Originally Posted by: CSchlegelSometimes I hear players talk about their disdain for, or disinterest in "theory" & "the rules". And you know what? Fine, if you can find value in playing music without knowing theory, no problem.

My problem has never been a lack of desire to learn about theory etc, its always been that because music comes to me naturally by ear, sticking to an intermediate level hasn't required much practice.

I've played guitar for nearly 20 years right now, started a few bands that failed but now have had a band together for just over 4 years, all without any actual technical knowledge of musical theory. (I know the scales simply because the notes sound right etc...)

For example, I just went through your Circle of Fifths tutorial and it was awesome, I learned so much so fast and I know I'll reference to it many times again. Now I know the theory behind The Beatles song 'Yesterday'. I've always played by ear, its just something I've been able to do.. but only up to a point..

I play chords that I have no idea how to explain, sometimes while playing around with a lick one of my band mates will ask me "how do you even conceptualize the music that you write"... I truly don't know, but I do know that lack of knowledge of music theory is starting to become frustrating for me, so I've decided to learn.

As far as the current topic is concerned, I've been writing songs for a long time. I think that even the simple theory that I've learned so far on this site, and what I will learn in the future, will contribute immeasurably to my songwriting skills and in turn will help improve my band.