Can we learn guitar without reading notes?
I just want to play, not read and learn the theory, but my guitar teacher said it is impossible. Can I prove him wrong?
I just want to play, not read and learn the theory, but my guitar teacher said it is impossible. Can I prove him wrong?
Eapen
Favorite Answer
This is like asking can I learn to write and read English without learning the basic grammar. Is that possible? IT would be just parrot talk. The same applies to Guitar.
Your guitar tutor is 200% RIGHT !!!
Suppose you want to find out the scale and chords of a song by listening to it, if you know the theory, it would be a cake walk, but if you are ignorant of how a scale is formed or a chord is formed your playing and learning ability would be ZERO.
Tabs are the next alternative to notations for stringed instruments, but to effectively understand TABs you must be well versed with Notations.
Learning Music Theory is a critical part of learning any musical instrument be in guitar, piano or violin or anything. There is no escape route for that.
Please read this --- http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/columns/music_theory/should_i_learn_music_theory.html
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You do not NEED to learn to read music (you can use TAB and listen to the song), but you do need to learn some theory.
There are many famous musicians that could not read AT ALL, let alone music. My guitar teacher in HS gave me a quick list of those that could not read music and some that could not read at all--Robert Johnson, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Django Reinhardt, and Irving Berlin come to mind--at least for not reading music (as of 1985 lol).
Without at least some theory, you will have a lot of trouble with playing as you will not have the concept of scales, keys, or chord theory (in other words what notes and chords sound good together and when). I wish I learned more of this earlier!
"I just want to play" takes a lot of work! Play well and be able to create anything original without theory? Your teacher is absolutely right!
Anonymous
Ah, the best way I learned to play :) You can be an Auditory leaner! It's very simple but takes a lot of messin' with the guitar. If you listen to a guitar solo you like from a song, just play a small part of it, like 3-5 notes at a time, and strum around on your guitar until you think you've found and mastered the notes, and go on to more of the song. It's actually a better way to learn how to play because you have it in your memory longer if you test things out and learn from mistakes you make. It's also more fun to try and accomplish things yourself instead of having to study notes, thats just plain boring lol. Have fun with it! =D
Anonymous
You just want to play... okay, so what harm is it to actually KNOW what you're playing?
Think of it like this: Imagine you had to memorize and recite a speech in English and some language you don't know... let's just say Italian (I assume you can't speak Italian).
Which speech would be easier to memorize? The English one... of course! You speak English, so you understand what the speech is about. You're not just memorizing a bunch of nonsense.
Which speech do you think you would deliver in a more emotive and moving way? Again, the English one. You would know what all the important parts are and how to emphasize them. The Italian speech would probably be mechanical and boring (not to mention rife with mispronunciations)
It really is no different. If you KNOW music, you can better communicate through music. It's also easier to learn new songs and communicate with other musicians.
Can you learn to play guitar without knowing anything about music? Yeah... I guess so, but you probably won't ever be any good. It's a stupid idea. How about this: trust that your teacher knows more about this than you do and just do what he says. You're paying him to teach you how to play the guitar, and that's exactly what he's trying to do.
Sebastian
Of course it's not impossible. Ask the many professional guitarists who don't read music.
Now, both reading and theory are VERY useful and a HUGE advantage against those who ignore both aspects.
But, neither is a *must* to be able to play.
Since a lot of people are using metaphors, I'll go with one as well: do you need to be ambidexterous in order to be a professional footballer? Of course not: while being ambidexterous certainly helps a lot (e.g. Wesley Sneijder), it's not mandatory for *every* professional footballer to use both feet proficiently. And a lot of them don't, which doesn't stop them from being very good at what they do.