont]

What are you trying to learn? "Theory" is a big topic.

Do you have your fundamentals down? Fretboard knowledge, major scale harmony, chord building? If not, hide the theory book until you do.

[cotten]

"Theory" is nothing more than the written form of the language you already speak: music. Like other languages, it's easiest to learn in small bits, applying them to what you are already "speaking."

Because music has so many variations, it's written language has to be very involved in order to convey all of them, but then the basics are much easier. There are multiple elements of music, each of which you are already "speaking," though you may not know how it is written, such as...

1. Rhythm
2. Melody
3. Harmony
4. Form and Structure, etc.

How easy would it have been to learn to read English from just a book? It would be TOUGH! Would a DVD set or Youtube videos make it easier? Of course, but the best teacher would be the Best Teacher. My suggestion is that you find a good teacher who knows how to teach theory (the written language of music) in an engaging way that relates what you are learning to the music you are already "speaking." That way, it's always practical, and not all that hard. And it's no more boring than the music itself!

cotten

[Paikon]

music school is the best way to learn theory ....and music in general IMO
Books are a good way to remember things you 've already learned but not so good when you start from scratch

[Hotspur]

Originally Posted by prsplayer12

How would you get around this? There are other books/lessons that have and want to work through as well. Should i be working on those and the theory book at the same time to sort of balance it out? I wouldnt even bother with the theory but i feel like it really will make me a better player.

I don't see any real reason for theory to take up more than 10-15% of your total practice time. The amount of theory you need to know to play the majority of non-jazz contemporary music is really quite small. I don't know the book you're referring to, so i can't comment on it, but I do feel that a lot of theory books are rather mediocre. I'm a fan of "Harmony and Theory" by Shroeder and Wyatt, which combined with the Guitar Fretboard Workbook (which will apply all the key concepts to the fretboard) is all you need to know from a theoretical standpoint.

It's hard to give you good advice without knowing more about your abilities and goals, but I'm of the opinion that ear training is far more important that theory if you want to become a good improviser. (I recommend using the functional ear trainer, downloadable from Miles.Be, and Wyatt et al's "Ear Training for the Contemporary Musician.")

Beyond that, you need to set goals and work on the skills you need to master them. One good thing is to find songs that inspire you and learn the skills you need in order to play them.

[Bern]

Just reading about theory is very boring, I agree. Personally, what worked for me was to apply little bits and pieces step by step when I needed them. Slowly but surely, I gathered enough information to have an understanding of the theory applicable to my music and guitar playing.
I believe, there is a misconception about theory. Generally, people who have no idea about what theory can do for musical growth give theory bad rap without any reasonable explanation.

[prsplayer12]

I'm trying to learn stuff like chord building, the circle of fifths, basic scales, etc.

I don't really know how to explain it.. which is my first problem. I know how to read sheet music (albeit I'm not too great or quick at it..) and I know the basic fret board layout but I want to expand and learn how to develop melodies, chords, scales, and stuff like that.

[Bern]

I understand...
I would approach theory the way I've mention in my post. Investigate and learn the stuff you need at the present time. There is so much stuff to learn and some, of not a lot, will have no use for you in the future.
I can read a book or watch a DVD about piloting an airplane, but unless I practice with the real thing, I will never be a pilot.

[dchristo]

throw the book away and play your guitar....its suppose to be fun

[JanVigne]

"I'm trying to learn stuff like chord building, the circle of fifths, basic scales, etc.

I don't really know how to explain it.. which is my first problem. I know how to read sheet music (albeit I'm not too great or quick at it..) and I know the basic fret board layout but I want to expand and learn how to develop melodies, chords, scales, and stuff like that."





Justin's Top Ten Practice Tips:

1. Practice what you can't do, not what you can.

5. Focus on one element of practice at a time.

10. The more you think, the more you stink (practice until it becomes instinct).

http://justinguitar.com/en/BC-105-PracticeTips.php


Theory is the foundation for all you will do on the guitar. It is the musical equivalent to eating your brussel sprouts. You can do very well without it but you'll probably do much better with it. However, if you ate brussell sprouts everyday, three times a day, you'd be sick of brussel sprouts quite soon.

Practice sessions should be varied to maintain your interest and to develop a flow to your progression as a student. Learning only one thing about playing is boring, so practice sessions are typically broken up into smaller segments. In each segment you may spend five to ten minutes each working on scales, chords, rhythm patterns, etc. If you are spending more than those five or so minutes a day on theory, you're more likely to find you actually know less at the end of the book.

Looking at the book on line it gets high marks from all reviewers but still loooks quite dry as far as theory books go. I'd say there are theory books and then there are practical theory books. No one needs to know everything about theory unless they intend to teach theory IMO. Practical theory informs you of what is required to accomplish a task on the guitar. It does so at the time you need to know how and why you are doing the task which gets the job done. No more and no less is probably the best advice for most students. Consider music theory to be the same as geometry, trigonometry and physics, you don't need to know them to make change. You will find them useful as you progress toward a full education and, in the end, you'll realize they are in use everyday of your life in all things around you.

Take small bites and incorporate the theory into your playing as you feel the need to know why you are doing a task. If the book doesn't provide the music to go with the theory, take the topic you are studying and place it in a search engine. Chances are another writer will have a better explanation of the topic and a more interesting way to teach it. Don't throw the book away but at some point put it down as you begin to play music on your own.

[chewie]

Originally Posted by prsplayer12

I'm trying to learn stuff like chord building, the circle of fifths, basic scales, etc.

I don't really know how to explain it.. which is my first problem. I know how to read sheet music (albeit I'm not too great or quick at it..) and I know the basic fret board layout but I want to expand and learn how to develop melodies, chords, scales, and stuff like that.

Ok, I know exactly where you're at. I played for a long time finding the same block every time I tried to learn theory.

Start with the major scale, in C. Just work that out with no open strings, in a few positions, but crucially in the 8th fret position. Learn the note names, and the interval names (I suggest jazz termonlogy because it's a tad more to the point than traditional). Just take five minute bites at playing and naming your notes and intervals up, down, sideways.. then do something more fun and come back later.

When you're pretty well bored with that, now do arpeggios of chord tones. So play the 1, 3, 5, 7 up, down and sideways. Then add the 9, 11, 13. Do them in small groups, see how they sound. Do the same for the other numbers too.

Then look at shell chords.

Gradually it'll begin to make sense, and once you get what chords really are, and how to make them, you'll never need to refer to a diagram or tab for a chord ever again.

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by prsplayer12

...I can only get about a page or two done and then i need to go do something else.
...How would you get around this?

Hi prs player...

When people mention they want to learn theory, I share that the best way is in a classroom, and on keyboards, then transfer it to guitar (and any other instrument you choose).

Scale and chord theory is best understood, and learned on keys, in an interactive environment; taught by a dedicated and experienced teacher who doesn't reduce it to mathematical formulae.

What many players want and what we need may be two totally different things, and we have been told that a working knowledge of theory will help. I don't find it that simple, nor does it always pan out.

Studying music theory for the sake of improvisation is a process spread to be spread out over a long period of time, and using it like a skilled surgeon to influence you spontaneous play is probably one of the latter steps in the chain.

If you want to learn to improvise better, you may only need a giggin' partner to chop chords for you for endless hours.

Attempting to learn working theory from a book, or DVD, without other players or live interaction is probably not the most interesting way to go about it...buying a book or DVD are far less expensive than taking a college series of theory classes...and you may get what you pay for.

For what it's worth, I have a music degree and 17 credit hours of interactive music theory, and have been teaching guitar locally going on my 37th year.

Hope this contributes to the discussion...

[Tuxcat]

There have been some good suggestions here, hopefully someone will say the same about this one

In addition to the methods already mentioned, you might try doing it backwards. Experiment a lot and when you come across something that you like the sound of, map it out and then look at what you've got and see how the pieces fit together. Then you can try the same principle in other areas and see how it works.

The nice thing about music theory is that you don't -need- to know any in order to make music. Knowing a little will take you a very long way and you can always add more when you feel ready.

Theory happens in your brain. Music happens in your ears and your heart.

[prsplayer12]

Originally Posted by Tuxcat

In addition to the methods already mentioned, you might try doing it backwards. Experiment a lot and when you come across something that you like the sound of, map it out and then look at what you've got and see how the pieces fit together. Then you can try the same principle in other areas and see how it works.

I like that idea.

Thanks for the pointers everyone. After reading through all the comments and giving it some thought I think I will probably just keep it to a 'use it when I need it' basis. That way I wont bore myself to death with it, but I can apply it to a song or something that I am learning in order to understand why things are the way they are. I'm not going to completely dismiss it because I still feel its a valuable part of learning to be a better musician no matter what instrument, but I think that taking it in smaller doses and applying it as I go/want/need will be most beneficial and will make it a lot easier to take in stride.

[rick-slo]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxAchOQWCpE