Guys I have a question about guitar theory

[MaveDatthews]

Or music theory if you will. Do you need to know basics to write songs on guitar? Because every time i come up with a little catchy sound i always get lost. I know i have an ear for sound too, i know what is good but i dont know anything about my songs, ie: what key it is in etc... I know it takes creativity and time but i have all these little ditty's (i hate that word by the way) that could make good verses or chorus's. But the second i want to switch to another chord i just get lost. I have mastered all but a few of Dave's songs simply because i wasnt interested in learning them and never really got around to it, and a pretty big chunk of john mayer's songs and now it bores me to play covers. I want to be all about my own songs now. can someone offer some advice for me? It would be greatly appreciated, thank you very much guys. p.s. i have been playing for about 2 and a half years now. 1 and a half solid, but lately just been losing interest.

[lovechild]

no. the beetles didn't know anything about guitar theory, nor dime bag derril. some people just get guitar theory without even knowing it's something to be had.

still doesn't mean you shouldn't learn theory, cause it will help a ton.

it's kind of like going out for a english degree. everyone knows how to speak and write. some writers never go to college and are better than others that have. but no matter your level, taking english classes WILL help.

my tip, don't get so headstrong into creating songs. I can never just sit down and create a song(atleast one that I'm satisfied with). all the best songs just come to me when I'm going through the day as usuall. you will get a toon in your head and BAM, you got a hell of a song. that and at night when I sleep I get a lot of ideas.

what you need is a tape recorder, nothing fancy. when you get a song idea hum it in the tape recorder, or grab a guitar and play into it if you don't have time to go home and play in your rig. a tape recorder is a musicians best friend.

also don't feel like you are abandoning your guitar if you sit it down for a week or two. usually when I get a burn out session I sit my guitar down for about a week and a half and I'm invegorated when I pick her back up.

[skoal]

Learn it. All the guys who could play well without it are exceptions (Dimebag, Hendrix [who still knew some theory]). And the Beatles being theoretically ignorant is a huge misconception, and I don't know where or how it started.

Telling yourself you don't need to know some theory to be successful in music is the same as buying 6 second abs and thinking you'll have a six pack. It'd be nice if it worked, but it doens't. You need passion and commitment. Think about it, would someone trying to be a lawyer debate whether or not he should study the law? Or could a doctor perform surgery "by feel"? It would be ludicrous in any profession, yet in music its common.

You don't need to know theory to write a good song, but it certainly helps; knowing what chords build up the most tension, which ones resolve tension, or how to play licks in the key you're in. Playing stops being a trial-and-error guessing game. Knowing theory is also essential if you want to play with other musicians. If someone says to you "OK we're gonna do a little thing in E in 3/4, come in on the eighth bar", you're going to need theory.

All the information you need is on the internet (cyberfret.com, wholenot.com, etc). I'd recommend buying a simple theory book too (ie Theory for Dummies). You'll be doing yourself a huge favor.

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[mangold]

it sounds like you have problems choosing chords, and my suggestion would be find the bass note that fits where you want the chord to be then try variations of the open chord (minor, 7th, etc.) until you find the one that fits.

[Stick]

For finding the key, that can be difficult if you've taken 0 theory. For starters here are some roman numerals I'll explain in a second.

I ii iii IV V vi vii

The big ones are major chords, and the small ones are minor but the seventh is diminished, don't worry too much about that for now. For example if the song is in the key of C major you would probably see only these chords:

C d e F G a b

with the small being minor and the big being major, but the b would be diminished. (Diminished means that the 5th of that specific chord would be lowered naturally getting a different sound than major or minor. In b diminished's case you would have the notes b d and F.) Here is an example in another key, G:

G a b C D e f#(diminished)

I hope that is a helpful start, if you have any questions just ask.