I’m learning this so that things make more sense - like, I just discovered that the lowest note of every chord i know is the note the chord is named for, and that it will appear at least twice in that chord (3 times if the chord uses all 6 strings). This kind of stuff is a dopamine hit in itself, I like finding patterns and understanding.
Whatever music theory I learned before I forgot because I didn’t use it (it wasn’t connected to playing an instrument).
Big dream goal would be able to improvise one day, but I am just starting with guitar and not particularly gifted and 38 yo so this may never happen…
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I took a high school music theory course (40+ years ago). Being a gigging drummer for many years since, I wanted to learn guitar to more actively contribute to songwriting with my fellow band mates. I’m a drummer at heart, and I know I’ll never be an axe wielding guitar monster, I’m just hoping this course will help me make sense of how notes are related and why certain combinations work and sound better than others.
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i want to play my favorite Jimmy Page songs and the music theory will help me become more independent which means I can figure out situations and songs.
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I’ve been a singer/songwriter for a long time in addition to making beats using FL Studio for fun. I’ve always felt like the songs I create are sort of hit or miss, and from other beats I’ve listened to, I can definitely tell there’s a bit more of a formula than what I understand in terms of how harmonies/melodies and even rhythms with respect to different instrumentation like the bass + drums + guitar or piano all come together, and ultimately I’d like to know how to really optimize my understanding of that so that I can improve my ability to create backing instrumentation
I’ve dabbled in some piano in the past, but i’ve always struggled with reading dot notation. Even when it’s explained, I have a hard time really “reading” it in the traditional sense. One thing I like about guitar is that tab notation is much more intuitive imo
I’d love to see more videos where you more slowly break down how to make full compositions like these:
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I want to be better at improvising and I want to learn how to play jazz music and I think this is a good place to start.
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Im Dennis. Im 54 and started playing the guitar at 17. Actually learned all my caged shape, triad within, pent scales and maj minor scales inside each chord shape etc…After learning all this i just couldnt figure out how to apply this k owledge to my playing. I just dont “get it” hoping this course will finally make me understand how to apply music theory into my playing.
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Hi Dennis, welcome to the community! Wow, coming here with such a background…you’re so fortunate. Take your time and do all the lessons (you’ll get through many quite quickly, I’m sure!). I bet “ah ha!” becomes your most frequently uttered phrase as you do this. Justin has a purpose in presenting info as he does, so do be patient and follow the plot. 
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My expectation is to be able to play the songs that I love better and understanding how music works
Why did I quit learning music theory? Maybe because I was getting really confused or maybe because the person who was teaching me wasn’t really good at teaching this stuff
At the end I hope I would be able to play with some musicians and join their conversations about music theory
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Without theory, I feel like I’m learning how to pronounce the words of a different language (I can play chords and simple songs) but I don’t know what the words mean (why do these progressions work? Why are these the notes that make up this chord? Etc.) That’s why I hope to learn theory!
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I am currently taking guitar lessons with a teacher. She is an excellent jazz musician. She is teaching me to play scales, arpeggios, and to improvise. When it comes to theory, that’s where things get complicated; she doesn’t really take the time to teach it, and I think she lacks patience. Deep down, I understand, as I am a man in my sixties, and it sometimes takes me a bit of time to grasp certain concepts.
However, what encourages me to continue playing the guitar is that she tells me I have a very good musical ear. Thanks to the lessons, I can now improvise, which is the goal I am aiming for. I believe that your course will help me better understand what I am playing and go further in my journey to become a jazz and blues guitarist. Claude Montréal, Canada
In answer to the question asked:
My long term goal would be to be able to play guitar with confidence, as we have a Christian house group where we meet weekly and worship the Lord. I would also like to become confident on acoustic guitar, but there are also songs that specifically require electric guitar, and even some serious blues solos (e.g. Glenn Kaiser - Everybody Understands The Blues). I hope with enough perseverance I can achieve this goal! (And a help from the Lord.)
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The main reason to enroll here is to clear the fog in my musical mind about chords,relations with scales,how to combine and not combine them,also i think that would help me alot in my ear training.By ear training i mean with the right practice i hope to be able to get a percent of Jeff Beck ability to play what he hears in his mind or from another musician.
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I want to learn theory so I have a framework for understanding all the sounds I make with guitar - licks, chords, scales, arpeggios. I dabbled in music theory before until the point where I understood modes, at that point I felt I had learned enough but want a refresher and more understanding to help with improvisation.
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I want to learn music theory because I want to know what I’m doing. I don’t want to do things knowing little bit of that and that. I want to appreciate music knowing the inside details of it. 
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When I was younger the musical kids weren’t the nicest, which kept me from giving music a fair shot even though I adored it. After some time I wanted to be able to make music and reclaim it for myself. I feel like I owe it to myself to really understand it, to give myself the opportunity to express myself through music. The big goal would be to be comfortable with the guitar and to be able to express myself by playing my own ideas and find comfort in something that I feel like it was missing all the time.
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Once before I went to a jam session with my one of my best friends Maggie, but I didn’t really know what I was doing all that well. I’d love to be able to go and play music with her confidently this time!
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Hi Justin and team! The reasons I’m learning music theory are that I’d like to write songs, I’d like to understand more about other people’s songs, and I’d like to be able to improve more affectively when jamming with friends. I’ve played drums and guitar off and on, my entire life. At age 43, I’m finally excited about music theory and practicing guitar daily.
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I saw a video of Julian Lage playing these beautiful jazz progressions and figured learning music theory may help to improvise like that some day.
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My reason for learning music theory is hopefully to spark more creativity when writing songs. I love writing and recording songs but many times I feel stuck with ideas. Hopefully learning the foundation to music will help develop maybe some tricks that might help me when stuck. At the same time I have been playing the guitar for almost 20 years now, love the instrument and I want to get to know how it musically works. I’d like to be able to improvise to a tune, understand the terminology and hopefully feel a bit of a bit closer to being an actual musician. I’ve always admired musicians, and I’d like to feel like one (at least with by having the knowledge).
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I’d like to learn music theory to improve my ability to:
- transcribe songs so I can learn them more quickly
- write songs on the guitar
- improvise
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