Could be some copyright issues for the last one but STaLoM works for me !
How Music Works on Guitar ?
Doesnât matter what you call it some will understand it and
some wonât. Some will find it interesting and some wonât.
Do you need music theory to play music? No
Do you need music theory to understand music? Yes
Do you need to understand music to play it? No
I knew nothing about music theory before I found Justinâs
website. After going through his lessons on the CAGED system
I realized I knew a lot more music theory than I though.
Maybe it should be Music Common Sense
I think music theory is easier to understand after you know how
to play. Understanding what youâre doing is easier than understanding why your doing it.
Or similarly â understanding Musicââ
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Thatâs true, but then you could also say âdo I have to learn minor chords?â not really, thereâs lots of songs to play that only use major chords. But look at how much it increases your abilities.
Dave
@Dave999
I donât think your statement has anything to do with understanding
theory. You could also say why learn chords at all you can make
music with out playing chords. All you need is a stick and a log.
You also donât need to know theory to learn minor chords or any
thing on the guitar.
There are 100 of thousands of professional musician making
Billions of dollars a year that know very little theory or no theory.
Youâre on the money there, Keith.
Itâs a sad indictment of our educational system, society and scientific establishment that so many people think of theory as being an âunprovenâ idea.
Everything we understand is theory-
All maths, all the sciences, and yes, all our musical understandings.
Everything we do is praxis.
You can pursue either on their own, but when combined-
well⌠thatâs just like coffee with chocolate 
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@stitch Your right⌠I was just using that as a simple example. Meaning that learning âMusic Theoryâ increases your knowledge and abilities even if your just a beginner. I guess my point is that I donât want others who are just starting there journey to see âMusic Theoryâ and think oh thatâs for more advanced players.
Dave
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@Dave999
I quess weâll just have to agree to disagree.
I played for over 5 years in bands and 35 years with other
musicians not just guitar players and never know any theory
at all. It never stopped me from learning by ear and playing.
I discovered Justinâs web site in 2010 and found what he taught
very interesting and started learning music theory.
Has it improved my playing? No it hasnât.
Has my understanding of what I am playing improved? Yes
I also learnt that I knew more than I thought I did, but knowing
why youâre playing something doesnât change the fact that you can
play it and use it to make music.
It just explains why it sounds good
I think Iâm in the minority in the regard that the word âtheoryâ never scared me. Personally, Iâve always liked to study the things I was interested in a bit deeper instead of scraping the surface.
Since I started to learn music theory on Justinâs website, Iâve had a feeling that, however limited my theoretical knowledge is, my connection to music became stronger. True, it has no effect on muscle memory and dexterity, but it gives another aspect to think about music.
At times, I think the bad rep of music theory comes from players who were unsuccessful at trying to learn/apply theory to their instruments, or had some negative experiences, e.g. bad teachers or inappropriate requirements.
Also, knowing a bit of theory and musical terminology helps a lot with explaining whatâs being played. Imagine a cookbook with a recipe going like âtake a kilo of those tiny green balls, 3 of those long orange things pulled out of the soil, a few pieces of the brown things that you make French fries of, wash, peel and slice them, put them in water and boil them on that flat thing that works either with gas or electricityâ. That wouldnât sound very professional.
More power to theory! 
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My personal view is that, by doing this, you developed an instinctive understanding of music theory (or, at least, of key parts of it).
Thatâs an entirely valid approach. The other, of course, is more formal training.
I think more formal training is probably a quicker way to understand whatâs going on, but it still takes years of practice to embed that knowledge.
Cheers,
Keith
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I hold my hands up.
I am guilty of a lazy, confused misuse of the word theory up above.
Damn and blast.
I am annoyed at myself.
Especially as I too love words and the nuances of their meaning(s).
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Same here. I donât get a negative connotation from the term.
That said, I remember when I was a boy and first started learning piano (which was my first instrument). I loved learning to play, but I wasnât interested in the theory part, although I did the theory workbook lessons. It wasnât until I got a bit older that finally realized what learning theory would offer me. I remember telling my mom, âWhy didnât somebody explain that to me?â She said, âWe did, you just didnât want to hear it!â 
Maybe if it had been called something different I wouldâve been more receptive. Hard to say.
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I think there is some truth to the KISS ( keep it simple _ ) principle,
How about simply rebadging the course to Practical Music Knowledge?
Hope you arenât too busy to see this. The thread is old, but I just came across it.
If you are going to change the name of the course, my suggestion would be to call it âFoundations of Musicâ for the following reasons:
⢠Brief but descriptive
⢠Implies solid base of fundamental, constant knowledge, upon which to build
⢠Captures the essence of what you wanted to convey with the previous qualifier âPracticalâ
⢠Carries little or no excessive âbaggageâ or connotations
⢠Allows for the introduction of more theoretical concepts if and as required
⢠Has the sound of a basic or introductory level course, which is what it is
⢠Potential copyright issues could be averted by just putting âJustinâsâ in front of âFoundationsâ.
There were many title suggestions in this thread that I liked, some of which included the term âstructureâ, which was appealing descriptively, as in âThe Structure and Language of Musicâ. But, while descriptive, it seems a little too wordy to me for the title of a course such as this. In any case, thatâs my humble submission. I am enjoying the course tremendously and want to thank you for all your efforts on this course specifically, as well as the entirety of JustinGuitar. I believe it is without equal.
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How do I add this to my Dashboard so that I can come back to it later?
Hello @Stuartw what I do is start the lesson so it will show up in âJourneyâ under âIn Progressâ ⌠Maybe one of the Moderators will have a better suggestion.
Dave
Iâll give that a go.
Principles of Music?
In the context of the post, it would be Musical Structures or Musical Principles.