what do you need to be great?

[skilly]

ive been playing for a while now and i consider myself to be very good, (not to brag) i can go online look up the tab and learn almost any song all the way through in less than 24 hours. I dont know guitar theory, i dont know any of the notes, but i am still pretty good.

Even now i still hear people say ing i need to get lessons, or learn theory, but when you can play 90% of stream off the luther CD is it really nessesary?

[DreaminBassMunky]

The question is can you play stuff by ear?

[isaac]

it's great to have that as something to keep mulling around in your head. theory doesn't hurt. it's just incredibly dull, lol, but if you keep at it, it'll help pay off in the end.

also, lessons can help too. you'd be surprised at some of the things you may not know, and it's great to have some sense of direction. sure you can play a song incredibly well, like stream, but it's even better if you really know what's going on.

yeah, it's definitely about the music, and what makes you feel good and sounds right to you, but you can develop that sound even more so by studying theory and lessons, so it's not really necessary, but it helps anyway.

and if you can play stuff by ear, than hot damn, you're set.

[skilly]

no, that is really hard to do with guitar, but almost any song i get the tabs for i learn like that, kinda like stream (ok that one took me a few days but that was just to figure out the harmonics lol)

[DreaminBassMunky]

good point Isaac, but I found myself to get really into theory, because I am really into to "trying" (keyword) to write my own stuff. And it really feels good when you play something and go back and analze it and go "oh yeah that makes sense." But it's all about what feels good.

edit: In the last couple of months I've been really trying to learn stuff by ear. It's hard right, but you start with the basics. Recognizing major chords from minors, and it gets easier as you go along.

[isaac]

heh, yeah, composition of your own stuff is bettered by theory. i remember my first song was only 2 chords...*grins*

but the thing is is that you gotta find a balance between keeping theory in mind and also keeping the soul and heart of music in mind. when we're listening to something like #40 the night of 05-05-95, i'm not paying attention to the theory, but letting the emotion just wash all over me with dave's screams and yells.

it's that difference that some people talk about between mozart and beethoven. both great composers, but beethoven wrote with emotion along with amazing composition, especially for a deaf guy, and he's consistently selling far more than mozart does. i mean, if you ask someone to name a classic composer, more than likely it'll be beethoven first before mozart.

[skilly]

well i took a class to learn to write my own stuff and most of it wasnt even focused on what i thought it was goin to be focused on but is theory hard to learn?

[isaac]

lol. you can't really take a class to teach you how to write your "own" music, just like you can't take a creative writing class to teach you how to write your "own" poetry, short stories, etc. they'll help establish a foundation...i already said in another thread, it's great to learn the rules, then break 'em.

theory isn't technically hard to learn...it's just that you gotta put a lot of patience into it because the material can be a bit on the dull side.

[DreaminBassMunky]

heh, yeah, composition of your own stuff is bettered by theory. i remember my first song was only 2 chords...*grins*

but the thing is is that you gotta find a balance between keeping theory in mind and also keeping the soul and heart of music in mind. when we're listening to something like #40 the night of 05-05-95, i'm not paying attention to the theory, but letting the emotion just wash all over me with dave's screams and yells.

it's that difference that some people talk about between mozart and beethoven. both great composers, but beethoven wrote with emotion along with amazing composition, especially for a deaf guy, and he's consistently selling far more than mozart does. i mean, if you ask someone to name a classic composer, more than likely it'll be beethoven first before mozart.

and you expressed just what I was thinking after I made the post. Writing is a mix between what feels and sounds right to you, and what you know sounds right. But I mean look at a band such as Radiohead. Thom York, as I recall, can't read or write music, although he probably still has a grasp on theory, comes up with amazing guitar riffs that defy what we know to be "right' through theory.

[skilly]

well it was more on learning the variations of chords and progressions
but it kinda suked it wasnt like a "write your own music" it was more like a...... get started class

[DreaminBassMunky]

Those can be a pain. I know that i had to go back and re learn some stuff. And I was just like "ugh I know this stuff already." but like Isaac said it's kind of important to lay the foundation first. Know the rules, so you can break em.

[Ando]

The question is can you play stuff by ear?

Yes. What Bassmunky said. Theory Schmeory, I know some AWESOME guitarists who nothing about theory.. don't even know how to read music, but from 20 plus years of experience they've developed a good enough ear where they play anything within 5 min of hearin it. You don't need theory to be a great guitarist, or even to read music.

Do you know all of the notes of the guitar??

[DreaminBassMunky]

My dad once went to a convention where Dave Brubeck would be performing and answering questions, and after he played someone in the audience asked "Do you need to know the chord/key your playing when you're soloing?" He answered "Wel...no...but it helps."

[The Man of The Hour]

Dave didn't even know what a time signiture was when he met Carter and LeRoi.

[Ando]

Dave didn't even know what a time signiture was when he met Carter and LeRoi.

Exactly.. unless you're a major singer/songwriter, you don't need a whole lot of that stuff.