Why learn music theory?

“Why learn music theory? I don’t want to be restricted…”

To the uninitiated, music theory is often thought of as being a set of rules that must be obeyed.

This is not what music theory is about

Music theory is a well-organised system of naming and describing music and how it works. Learning music theory brings meaning to what would otherwise be an anonymous sequence of chords or notes.

Whether a musician plays punk, funk or Paganini, the same names and descriptions apply, and it doesn’t matter ...

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17
MAY
2013

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guitar practice, learning, music theory

Learning the guitar fretboard

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19
APR
2013

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guitar practice, learning, music theory, resources for guitarists

Do guitarists need to learn to read music?

A common quote about reading music

“…and do you know, [insert name] can’t even read music? Isn’t that amazing?”

We’ve all heard this line or something very similar to it.

To someone that dabbled in learning classical piano or violin back when they were at school, it might seem that the ability to read music is essential. But really it’s nothing more than a method of communicating information.

So, do guitarists need to learn to read music? This depends primarily on two things: