skilly1

It seems sometimes that theres to much to learn, scales, chord tones, rythyms. Do you get to a point where you can see your own progress and rely less on all the theory and kind of figure a lot out by yourself through instincts and knowledge that you've picked up along the way, or are there no short cuts

supersac

the problem is your relying on hteory
theory is just there to explain what you and others already doing and help you explain the sounds

and no theresno shprtcuts...also its not to complexonce youi really understand the basics

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TK1

This. One thousand times this. Couldn't have explained it better myself.

When I get to a point where I feel like there's so much to learn, I step back and I try to make connections between things I already know. Make a stronger foundation for your knowledge to sit on so when you learn more, it makes sense and sticks.

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Mathedes

Hate to down your point, but that's only skimming the surface because that's your basic musical vocabulary. That's like the first 4 chapters of a theory textbook.


Yes. The more you learn and understand makes it easier to become second nature/instinctive because you start to understand what sounds good to YOU.

What sounds good to you? Figure it out. Learn the technical basics (scales, chords, rhythm, and proper playing technique), study your favorite songs, and trust your own expression.

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Dayn

Theory is a shortcut. You take advantage of centuries of knowledge across all of humanity. Much easier than reinventing the wheel.

Over time, the things you practice become automatic. So long as you understand what you're doing instead of rote memorisation, it'll be automatic with practice.

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HotspurJr

You should always be playing, experimenting, and discovering.

But you should also always have goals in mind. "I'd like to be able to do X." Then you talk to an instructor, or ask here, or what have you ... and figure out what you need to work on right now to help you get to "X."

Theory is one of those things that people picks up bits of. You study it in part to avoid going down pointless rabbit holes (modes!) but also because these are the fundamental concepts you're going to encounter in music again and again.

But you don't study it in a void. You're always developing your ear to make sure you can HEAR those concepts, and looking for practical examples.

food1010

Very well put. Theory takes the mystery about it. Music shouldn't be a guessing game. Ultimately you want to get to the point where there are no barriers between mind and instrument. When writing/improvising, you want to hear in your head what you want to play and be able to play it effortlessly. Some people get there without theory, but it takes a lot longer.

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Only play what you hear. If you don’t hear anything, don’t play anything.
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Hail

mastering a craft takes longer than a couple months. even bach was still learning when he died

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