Re: [Harp-L] Theory (was: What is a scale??..etc...)

[Jp Pagan <jpl_pagan@xxxxxxxxx>]

<I>Some of us people who learn things by ear have
really, really good ears and can get
very creative and do some very original playing. But
the right-brained
thing does indeed make it especially hard to bring the
Left side into
things. Honestly, my first, knee-jerk, gut reaction to
the idea of
practicing a bunch of scales is that of being trapped
and not being able to
open up and move and /rock out' as you say. I want to
go there but I dread
it at the same time.</I>

Hi Sam,

   Man, am I ever glad you brought this up. I really
feel that this point is at the heart of the division
between harmonica players who advocate theory and
those who disdain it. Getting over this dread is, I
think, the first step to learning all the theory you
need to know, which is exactly as much as you care to
learn. That isn?t to imply that theory has no value,
only that a.) it isn?t necessary to make music and b.)
you will learn to appreciate it, or not, depending on
how it jives with your musical goals. If you want to
sound exactly like Sonny Boy Walter Jr., you don?t
need it. If you want to sound like yourself you may
not need it either. But it is useful, and many of us
who know some theory would probably never go back to
not knowing it, and it may lead you to a sound you
never would have gotten to on your own.
   So, let me try to get on a soapbox here. Music is
not based on theory. Theory is based on music. What we
call ?musical theory? is just a description of what
happens in music. Just like taxonomy is a description
of the natural world: calling something a rose doesn?t
make it so, but it sure does help you talk to other
gardeners about what you?re growing.  
    In terms of learning, here?s an analogy: you can
learn to drive a car without ever knowing anything
about it. But try teaching your kid to drive without
ever telling him what a clutch is or that the pedal on
the left is the brake and the right is the gas and
what that means. Oh sure, he could figure that out for
himself, but um? well, let?s say it?s a little safer
to discover music on your own than driving.  :D
   A scale is just a collection of notes. Notes that
we, humans, decided went together, because they
sounded a certain way when put together. The blues
scale, in fact, is really something we?ve deduced from
blues music. No one told blues musicians that they
should stick to these notes, and yet here they were,
doing it anyway - many of them never realizing it. The
sound comes first. The scale is just a way to describe
the components of that sound. It is as limiting or as
freeing as you want it to be. You?ve learned the blues
scale, whether you know it or not, and you?ve
practiced it a million times or more. Do you feel
trapped by it? Does it keep you from rocking out?
   Look at it another way. You describe your own
learning process ? which is a learning process older
than blues ? copying the riffs and licks of other
players. What are licks and riffs but collections of
notes that sound good together? In other words, what
are they but tiny scales or parts of scales? If
playing these licks and riffs over and over, learning
them inside and out and experimenting with them is
what helped you learn to play blues, then why would
you be afraid that playing new collections of notes,
learning them inside and out and experimenting with
them will somehow harm what you?ve learned?
    Again, ?theory? is just a way to describe what is
already there. We humans, whether thanks to God or
nature or whatever, are blessed with reason, and that
means we can see patterns that exist in the world
around us, and we can use those patterns to learn
things more quickly, to communicate with each other
more effectively, and even to discover new patterns we
didn?t realize were there. 
   I?ve heard it said on this list many times that
?theory? somehow robs you of your ?mojo.? I don?t buy
that in the least. Listening to all the amazing music
made in the world will quickly disprove that notion.
Did Paul Butterfield lack mojo? Did Miles Davis? Did
Ray Charles? Knowing that a certain note is the b3 of
a certain chord doesn?t make you any less able to play
it, any more than knowing that the clutch helps
transfer rotation from one gear to another makes you
less able to switch gears smoothly. What theory can
do, what knowing the b3 of a chord can do, is maybe
help you get a sound you wanted to hear but didn?t
know how to play. What theory does is help you
understand more about the parts that make up music,
and maybe make it possible for you to add things to
your own music that you never even knew were there. 
   Like I said before though, you don?t need it.
Honestly.   I?m obviously partial to people knowing
some music theory, but many musicians get along fine
without it. Think about your own goals, and those of
your student, and make your own decision. Me, I like
knowing more and more about music, just like some
people like knowing the names of all the flowers they
see, or like knowing that Spanish moss is related to
the pineapple. You can appreciate flowers and Spanish
moss without knowing any of these things, but for
some, that kind of knowledge does many things: it
deepens their understanding and empowers them to do
things they couldn?t do before, it helps them share
their knowledge and experience with others, and
sometimes, the knowledge itself is its own reward.

   Anyway, good luck with whatever path you choose,
Sam. But whichever way you go, don?t be afraid. You
can only add to what you know by trying new things ?
you can?t take anything away. 

  --Jp


 
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