FRANCISCO CHAVES
B l o g
Story time - Folk music
Instead of tackling directly the question, I will start talking about Balkan folk music. "What does that have to do with the topic?!", you may ask. Please, bare with me.
Balkan folk music is characterized by complex rhythm (2). Bars like 5/8, 7/8 or 11/8 are quite commonplace in this kind of music. This music comes from a folk tradition, the people who do this have no musical training. These complicated rhythms arise, not from theoretical speculation, but by pure intuition. Now, imagine you want to play these kind of music. If you come from a western background and you know no music theory, you will be puzzled by this strange rhythm, unable to perform it.
There is a solution if you want to do it by ear: You can listen to a lot of that kind of music. You can hang around locals, learn the language, the culture... After some months or years, you will be able to perform those songs and even write one yourself. The same way a local would do, without ever being aware you are writing in 7/8. That is long work and takes lots of time.
If my student knows music theory, I can easily tell them: "It's a song in 7/8, we divide it in "3+2+2". It also uses the X scale with these notes." In one day he would be able to understand and play that rhythm. Of course to sound authentic Balkan, he/she would need to listen to a lot of music and spend many years studying it, for sure. It's better advice than to say to a student: "Just feel it".
Musical background
All comes down to your musical background. Some people grew up listening to jazz or blues from early age and intuitively can play a blues scale. Without knowing any notes or musical intervals. That is fantastic and I encourage everyone of you to listen to your favorite artists and try to figure things out by ear. The bad side is that it takes a lot of time and frustration.
Although many people might disagree, It's faster to learn music theory. You find out which intervals compose a blues scale and play them. You don't need to search all possible combinations and try all possible notes.
This is also valid advice for composition / songwriting. If you want your music to have a "blues feeling", using the blues scale and 7th chords is an easy solution to that problem. That is faster than trying out notes and chords at random until you find something "bluesy". If you spend your days playing and trying out notes on your instrument, you will get there eventually, no doubt about that, but it's not so fast.
Online resources for learning music theory
In the old days, to learn music theory you would have to be in a conservatory or music school. Today, you can learn it online! Some websites like "uTheory" (3) and "The Practice Room" (4) offer lessons for a fee. There are also free websites like the "Learn music Free Project" (5).
The bad side of music theory
Many music students that learn a lot of music theory find themselves disheartened and lose their passion for music. I understand this. As human beings, we love to fascinate on "unexplainable" things. Everyone sees a magic trick and is filled with a sense of wonder and overwhelmed with joy. We get the sense that life is unexplainable and that some people are special. After they figure out how the trick is done, they say: "Oh! That is so easy! I could do that". In a glimpse, people lose their sense of wonder and fascination. Life is not fascinating anymore.
After years of learning the scales, the chords, the modes, the music theory, you start to see a lot the "technical side" of music. That can be soul crushing for some individuals who prefer to see the "mystical side", the "unexplainable". I can understand that. That leads to uninspired musicians who play without real passion.
Many times I prefer to see a musician who learned everything by ear and plays with their heart, compared to someone who knows a lot of music theory and plays without this "passion" / "fascination" / "wonder". But what if we could somehow combine both? The Knowledge of the adult combined with the "Wonder" / "Fascination" of the small child? That sense of "I could do it too" is what motivates and empowers me. I know if I study hard enough, I can uncover those "secrets" / "formulas" and be a good musician. That is the magic of music for me and I believe everyone would be less frustrated and more motivated to study if we stopped "worshipping" artists, like they were born with a special "artist gene mutation" or something.
Finding a balance
I think the best musicians strive for a balance.
As a general rule, if you like to play music by other artists, learning how to read a score is useful and saves a lot of time. You can learn a lot of songs in a quick and easy way. If you prefer to play your own songs instead, music theory can be also useful for composing, specially if you want to write them down for other musicians to perform.
Conclusion
Music theory and learning by ear are only mere tools to achieve success. It doesn't matter how you approach it, only the results matter. Like I said in the beginning, each person is unique and has different preferences. If you keep on improving, with passion and dedication, then you are on the right way. All the rest is history.
Sources / Useful links:
1 - https://www.musictheory.net/
2 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Southeastern_Europe
Learning music theory vs Playing by ear
I will start this blog by addressing a common question: "Should you learn music theory or just learn playing by ear?". For full disclosure, I must say I am fascinated by music theory and that's how I learned music from an early age.
I learned it in music school but now you can even learn it on the internet (1). Having said this, I understand the question and the discussion it brings. I have many students who don't feel like learning theory is fun or exciting, so, with them I try to go other ways. Every person is unique and reacts differently to different teaching methods.
So, what are the advantages and disadvantages of each method?