There are guitarists who've made legendary ranks without knowing a lick of theory, such as Stevie Ray Vaughn... However, do you think those musicians could possibly have benefited from learning theory?

When you look at other players with a knowledge of theory; Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, who attended Berklee College of Music, Yngwie Malmsteen, Eric Johnson, John Petrucci... and compare that to the players who've never learned how to even find a G on the Treble Staff. Doesn't it seem like they're limiting their abilities?

There are guitarists who've made legendary ranks without knowing a lick of theory, such as Stevie Ray Vaughn... However, do you think those musicians could possibly have benefited from learning theory?

When you look at other players with a knowledge of theory; Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, who attended Berklee College of Music, Yngwie Malmsteen, Eric Johnson, John Petrucci... and compare that to the players who've never learned how to even find a G on the Treble Staff. Doesn't it seem like they're limiting their abilities?

The most valuable part of reading music is the communication between musicians. When you get together to jam you don't have to look around at everyone going "you know this one? you know that one?". A simple chord makes that so much easier. You don't spend half an hour going "is it two times or fifteen?" The other value to reading music is studying. There are many great books out there that don't come in tab.

Things like TAB notation are strange to me!
I’ve never used them and while I do understand them…I find it a bit weird to have to read a chart telling me were to place each finger on the fret board for each note…rather than to just read note pitches.

Not sure if any tabs do this (never saw any)…but it would make sense for guitar tabs to also include the actual notes/pitches rather then just finger positions…
…that way people would also learn which notes they are playing instead of just where to put their fingers.

Knowing theory and being able to read [standard music notation] are [two] different things.

Hey everyone,

I searched around the forum for the subject for a while and came up with nada.

I've been playing guitar for approximately nine years. I'm 27 years old. Recently I've become more interested in learning classical theory to further my growth as a musician. At the moment, I'm actually writing an arguementative paper for my english class on guitarists and bassists who do and do not read music, including their reasons for their actions on either side of the topic.

I'm hoping tha this will get due attention.. I believe its worth discussing.

Any imput will help.

Thanks

I just don’t have too many occasions where [using standard notation] is necessary to get things done in the studio or at a basic jam session.

Well...they don't really offer pitch info...they offer finger position info (if that's what you meant).

But I'm just going by the ones I've seen on the Internet...and most do not offer any pitch info or standard music notation in parallel....just the X-X-X-X 3-3-1-2...etc

Maybe the books do offer more info…I just never looked at them.

I find it a bit weird to have to read a chart telling me were to place each finger on the fret board for each note…rather than to just read note pitches.

My lessons involve a lot of tab, I study theory at home which requires a lot of self discipline so I don't have the greatest knowledge but I am progressing.

In order to become a guitar player it takes more in my eyes than just being able to play tab, I want the whole package. I want to be a complete musician. It's a personal thing for me.

So...I don't read music because I am not taught it at my lessons.
At home I read music because I want to learn everything I can about playing music, to me going into a music store and being able to pick up a songbook and play most of it by sight, that's where I want to be, I have a long way to go...I think it's what the individual wants out of their playing abilities.

I'm probaly making no sense...

...He has over a hundred of his own songs memorized and passes them on orally to band mates in the manner that Jerf describes above. (As I understand it this is also the way songs were learned and passed down in '40s Big Bands. Quite a contrast to what are often highly technical written scores used to teach swing music to today's students.)

Miro, I was referring to your previous quote

Miro, I was referring to your previous quote which seems to indicate that you would only get pitch information from TAB. TAB itself does not directly contain pitch info (although finger placement within a specified tuning will provide it) but it does contain a lot of info about articulation of a note and specific techniques to play it.

TAB on the net is typically pretty poor and books that offer tablature alongside std notation are common (and having both is much better).

Yes, learn to read, but also learn things by ear off records. It's great to be able to do BOTH! I know people who can read flyspecks but are lost when it's a simple tune with major and minor chords, and that's no good, either!

I have played with kids who have classical training and can play Bach handily and all that, but couldn't improvise at all, even if it's just a G major scale they'd have to use! I tend to think that they could, but they're afraid to try, having had so much perfectionism drilled into their heads!

Hey everyone,

I searched around the forum for the subject for a while and came up with nada.

I've been playing guitar for approximately nine years. I'm 27 years old. Recently I've become more interested in learning classical theory to further my growth as a musician. At the moment, I'm actually writing an arguementative paper for my english class on guitarists and bassists who do and do not read music, including their reasons for their actions on either side of the topic.

I'm hoping tha this will get due attention.. I believe its worth discussing.

Any imput will help.

Thanks

...and then just start doodling against those tracks.

That is the best way to learn improvisation.