When introducing a music theory concept in a lesson, I am often asked “but how do I actually use this?” (in other words, “why should I bother with this?”). That has always been a difficult question for me to answer. “Because it’s cool” or “because I said so” doesn’t cut it.
I’m the first to admit that my teaching often mirrors my current learning emphasis. I wish I already knew all this stuff, but I just don’t! I resisted my childhood teachers too much—in all subjects—to have learned what I really needed at the time. As a lazy, disinterested kid, what I needed was a good slap up the side of the head.
So, in my adult effort to make up for lost time, I have simply found that teaching something is the best way to learn it; that doesn’t mean that I know how to demonstrate it in actual performance or explain it in a convincing way. And that admitted weakness is what drives me forward as a musician/teacher; I know it’s important—and I know that I need it—but why, and how to sell others on the concept?
The starting point on this line of logic is that “if you don’t know it, you won’t be able to use it.” In other words, you won’t know what you’re missing if you don’t know what you’re missing. In short, imagine how much better you could be if you did know it. That to me is the whole reason behind taking lessons; to challenge your status quo and improve.
I know there is a lot of popular emphasis on “natural” musicians who don’t seem to need any knowledge to operate. I believe the most common misconception among new musicians is that you either have it or you don’t. Sure, savants exist, but the most appropriate question to ask is “am I a natural? Can I just play music without knowledge?” Chances are you are not!
If that is the case, then making heroes out of those who are is just an excuse to not do any actual work yourself. “It worked for so-and-so; why not for me?” The vast majority of us must work our butts off to learn to play like that rare savant! You don’t see the hard work we’ve been through…and maybe you don’t want to.
I recognize that I have lost a few students over the years due to this serious attitude! Many will take a few lessons and then just disappear, so I can only assume that my material was considered “too difficult.” I have learned a lot over the years, especially in how to explain difficult concepts; if at first you don’t succeed, I try other approaches until you do. I put the onus on myself to get it right, because I believe everyone can learn and benefit from this stuff. Most importantly though, I don’t have the magic wand or fairy dust that many hope I do.
Here are a couple of subjects that I have concentrated on over the years:
Duo-Style: Nothing I have ever learned has made as much of a difference for me as has Duo Style! I know that most folks want to learn “strums,” as that’s the main focus in Chord Melody. Well, my strumming improved greatly when I started learning Duo-Style 35 years ago! Regardless of how few songs I actually play using the technique (it is fairly limited), everything else I have learned regarding my right hand has stemmed from my hard work on the technique. I still work on it regularly and am still discovering new things about it—and am still improving.
Scales: No other concept causes as much panic as scales; I’ve seen the looks of horror in students and workshop attendees at the mere mention of the word! From a musician’s standpoint though, no other concept causes as much mental and physical growth as the dedicated, long-term “study” of scales.
Not just learning to play them (physical) but learning the vast amount of practical information and “ear training” that is found within the overall concept of “scales.” They are the most important building block of music; you can never learn everything there is to know or practice them too much. If you block the actual physical scales, you block everything you could learn if you would just buckle down and do it. Never mind that we don’t use them much in Chord Melody or simple chord strumming.
That brings up an important point: if you ask me if you need to know your scales to play Chord Melody or chord strumming, I would have to honestly admit “no.” It only becomes an issue when you want to go beyond those basics. The funny thing about going beyond them is that the basic things suddenly become easier.
This is where I assume things (and you know what happens when you ass-u-me): as a teacher, I naturally assume that you want to go beyond the basics, and/or understand that by going beyond, the basics will be easier to learn. I don’t want to give you a “paint-by-number” chord diagram approach; all you need is a chord chart for that. I want to give you a theory-based approach that will naturally take you beyond the basics. Thus, my teaching motto:
“Teach a person to play a song and they’ll play for a day; teach them to play music and they’ll play for a lifetime.”
Songs: We have such a song-orientation in the four-string banjo world. Yes, of course songs are important to know (what else are we going to play?), but what about the things that make those songs possible? Learn them, and each new song will be easier to learn; soon, you’ll start to see the similarities between them, and you’ll think “oh wait, I’ve seen this before!”
Songs are nothing more than an organized collection of music theory concepts—chief among them scales and arpeggios! You simply cannot separate them, so which is more important: the song or the musical elements of it? Theory by itself has no emotion or listening interest of course, so we have to arrange those theoretical elements into a song that will capture the interest and “say something.” I challenge you to find a song that does not rely on scales and arpeggios for its makeup.
If there is to be a song emphasis, then pick an “arrangement” that demands new skills from you! When I first got started as a soloist, I copied several famous banjo songs from great players; I didn’t believe that just playing chord melody songs (I know a lot of them) as my “act” would make me a stage “soloist.” It took decades for me to get past those few old warhorses, but at least I had something to take to the stage with me. Just getting on stage by myself was the hardest “arrangement.”
Going beyond the “melody,” what makes certain chords fit with it (and others not)? “Harmony” is what drives that; scales et al. are at the bottom of that too! I believe that is the most-overlooked aspect of scale study. Internalizing the different scales will of course train your fingers to play those notes, but also train your ears to hear them in relationship to each other (aka harmony). Chord Melody just teaches which static chord shape to play after which, without teaching anything about how those chords interact and move in an active way.
Learning to “play by ear” is simply a matter of understanding and hearing how harmony works. If you know how chords move from one to the next, you won’t need the sheet music, even if you don’t already “know” the song. I guarantee, everything you play in a banjo convention jam session is going to follow a pretty basic, predictable path—predictable if you have trained your ear to hear it, that is.
If you don’t naturally hear music or chord-movement, well then, studying the theory of it can help make up for any shortcoming. At the very least, an understanding of those things will make songs much more enjoyable to play and listen to. The melodic/harmonic movement will literally take you on a rollercoaster ride.
In conclusion, maybe I should say “because I said so” is the reason for study! If I am to believe that I am a good, progress-oriented player and teacher—and be perceived as such by others—then I should have more confidence that what I say has meaning.
I’m always available for video lessons, whether you’ve taken from me before or not. I offer a free one-hour “consultation” so we can each decide if we’re a good match. Just shoot me an email at banjoplayer1@yahoo.com.