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WerkSpace
Elite Contributor
Joined: Tue Mar 17, 2015 11:19 pm
Posts: 2081
Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
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 Re: It's just a Theory... Music Theory seems fairly complex. My renewed interest in it, started the other night when I wanted to see on paper what my music would look like.
I play by ear and use many techniques to alter the sound. I often bar sets of notes with one finger. Sometimes, I'm playing the bass line and melody line with the same finger simultaneously. Other times, I'm manually oscillating a note on the same fret to create an infinite sustain. As long as I keep oscillating the string manually, the sound continues until I stop. Most of my music contains multiple pitch bends with long sustains that sound like a wolf howling. The Stick is a wonderful instrument. I can create drum rolls on the bass side by using both hands to create the effect.
Trying to put these effects into notation could be interesting. There's a lot going on and I don't know how this could possibly be recorded as notation. That's why I thought maybe automated notation software could help?
I play what I feel in my head. I often walk the same arpeggiated chord pattern up and down the fretboard without a care in the world as to what the notes are called. Music theory seems like a distraction to me. I don't like to think about what I'm playing. I seldom put any thought into the notes or chords. I play for the fun of it. I can pick up virtually any instrument and figure out how to get some sort of sound out of it that pleases my ears.
I've simplified the Helix Floor patch by using only three components on each channel. I use a Fender Twin Reverb Impulse Response, a Hall Reverb and the LA Studio Compressor. Both Helix outputs are connected to the 'Main In' connections at the rear of a JC-120 amp. This effectively bypasses the JC-120 pre-amps thus creating virtually no floor noise when notes are not being played. Often, you won't be aware that the amp is 'ON' until I strike a note on the Railboard.
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#404 Stick - (1978) Angico hard wood.
#6460 Railboard - Black with glow inlays.
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| Mon Dec 02, 2024 6:33 pm |
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mike.hoegeman
Super Donor
Joined: Tue Dec 25, 2007 8:51 pm
Posts: 834
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Re: It's just a Theory... WerkSpace wrote: Music Theory seems fairly complex. My renewed interest in it, started the other night when I wanted to see on paper what my music would look like.
I play by ear and use many techniques to alter the sound. I often bar sets of notes with one finger. Sometimes, I'm playing the bass line and melody line with the same finger simultaneously. Other times, I'm manually oscillating a note on the same fret to create an infinite sustain. As long as I keep oscillating the string manually, the sound continues until I stop. Most of my music contains multiple pitch bends with long sustains that sound like a wolf howling. The Stick is a wonderful instrument. I can create drum rolls on the bass side by using both hands to create the effect. i've considered it time well spent
Trying to put these effects into notation could be interesting. There's a lot going on and I don't know how this could possibly be recorded as notation. That's why I thought maybe automated notation software could help?
I play what I feel in my head. I often walk the same arpeggiated chord pattern up and down the fretboard without a care in the world as to what the notes are called. Music theory seems like a distraction to me. I don't like to think about what I'm playing. I seldom put any thought into the notes or chords. I play for the fun of it. I can pick up virtually any instrument and figure out how to get some sort of sound out of it that pleases my ears.
I've simplified the Helix Floor patch by using only three components on each channel. I use a Fender Twin Reverb Impulse Response, a Hall Reverb and the LA Studio Compressor. Both Helix outputs are connected to the 'Main In' connections at the rear of a JC-120 amp. This effectively bypasses the JC-120 pre-amps thus creating virtually no floor noise when notes are not being played. Often, you won't be aware that the amp is 'ON' until I strike a note on the Railboard. there's always the old question of what "playing what's in your head" means. if that means just playing variations of what you innately know your fingers are used to playing and that is acceptable , then you're fine. if you want to find (or work out) something new that hasn't occurred to you in a way that is familiar to what you've played before, you may find yourself at a disadvantage ( at least in my own personal experience). pat metheny for example, says he works out music by "singing it in his head" so to speak and using a piano as an aide to putting it down on paper. *then* he goes through and works out how to best execute that on his guitar. i suspect he does it that way to work out what he really wants to play and not just string together a bunch of licks that his fingers know backwards and forwards. i am no theory / notational expert. but i've been working at it enough in my retirement years now, that i can look at some music for a piece now that made me curious and get a feel and understanding for what's going on that interested me. better yet, i can go look at what other knowledgeable people have to say about it and other music and understand enough about it now to learn from their knowledge. that is a very enjoyable thing to have for me.
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https://mike-hoegeman.github.io/
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| Mon Dec 02, 2024 7:25 pm |
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gpoorman
Elite Contributor
Joined: Sat Dec 22, 2007 7:45 pm
Posts: 1765
Location: Leelanau County, MI
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Re: It's just a Theory... WerkSpace wrote: Music Theory seems fairly complex. It can be but it doesn't have to be. I feel like you asked a fairly simple question and were immediately bombarded by the most unsimple answers possible (no offense to anyone ... that includes by "double" comments too). In my first couple of semesters at University, we studied from a book called "Music in Theory and Practice" (which is still available but rather expensive). I would imagine you can find some good online material that will start simple and build from there. I haven't personally done any research to tell you what that material is so apologies for that. But a discussion of diatonic scales and key signatures is a good place to start. I keep threatening to put together some rudimentary material and start teaching it at Interlochen. Hmmmm.
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Glenn
http://www.121normal.com
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| Mon Dec 02, 2024 8:20 pm |
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DavidWS
Super Donor
Joined: Fri Sep 03, 2021 1:54 am
Posts: 1450
Location: North West Scotland
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Re: It's just a Theory... WerkSpace wrote: Music Theory seems fairly complex. Because it's tryimg to describe in an objective way something that is fundamentally subjective. A big thing to remember is that Music Theory is only that, i.e. just a non-proven (it's not a Law) set of guidelines that try to describe the way music works. A problem it will always have is that (apparently) music 'works' ('feels' might be a better word?) differently for different people, so it's only ever an attempt to codify those feelings. So, it's descriptive, not prescriptive. All that said, enough of it makes enough sense to enough people that it's a very handy tool for communication between groups of musicians.  PS. I'm a big fan of Improvise For Real ( https://improviseforreal.com/), who pretty much ditch the whole of 'Music Theory' terminology & take a fresh 'from the ground up' listen to music & how it works based on how it feels for you yourself.
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More Stickists than you can shake a Stick™ at? (a list)
Bamboo 12 #7472 Stickup C2 F1 Bb0...D4 G3
Bamboo 12 #5826 Custom Pasv Pickup C1 F1 Bb0...D4 G3
Graphite 10 2009 #5862 PASV4 F1 Bb0...D4
Bamboo SG12 #7496 Stickup Custom G2 C2 Bb1...A4 D4
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| Tue Dec 03, 2024 2:36 am |
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DavidWS
Super Donor
Joined: Fri Sep 03, 2021 1:54 am
Posts: 1450
Location: North West Scotland
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Re: It's just a Theory... gpoorman wrote: I feel like you asked a fairly simple question and were immediately bombarded by the most unsimple answers possible (no offense to anyone ... Yeh, I ought to have included at least one  or in my post about temperament, since at least in my head it was meant to be lighter & more tongue in cheek than it may have come across. 
_________________
More Stickists than you can shake a Stick™ at? (a list)
Bamboo 12 #7472 Stickup C2 F1 Bb0...D4 G3
Bamboo 12 #5826 Custom Pasv Pickup C1 F1 Bb0...D4 G3
Graphite 10 2009 #5862 PASV4 F1 Bb0...D4
Bamboo SG12 #7496 Stickup Custom G2 C2 Bb1...A4 D4
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| Tue Dec 03, 2024 2:39 am |
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DavidWS
Super Donor
Joined: Fri Sep 03, 2021 1:54 am
Posts: 1450
Location: North West Scotland
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Re: It's just a Theory... WerkSpace wrote: Trying to put these effects into notation could be interesting. There's a lot going on and I don't know how this could possibly be recorded as notation. That's why I thought maybe automated notation software could help? At the risk of being pedantic (again!), notation & Music Theory are two different things. Notation is about representing notes on paper (or pixels). Music Theory is about trying to come up with ways (theories) of describing how those notes relates to each other to make music. The contours & paterns of your notes may or may not be describable by Music Theory based ideas.
_________________
More Stickists than you can shake a Stick™ at? (a list)
Bamboo 12 #7472 Stickup C2 F1 Bb0...D4 G3
Bamboo 12 #5826 Custom Pasv Pickup C1 F1 Bb0...D4 G3
Graphite 10 2009 #5862 PASV4 F1 Bb0...D4
Bamboo SG12 #7496 Stickup Custom G2 C2 Bb1...A4 D4
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| Tue Dec 03, 2024 2:47 am |
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Lee Vatip
Site Donor
Joined: Mon Dec 24, 2007 10:06 am
Posts: 3321
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Re: It's just a Theory... Theory? The hidden logic of Emmett's fretboard design of 4ths and 5ths, the better dot or line inlay markers every five frets (not 2 like geeeetar), the parallel 2 handed finger relationship (unlike piano)....
These all make it much easier to make music based on musical knowledge and math. Triads, scales, polychords, bass lines, improvs, counterpoint all there for the creative musician.
There is a concise 10 pages or so, on "Theory" in the back of my "Stickology...." book that will put the player in a more knowledgeable position to get the most from The Stick.
SA
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| Tue Dec 03, 2024 6:04 am |
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WerkSpace
Elite Contributor
Joined: Tue Mar 17, 2015 11:19 pm
Posts: 2081
Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
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Re: It's just a Theory... I like the visualization in this video. https://youtu.be/3SEtgQsIJSw?t=113DavidWS wrote: I'm a big fan of Improvise For Real ( https://improviseforreal.com/), who pretty much ditch the whole of 'Music Theory' terminology & take a fresh 'from the ground up' listen to music & how it works based on how it feels for you yourself.
_________________
#404 Stick - (1978) Angico hard wood.
#6460 Railboard - Black with glow inlays.
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| Tue Dec 03, 2024 11:32 am |
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DavidWS
Super Donor
Joined: Fri Sep 03, 2021 1:54 am
Posts: 1450
Location: North West Scotland
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Re: It's just a Theory... WerkSpace wrote: I like the visualization in this video. So do I. That 'tonal map' is fundamental to how I think about music. I describe the IFR way of approaching music as the lens through which I observe & think about music.
_________________
More Stickists than you can shake a Stick™ at? (a list)
Bamboo 12 #7472 Stickup C2 F1 Bb0...D4 G3
Bamboo 12 #5826 Custom Pasv Pickup C1 F1 Bb0...D4 G3
Graphite 10 2009 #5862 PASV4 F1 Bb0...D4
Bamboo SG12 #7496 Stickup Custom G2 C2 Bb1...A4 D4
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| Tue Dec 03, 2024 12:03 pm |
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Alain
Elite Contributor
Joined: Wed Dec 09, 2009 5:02 am
Posts: 2664
Location: Shawinigan, Quebec, Canada
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Re: It's just a Theory... Some people are illiterate and yet if you talk to them you won't know anything about it, unless they tell you their secret.
I learned how to read music after 11 years playing by ear. I use to say that I read and play with an accent...lol. Like someone who doesn't speak your language but at least try to speak your language.
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Grand Stick, Wenge, 12 strings, MR, SN 6667
http://soundcloud.com/Kataway
http://www.youtube.com/user/Shawinijazz
https://alainauclair.bandcamp.com/
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| Tue Dec 03, 2024 12:43 pm |
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