I know the essence of the answer to this is essentially - Work and Study. However, in an effort to promote a MUSIC thread I'll throw it out there.

The recent "altered chord thread" coupled with my concentration of late on Stickrad's "Chained Lightning" thread has lead me to wonder (covet) how one practically gets fluent with the application of Music Theory. Donald Fagan runs through the logic of the chords he was working with so smoothly in the video Stickrad references....I was just blown away with, "yea, That's the kind of background knowledge I aspire to." I understand IT WAS DONALD FAGAN....

The songs I work on always seem so complicated and I get lost, overwhelmed and distracted easily by concentrating on the playing. The theory books I try and read always seem so dry and....well, theoretical. I wonder if there is a good book I haven't seen that helps bridge this gap without getting too theoretical too quickly. Maybe something to sequentially build on, something that builds on popular musical touchstones...I'm sure there are lots of approaches to acquiring this over time I haven't thought of.

I'm a hobbyist, a want to be musician.....Not a music major going to college. The stick is so wonderfully logical...and I aspire to intuitively understand where I am and where I'm going. I come from a rock guitar background though... which is so position, shape and riff oriented. So I've always been able to PLAY a lot of the music I aspire to play without really knowing what I'm doing. I realize now though that to really progress to the next level, above just physically being able to play stuff I need some deeper knowledge of what I'm doing. I know there are lots of musical wizards out there who never leaned any of this....but I'm never going to be that. I just aspire to make a jump that I'm realizing isn't just being able to play stuff....but to develop a level of musicianship that has eluded me for years. This isn't a request for a short cut or a quick fix its a long term process I realize...it just seems to be the plateau I've been at for a while.

Thoughts ?

Don

This is a great question and I'm hoping it starts a long discussion. I know exactly how you feel, I've been there for a long time. One thing I know that helps is a guide who knows a lot and can tell you what to do, and what you need to hear, today to make progress. If you have the means I suggest taking some Skype lessons with one of our esteemed experienced players. I've gotten tons of help this way from Greg Howard, Sean Sterling, and now Steve Adelson. There are others who give lessons, too. I highly recommend this.

-Eric

You need to learn Aurally and theoretically. Here is a great resource

http://www.giamusic.com/products/dmti_books.cfm

Use this to train your ears to hear harmony and understand the role pitches and melody.

Also I would recommend studying traditional and jazz harmony Berklee has some descent books.

But it isn't math and it isn't shapes or formulas it's sounds.............. Theory gives you labels which help you remember the sounds.

Sight singing and ear training courses at a local college would be ideal, as well as a theory course.

If you have more questions I would be happy to answer. I have a 6th year degree in music learning. I wish you were near I could help.

Brett

I saw where several famous players attribute their theory fluency to one night talking to a knowledgeable friend. That sometimes packs a one year theory course into a more digestible format.

Things to cover.

Play each chord in every postion up the neck. C in the guitar's first position, C in the second (on the third fret), C in the third.

Then play them all minor, then M7, then m7, then dom 7, then half dim, then diminished, then augmented, then altered dominant...

Playing the C scale in every position, starting on E the lowest note, starting on F, starting on G. Playing three notes per string. This is the best thing for improving technique.

Major and minor pentatonic scales too, in every position.

Next up, play arpeggios in every position. C, CM7, Cm, Cm7, C7.

You don't need a theory book if you follow my advice. Get out a piece of paper and write all this stuff out yourself (this helps you memorize it) then start playing it every day. I often feel people who ask about studying theory don't really want to know it because they would already be doing this. If it's too boring and theoretical that's a problem because it has to be gotten through somehow. I would like to change everyone's perception. Writing all this stuff out in your notebook and playing like Al DiMeola at the start of next year as opposed to not even 12 years later is the very definition of fun, fun, fun!

To practice changing between chords, play the circle of fourths CFBbEbAbDbGbBEADG first on major chords, then minor, then M7, then m7, then Dom7. Initially play this in the guitar's first position. Then move to the third fret and start with the C there.

You'll also need chords in key. C Dm Em F G Am Bdim. Then on seventh chords. Play them all in the guitar's first position then play them up the neck all on the fifth string.

CM7 Dm7 Em7 FM7 G7 Am7 Bhalfdim.

Then chords in the key of C minor. (Some chords are based on the harmonic minor scale such as the dominant chord.

Cm7 Dhalfdim EbM7 Fm7 G7 AbM7 Bb7. Substitutions exist for the Bb7 chord and will use B fully diminished seventh instead, for a more harmonic minor sound. The G7 chord is G minor if built using the natural minor scale and not using the harmonic minor scale to build chords.

There's also chord extensions such as CMAdd9, CMAdd11, CM6, b9, #9, #11, b6, and do this with CM7Add, Cm7 Add 9, C7Add9, etc...

Important too are the modes Ionian Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian Locrian. And where to use them. As well as modes of the harmonic minor and melodic minor,

Also useful are whole tone scales, half-whole scales, whole-half scales and double harmonic minor.

Contrafacts such as the blues, rhythm changes, etc...

Chick, Corea says, "if you can't play the blues you ain't happenin' man."

Anyway, what I'm talking about here doesn't cover advanced chord substitutions. That would not be a basic one year theory course. You can pick that stuff up by playing a lot live, hanging out and talking to other musicians.

Not a sales pitch but
My Stickology method book with Mel Bay Publications actually has a chapter dedicated to theory and its importance in playing The Stick.
Steve A

All good advice here. Something I might add is this - the left hand in standard 5ths tuning is simply not going to allow you to hit all the qualities of a chord that one might were you playing piano.

Hear me out on this.

If you have a challenging chord, first check to see if the outlying quality isnt already being realized in the melody. Stickists make things hard on chording notes in left hand, you don't need to. Try a simple Real Book arrangement like Someday my prince will come or In a sentimental Mood. You can fret something simple in the left hand and have the right hand complete the chord.

Of course, no one was EVER worse off after a session with Steve A. So that there is some pretty solid advice.

grab some lessons with Greg Howard or Steve Adelson... Steve has inspired me to learn theory and I am having a blast! Really, it can be some rewarding and fun....

Forgot to mention sus 2 an dsus 4 chords as well as minMaj7th chords. Good luck.

Thank you all for your thoughts and response. Bretts’ point hits at what I think I practically lack the most – ear training and a way to incorporate that into my music practice. I will check out that program. I can hear that things are right or wrong…but knowing where to go from there has always been very frustrating for me. I think that will help spark the insight I lack here and help push me to a new level.

I have all kinds of books (Steve’s included) that list out all the theory one should learn. I’ve read them and intellectually know the gist of the topic.....admitedly not to a deep degree. I’ve done some of this work but find it hard to make that memorization type of learning really take hold into something I’m fluent in while I play something. Like I said, I realize that some of this is simply putting in the work but I’ve never been able to really bridge the gap between this type of learning into having it be part of a language for something I feel fluent in while playing.

Skype lessons are on my agenda too. I’m kind of gearing up for what I plan to focus on in the winter months after a few other activities pass by on the calendar.

Thank you all,

Don

Jim Grantham's Jazzmaster Cookbook. I love the format of that book; it covers a whole lot of topics from the very basic to some advanced stuff but always showing examples not only of what is recommended but what you might want to avoid (usually - I love that it shows the examples saying "good" vs "awkward", never "good" vs "bad").

But like others have said before, having someone to discuss music theory with might be the greatest way to improve your knowledge.