The Importance Of Music Theory For Logical Thinkers & Learners

This is an article that I feel is long overdue and needs to be written for guitarists like me: those who adore music theory and learn it because they want and/or need to, but are constantly told by others that it isn’t necessary.

While others are copying their favourites and learning tricks or shortcuts, we crave to understand the why and how of music. And thank goodness, we have music theory. We are artistic and creative people, but we feel most confident when we truly understand what we are doing. While drawing is subjective and can be frustrating knowing what would be liked, music is both artistic and logical, combining structure and math.

An analogy I came up with recently is comparing music theorists to scientists. Yeah, anyone can make a baking soda volcano, but we want to understand how and why it works, so we can then apply that same knowledge into other contexts and experiments. Yeah, anyone can make a paper plane, but we are intrigued as to how it flies and what kind of wings flies best so we can design an even better plane without assistance.

When we understand more basic concepts, it’s a lot easier to dig into deeper concepts and use that knowledge to create and explore on our own. Instead of just memorizing E=mc2, if we understand the elements involved and how that formula came to be, we can then create our own formulas to solve other questions. We won’t need to rely on others once we understand a topic or a skill on a deeper level.

Logical learners not only need to understand the ‘why’, but they love to learn it. There is a satisfaction that comes with knowing and comprehending a topic on a deeper level. Others may think knowing how a magic trick works takes away the magic, but we can appreciate all that goes on behind the scenes and how technically skilled they are that we don’t see it happening.

Theory Helps Put The Pieces Together

While some musicians learn for the love of music and they too love to understand what they are doing, logical learners don’t really have a choice. If we don’t understand what is happening, all we can do is blindly copy and repeat. It’s like a puzzle scattered across the floor, and we don’t even have a picture to refer to.

Not having theory is just leaving it there and taking wild guesses as to what it is. But having theory allows us to put it together, starting with the outside and slowly building inwards. We do enjoy the process of putting a puzzle together, and every time a piece clicks perfectly, we get a bit of dopamine.

Finally, when everything is complete, the picture is clear and we feel elated. Everything makes sense! If we choose to do the puzzle again, it won’t be as frustrating or daunting, and we’d also have more confidence to complete other kinds of puzzles in the future.

So when another guitarist comes by and tells us to forget about theory and “just have fun”, it’s a little annoying, honestly. We see the value theory has for our own learning and nothing beats finding a teacher that thoroughly explains these concepts as they teach us a new technique on guitar.

When we understand what we are doing, we learn and memorize things faster, and it’s easier to connect various musical concepts together. Thus, instead of faking it around the fretboard to a backing track, we will have confidence improvising because we understand how keys, scales, and chords work together.

How Theory Has Made Me A Better Musician

So how do I know that theory helps? Because I took music all through school and played various other instruments, like keyboard, clarinet, viola, harmonica and drums over the years, but I was never able to do what I could do now on guitar.

Why? Well, while I did have some amazing music teachers, the focus was on reading sheet music so we could play classical pieces together. We didn’t even touch chords since everyone played melodic instruments. Thus, when I tried to ‘play around’ and create something new on these instruments, I would hit notes that clearly sounded wrong, or it would end up sounding like a song I already knew.

Years later in 2017, after feeling inspired by Guitar Hero and having a newfound drive to bring my teenage band dream to life, I picked up guitar. I didn’t have internet at home then, and my 12-9pm job, had very strict internet settings so I could only access Google images. For the first couple weeks, I was attempting to blindly memorize all these scales and chords, but then I started to notice patterns.

“A major and A minor are only one note apart…same with E major and E minor.” “Oh, I can move scales around because they follow the same pattern. That’s also why the F major chord is just E major moved up.”

Things just started to click and I got more interested in the why, which led me to studying theory on a deeper level. Within a couple months, I was able to improvise to a backing track for the first time.

Even though I’ve played guitar for a fraction of the time I played around on piano or viola, I was already feeling way more confident with the instrument. I feel confident leading a band, and I’m looking forward to attending jam sessions once my guitar skills are up to par.

Theory Will Help In Various Situations

And honestly, I will say it now, theory isn’t that hard. It may seem intimidating if one dives right into chords and modes, but if you start from a beginner level like they teach kids in school, learning one scale and building from that, it won’t be that scary. Anything can be learned if you take the time and start from the bottom up.

When you dig below the surface and understand how music works, you’ll be able to navigate things very easily. For example, if a song requires a Capo, I can easily transpose the chords to play without it. If a song has a lower tuning but I don’t want to retune my guitar to practice, I can adjust the pitch of the song to play alone.

Additionally, if you ever play other instruments or with other musicians, you’ll be able to translate ideas onto them very easily. Guitar and bass are the only instruments that rely on tabs, so other’s won’t know what ‘5th string, 3rd fret’ is going to mean. As the odd one’s out, you’re the one who needs to make an effort to learn what everyone else has learned to fit in and communicate.

And while you may not need sheets thanks to tabs and chord charts, I highly recommend it. Sheets include keys, bars, measures, and note notation which allows a song to be written as it is meant to be played. For tabs, you do need to hear the song to know what’s going on, but sheets, you can learn a song you’ve never heard before perfectly because it doesn’t leave space for interpretation or guessing.

Before people were even able to record music, sheets existed. People like Beethoven and Mozart had to transcribe their ideas for multiple instruments onto sheets so they can play together. A conductor was like the metronome. As long as everyone is following the sheets and keeping time, they can play in sync together.

Many guitarists don’t see the importance of a metronome because they’ve never had to use sheets or play to a conductor, but timing and rhythm is a huge part of music. It’s what gets our heads popping and feet tapping. It would be hard to choreograph a dance if the beats were all over the place and were unpredictable.

What Other Guitarists Had To Say

A month back, I made a post in the Guitar & Music Theory Facebook group. I was conversing with a guitarist friend about how much I’ve grown and learned via theory, and once again, he said, I don’t need theory cause he doesn’t need it, and it was frustrating.

Thus I made a post asking if others were like me, logical learners who do need to know the why of everything they do and who have seen the benefits of learning theory as they learn and play. Here were some of their responses.

Even those who swear they don’t “ need” theory grow into using it constantly. I tire of the mantra that one doesn’t need theory. It’s like a deep sea diver saying they don’t need an oxygen tank.

Tony R.

You do need theory and everyone uses it, but one should ask themselves what they are trying to do first and foremost, and do it musically. Practice what you will use . if it is useful to you for the style and kind of band you want to play in, then learn it and play it. There is nothing wrong with knowing more things but it is good to know what you want and focus on that music and those theories that fit what you want to do with it

Gabriel H.

Very much. No not everyone needs to systematize and understand things in a framework to create art & beauty. But some do, I do, seems you do. Waaay too much projection goes on in places like this.

Darren G.

Theory is necessary to be a musician, regardless of the instrument—period!

Michael D.

Here’s an interesting way to reply….You’re right, but that’s like memorizing a book. I can learn the “Cat in the Hat” or even “The Lord of the Rings” word for word and recite them perfectly; however, I cannot and would not ever be able to read any other books. If I take the time and learn to read though, any and every book is open and available to me. Learning theory is like learning to read versus memorizing a book.

Michael D.

I’m with you. I took piano lessons from age 7 to age 12 with a teacher who also taught me music theory. I picked up a guitar at age 12 and my knowledge of theory made it so much easier. Years of study of guitar and theory on and off followed. I’m 68 years old playing in working bands and still actively studying theory

Jeffrey A. S.

There is zero music in my soul. Technical knowledge is the only way I can play 

Darryl D.

When it comes to music, everybody’s got a theory! Some believe that the less you know, the better you’ll be at it! I suspect those types know more theory than they’re willing to admit, and I find that the ones who don’t know much are tied to it’s conventions. Personally, I like to know as much as I can. One of the joys of music is that there’s always something new to learn.

Mikemann M.

I like having as many tools in my toolbox as I can when I build something.

Mike B.

Not only do you need theory anyone who says you don’t is using it and not even realising it. So it’s a dumb statement. Whether you use standard termination or your own you created the theory principals are still being applied.

Chaz S.

I totally feel the same way. I never formally took music but have spent a lot of personal time learning it. My thought always has been if I feel a certain way and want to express that through the instrument, I need to know music itself to do that. A lot of us spend time trying to sound like other people rather than ourselves. So I went deep into the theory. I was initially frustrated because so much teaching is rule based. The 1 chord sounds good when played after a dominant 7 five chord. OK. Why? It took awhile but I did find some literature out there that taught the why. I actually really love music theory. It is so interesting to me. We are born with the ability to enjoy music. We are the only animals on the planet that are and the magic is really our brains. And you don’t have to know anything about music to enjoy it. The village idiot and I can enjoy a song just as much as Einstein or Mozart could. That’s pretty cool. Now if I could only translate my acquired theory to the guitar. Still working on that but I love it. And what I try comes from someplace, not a vacuum or a long list of rules. It is very fulfilling.

David J.

Awesome post. I totally agree! Understanding theory is the basis for true musical freedom 

James S.

100%. I’m a logical learner, too. The structure really helps me.

Fredric M. U.

When “musicians” say you don’t need theory, just remember it’s human nature to be scared of things you don’t understand… they are scared because they don’t understand that all music is simple math, and everything in music can easily be reduced to numbers. They are like cows watching a passing train… they SEE it, but don’t UNDERSTAND it!

Mashup M.

If you don’t think you need theory try playing 12 bar blues without using a blues progression I,IV,V cord progression. You might get away from it for a bar or so,but if don’t understand that most basic theory you’ll never play 12 bar blues. So simple, so basic, but without it you’re lost.

David R. Z.

Theory is awesome. Intuitively exploring is awesome too.They go together.

Timothy D. R.

Theory is always there anyway at different levels depending on one’s interest. Even the simplest song can be analyzed and by doing so, new ideas are coming for composition or improvisation.

Cyril M.

Not everyone learns the same way but not knowing WTF you are doing leaves you unable to communicate with other musicians . Learn the 12 note names so you can .

Dan S.

completely agree with you. if i don’t understand what i’m doing, it just feels like guessing

Judah B. D. O.

The more you know about music and how it works, the better musician and player you will be..!

Ron P.

If the goal is to create and play music, it certainly helps to understand music.It’s like wanting to be a speech writer or a novelist while refusing to learn how English and grammar work. Sure you can probably string some sentences together, you might even be innately talented with words, but you aren’t doing yourself any favors by remaining ignorant of how English works.Talent will only get you so far in anything, the rest of it is work ethic and constantly expanding your knowledge. That applies to music, art, business, sports, whatever. Hard work beats talent 99.99% of the time.Nothing is more common than talented unsuccessful people.

Ben C.

Music is more art than science. There are no rules, there is only theory.

Earnest J.

Both paths lead to progress but the green path is so much shorter and faster.A lot of time you will hear something like “but the red line is so much more exciting” or “you can learn more taking the scenic route” as an excuse for the time people wasted avoiding music theory.

David G.

I like to understand things as I learn them. Just repeating stuff with no context feels like a waste of energy to me.

Rufus J. P. E.

Same. Way more engaged in music and guitar after starting my theory quest.

Adam H.

We need theory… it allows to understand what you are doing and creating so much beautiful things.

Natsyrt H.

The only people who say “you don’t need theory” or (worse) “you just need to play what feels/sounds good” are people who don’t understand music theory. Ignore them. Learn how you learn best. You’re already a better musician than the people you’re asking, if you can understand even a little bit of theory. Because they can’t

Craig H.

That’s so true! I started 5 years ago and everyone was saying the same..no need for theory, just feel it. Well, have to admit it’s much easier to understand and learn guitar using music theory rather than just guessing some notes on the fretboard. And yes, music theory opened up many doors and dimensions.

Julian G.

I use theory because I compose my own songs. I played many, many years not truly understanding what I was playing. Natural talent is a concept not easily understood by many musicians . Over the years I started to question my true abilities and so I decided to look into the real reason behind musicology, and that was music theory. Today, I understand why things fall in place as they do, and I appreciate it more. I dismiss the opinions of other musicians who tell me that I don’t need it. I have learned to open my mind to newer concepts like playing in open tunings of which I have expanded my true appreciation of how work. Rock on!

Marcelo S.

Music theory is a worthwhile pursuit. They should at least teach the grounding theory of music in schools.People think it’s big to say they don’t need music theory… they think it somehow enhances their prowess in some way…. to celebrate ignorance like a badge of honour. Like those people at school who dodge lessons or who tease those people who are more studious. Are they just trying to lower the average to make themselves feel better.In life you learn things, I’m 68 I still learn things every day. One thing we all learn is There’s the easy way and there is the hard way.Learning to play while avoiding theory is the hard way. Sure you can do it, you can point to various music icons and claim they didn’t know theory…. they did, they just worked it out the hard way. Theory helps not hinders.

Phil L.

Everybody understands music theory at some level, even those who says that they don’t need them, they just don’t realize that they are applying principles of music theory. It’s all a matter of terminology. One guy might say “G#min11/7th” chord while another may hear the same chord and say.. “ohhh! that chord from 2 become 1!!”Regardless of who you are, if you cannot apply these things to actual real world scenarios, then it is useless. It is like fully understanding how to build a house, while lacking the carpentry/constructions skills to build it. It will all remain a theory in your head even if you fully understand it. In the end, even with the understanding of music theory, you are still gonna have to know how to apply it in the real world and play by feel. It’s like speaking. You express yourself with the knowledge that you know. And sometimes, you need to break the rules just like how native English speakers doesn’t really speak the language with a 100% correct grammar.

Joseph C.

I’ve been playing the guitar for over 50 years now, and picked up a few rudiments along the way. How I wish that I’d had more theory knowledge at the start.

Julian S.

I feel exactly the same way. Theory brings it all full circle. A solid working understanding of theory is incredibly empowering. Rock on!

Timmer B.

And those who say « i cant learn it » for any reason, just know you can. The right teacher, the right material and the right dedication and its a win. You play 3x 15 min per week and don’t want to do more for music, well ok then but its not because of your capability but your priority in many cases. Good theory comes with ear training so its a big job ahead for those who want to do it.

Jean-Philippe L. G.

I’m the same. It’s a puzzle. I often say “I love to pull the rabbit out of the hat.. but I also want to know: how did the rabbit get in the hat in the first place?”

Eugen R.

I’m not a logical learner by nature, but I’ve increasingly come to recognize my need for theory. Now I love it.

Mark K.

I love theory. It helps when you understand the songwriters mind when he wrote a song.

Albert R. J.

Knowing theory ahead of learning guitar would be extremely helpful. Learning theory at the same time you’re learning guitar is going to slow down the process. It’s difficult enough to get your fingers to do what your brain wants to do but when you throw theory in with the physical part of playing, I suspect both processes might be stunted. I’ll never say that theory isn’t necessary. So my point is simply that they are two different, but related processes. I expect that learning theory prior to learning guitar would be a big advantage, where the other way would slow both time frames considerably.

Murray P.

Speaking the language of music IS important when explaining parts and arrangements to other musicians.

Gino D. M.

A lot of guitarists were late to the party on learning to read sheet music. They are generally not in band or orchestra as a kid. It can be intimidating to “catch up” with other musicians…so they just stick to their guns and say they don’t need to learn it. While you can definitely make music without formal theory, studying it will only improve your playing and open up so many doors.

Shaun Z.

The issue is that too many people are quick to throw off a couple pretty decent artists that haven’t learned theory like your Prince or Marty Friedman. The problem is they often neglect how many excellent players who learned theory to mastery like Paul Gilbert, Randy Rhoads, Buckethead.People are content to just be average is what I’ve found

Alex S.

Logic and critical thinking are ingredients of music theory. Knowledge is power and will make you a better guitar player and thinker in all things. Music is the answer.

Ralph V.

I couldn’t agree with you more! I became a real musician when I started studying and applying music theory to my playing! People who say theory is not necessary or a waste of time are just fooling themselves because they are lazy or unable to apply themselves to learning the rules of melody and harmony! Just like with speech, a person can learn to speak without formal grammar training, but good luck writing a book or giving an articulate speech! There are always rules in every discipline! Once you learn them you can break them, but not knowing them will hamper your understanding and ability to communicate with others! And like you said, it’s really not that hard, but like everything else in life, it seems impossible when you first start to learn anything! I think that part of music theory is aural development as well so ear training should not be ignored but, step away from your instrument and learn the rules at times! Once you develop that understanding, you’ll be able to reach that next level of musicianship and artistic expression!

Eugene S.

IMO, where knowing theory really shines, is streamlining the songwriting/creative process, and making playing with others (if they know a little theory themselves) less an exercise of, “now what?” Beato said it best in one of his videos. Theory is like having a road map. You can drive around without one and find some really cool places, but there’s a lot of getting lost and time-wasting going on to get there, and you won’t always know how you got there or how to get there again.

J.W. M.

Many famous musicians can’t read music. It’s true, you don’t “need” music theory. However, show me two guitarist that have similar abilities. The one studying theory will surpass the other guitarist that “doesn’t need it”. 5 years from now, the guitarist who studied theory will have moved to a much higher level of musicianship.

RT Y.

I am a mix of mechanical and emotional minded. Enjoy physics, fixed cars professionally, build speakers on and off, computers, etc. The emotional side of me would hear a piece of music and love the way it can evoke a feeling. The mechanical side of me used to really struggle, in how they assemble the notes to bring about said emotion. There is no end to theory, and experimentation utilizing it. However, my former knowledge was insufficient to understand the “mechanics”, under the hood of a song…so to speak…After several years of more diligent theory study,, now I am beginning to emulate what I hear, and not by random trials but using theory tools, or at will, create with intent to evoke a feeling. Theory opens the floodgates of music possibilities for me far more 

Samuel F.

That said, I have to say that any time I do learn deeper things about theory, it does nothing but enhance my understanding and appreciation of what I’m playing. Again, whilst I don’t ‘need’ theory to be a good musician, at the same time the more you know, the more you can do with it. If you have a good natural instinct for music as I do, then learning theory can only serve to enhance that understanding and ability and give you more tools to use when creating music. I have trouble making sense of ‘secondary dominants’ etc from a theory perspective – I don’t quite know what it means – yet I would probably pick the notes out by ear and get what is going on. However, learning how those notes relate to each other and why they have the effect they do absolutely does enhance one’s experience of, and ability to use, that musical device. Music, after all, came from people listening and responding to pitch and rhythm: therefore, all you need to make it is an instinctive awareness of and ability to utilise those things. However, the deeper you dive into the mechanics of those things, the better equipped you are to use them. It really isn’t a case of ‘either, or’…it’s whatever you choose to use at any given moment in your music making

Mike S. R.

True artists delight in talking about and learning about the technique and theory of what they do. You would never hear one portrait-painter say to another: “You don’t need to learn how to draw a human face, and you’re boring me by talking about it.”

Dylan B.

Yeah I am definitely like you. Everything you said resonated with me. Theory is what expanded my hobby into a passion and opened my eyes to the pathway that’s been right in front of my eyes for years without me realizing it. I love getting into excruciating detail to make the pieces fit together logically. It’s a beautiful and brilliant system that I know I can spend my life pursuing and still find new things to learn. Much less complicated to learn than I thought it would be (I’m still a novice) but also much more expansive than I could ever imagine.

Jay L.

The more you know the more you will grow as a musician and a player

Dom M.

Conclusion

So I think that about summarizes the importance of music theory for logical learners. If you don’t want to learn theory, that’s fine! We may suggest it to others because we see the value, but if you’d rather waste 10+ years figuring out something you could have learned in 2 days, that’s on you.

And trust me, in these guitar groups, I see so many post from people who have been playing for 20, even 40 years and still feel like a beginner. They just started to see the value in theory. Yet, there are many other guitarists still discouraging others from theory when they ask pretty good questions.

Everyone will learn differently, and people will have different needs based on what they want to do. Someone who only cares to cover songs won’t need to know theory as they can rely on tabs, but if one wants to create, and improvise, and be able to communicate with other musicians, theory is so important.

You don’t need a whole lot of theory to follow a lot of songs. I wrote 3 super beginner friendly articles that I think are a great place to start, this includes the formation of scales and modes, how major and minor chords are made, and about chord progressions and song creation. You can also learn about timing and note notation in my detailed tabs article. But otherwise, whatever else you learn is up to you.

Definitely have fun with your instrument. Explore, try new things, you don’t need theory for ‘everything’ you do, but don’t neglect. Theory doesn’t give you ‘rules’, it just explains the why and how, and it makes it easier to connect concepts and apply them in different contexts.

I honestly believe those who try to stop you from learning are just trying to prevent newbies from getting ahead of them or they are just too intimidated by theory to learn, so please don’t listen to them. A true teacher would never stop you from learning, nor would they be dismissive of your curious questions.

There is literally no field or craft where learning more will inhibit you or stunt your growth, so learn and grow faster than you would on your own through theory.