Playing for 16 years gives you such an advantage because your ear has developed from listening to what's being played over a long period.
If you hit a sour note, most likely your ear says NO..................
That experience means that you have a lot of tools in the shed, so to speak.
Discovering how those tools relate to each other and figuring out how many possibilities each tool is capable in performing is within reach of your fingertips.
One of the greatest books that I ever purchased was a blank notepad.
Writing out what I did understand opened the door to many things of which I hadn't connected or seen before. With so many new things that related to the prior discoveries, soon my blank notepad was full......
Theory books help with learning the proper "lingo" and shed light on many connections that might have been overlooked right under your nose. Some books contain a majority of material that is too basic and so many Authors in theory seem to become overly complexed with deep concepts, going overboard with boring material only suited for a Composer...............
My interest in theory relies on how 12 notes interact with each other and what they can become by relation from the Major Scale. Focussing on the Major Scale structure launched a discovery to one of the main links in understanding theory. That link came from the role of "Intervals". Intervals required for the Major Scale structure are "natural" in sequence.
The Key of C is the only key that has both all natural notes and intervals.
The key of Am share the same notes with C Major, not the same intervals.
The Major Scale is the only scale with the intervals; 1-2-3-4-5-6-7----
C Major scale; C-D-E-F-G-A-B------Intervals; 1-2-3-4-5-6-7
A minor scale; A-B-C-D-E-F-G------Intervals; 1-2-b3-4-5-b6-b7
When studying theory from this view, it became clear that regardless of any original note's position, by taking place in Interval position 1, the intervals that follow will require at least one to be altered, while the note names remain
the same.
Intervals should be studied closely.
