What I want to get out of the course is, not having to memorise the chords and rhythm patterns each time i want to play a song, just listen to the song and understand and that’s my big hair audacious goal as well, the reason I stopped learning before was there was no structure to courses before
1 Like
Why did I stop in the past? I got bored of not playing music that I like and only theory things that I didn’t understand.
Why did I start again with your course? I’ve been playing the guitar for 10 years, I have learnt so many songs, from easy ones to very difficult fingerpicking arrangements, and I know how to play all of them just by heart, memorizing tutorial video, but without any understanding of what going on in the song, or why is it played in a specific way. This of course, had led me to a lot of problems in terms on improvisation, true that I can play almost anything, but nothing spontaneous. I would like to change that, I would to comprehend how music works, why a song use this specific chords, I would like to jam on any song.
And for that I chose your course cause I’ve been following you on youtube since day 1 (10 years ago) and I really appreciate all the effort you put in this community helping other people 
4 Likes
Why am I studying music theory? To understand the logic and theory behind improvisation, composing music, playing solos and so on.
Have I tried learning music theory before? Yes. Why did it go wrong and how will I avoid that same problem? I didn’t have a clear goal. I just wanted to play better without focusing on nothing anything else or why I was doing it.
What’s my BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Guitar Goal)? I recently got into listening to R&B, neo-soul and fingerstyle covers and fell in love with those genres. I would like to play in those styles, improvise and maybe come up with a song or two of my own.
2 Likes
Welcome to the Community, Guillermo!
1 Like
Welcome to the Community, Angel!
1 Like
Playing guitar for 17 years now and always loved transcribing songs without knowing the theory or anything behind it, just practicing my ears. I was always inspired by great guitarists who didn’t have this theoretical knowledge either (e.g. Django). But after all those years I wanna make the “next step” and I’m hoping that it makes me improvising and transcribing songs easier and even more fun, especially for Jazz or complex song structures like Animals as Leaders, Polyphia or Plini.
1 Like
Because I don’t want to simply memorize what I need to play, learning from tabs, but to actually understand what I’m doing so I will be able to dance around it. It feels stiff to play without theory knowledge because I always stay within the boundaries of that tab. It also stops from having fun playing with others because we both end up simply playing the chords and that’s it.
The reason I quit studying it in the past was because I didn’t choose a structured approach like this course but random snippets here and there and then jumped onto other things.
1 Like
Justin I am studying Practical Music Theory because I have a lot of concepts in my head but don’t really know the way I would like how they relate to the guitar. A bit like knowing the alphabet but can’t write any sentences!
My biggest goal with the course is to begin to have some fluidity of songs in my head and how they relate to making music on the guitar.
1 Like
1: Because there are 12 notes and six strings that repeat. There’s a pattern, but it doesn’t work everywhere. So, there must be a larger pattern. Until I figure it out, I will not stop.
2: N/A.
3: How Keith simplifies things and still sounds great, whether that’s tuning or just plain genius. You know which Keith I mean I’m sure.
1 Like
I’m studying music theory because, for one, I just find it interesting. I enjoy learning things. Second, I believe it will make me a better guitarist, and a better musician generally. I’ve gone through several stints of studying music theory, always on my own. I mostly used textbooks. I wouldn’t necessarily say anything went wrong. I got busy, or my interest flagged for a while. And, its fair to say I ran into some things that I found difficult to understand, or that was difficult for me to apply to anything I knew. And actually, I had a pretty awful back injury that made it extremely difficult to do anything besides continue to exist. But I always knew that, if I lived (I’m exaggerating, kind of) I would return and learn more about music theory. And here I am. I’m not dead, and I’m interested again. My Big HAG? To be able to play the music I like on the guitar, and to be able to make my own music. I don’t really imagine public performance. I imagine more just playing for family and friends, and just for myself too. But I want to do that well.
2 Likes
I have thoughts of moving towards becoming a “musician” and being able to go to a jam and reacting to what others need, whatever that may be. I may play simpleton versions of things, but I’d like to be in the right key, play the right chords, notes, etc.
2 Likes
I want to be able to hear somebody playing a progression, and be able to play in that progression without having to try to figure out which is the root, spell out the full scale, try (usually unsuccessfully) to hear is this a 1-4-5 or what - and then the chord theory goes with that, and playing melody or lead lines that I can think about ahead of playing them, rather than just playing a few notes in the scale of the root, and get better at taking my turn to solo … not all of this is in theory but it comes from there. I’ve always learned songs by rote and i’d like to understand more.
2 Likes
I’m looking to refresh my music theory background and possibly correct any mistakes or misconceptions I had about it. I had a fair amount of basic music theory, probably what’s in grades 1, 2 and possibly parts of grade 3 music theory, in grade school and high school. We studied western music and some Gregorian music. At that time, I wasn’t sure why I needed it. It wasn’t until I got into playing music myself later in life that I found value in it. A lot of what I learned came back to me in short order fortunately. I enjoyed grades 1 and 2 so far of music theory, and hope to gain more useful knowledge I can apply to my guitar playing and other instruments. I play a few stringed instruments: ukelele (both standard and baritone now), 5 string banjo, some fiddle, and also took piano lessons for a while. I have a tin whistle and harmonica set of various keys as well. I enjoy them all and look forward to enhancing my music skills, although I play mostly for my own enjoyment. I envy those who can whip out a stringed instrument solo especially, made up on the fly, or easily transform what they hear in a song or tune to their instrument. One day that’ll be me. This course will help me tremendously, just as the Justin Guitar course has so far. I’m loving it all. Keeps the mind sharp too.
5 Likes
I have always considered myself a more technical, cerebral, logical person, and have struggled to make my own music. I feel that learning theory can give me roadmaps to actually make music and not just noodle around, playing the same 4 chords and running the minor pentatonic scale up and down
5 Likes
I’m here because I want to be able to understand the elements of the music I enjoy. I’ve been a self directed learner for 20 years, have made a few feeble attempts at learning the theory myself but there’s so much information that it’s hard to know where to start. Now that I’ve developed my ear and technical skills a bit more, I’ve had a few recent “aha” moments where I’ve been able to recognize the key and scale of some songs and play/improvise some lead sections by ear.
I want to clean up my technique, have a more intuitive feel for the fretboard and break out of the same patterns and habits and chord progressions. I want to be able to sit down and jam, improvise chord progressions and soloes with other musicians. My dream goal is to be able to write and perform my own music, and I have a feeling my playing will improve by leaps and bounds if I have a solid grasp on the foundations.
2 Likes
Hi everyone. My reason for participating is to know what I am talking about and in the future make some music on my own. Or I use it for improvising.
2 Likes
I decided to learn music theory, because I can already play some tunes and songs and I would like to understand why does it work and what else I can do to the chord or progression. I am fingerstyle player and I would love to know what are my possibilities to move next from one chord. I like when things make sense to me. My ultimate goal is to unlock fretboard and being able to create my own melody lines, licks and phrases… to add own embelishments. I am pretty sure this course is “the light that will uncover the path for me”.
2 Likes
Why am I studying Justin’s music theory course?
I come from a family of classically-trained musicians. Ergo, I was “encouraged” to play oboe and told that I would be in symphonic band in Jr High and High School.
I hate playing oboe with a passion that will never die. No offense to those who love it. It’s just not my thing.
And every day in high school band, we would warm up by playing together through the circle of 5ths, each scale one octave up, one octave down, arpeggio up, arpeggio down, and on to the next key, starting at C, adding one flat until we transitioned to B and subtracting sharps until back to C.
C, F, B♭, E♭, A♭, D♭, G♭, B, E, A, D, G, C
Each scale like:
1 2+3+4+ 1 2+3+4+ 1+2+3+4+1+2+3+4+ 1
C DEFGAB C BAGFED CEGCGECEGCGEC F…
And it took all my concentration to do that every day on oboe, to keep up and not get lost.
It was hard.
I don’t like hard. I want music theory to be easier than what I was forced to do in 1978-1981.
Did I mention that I hate playing oboe? Well, that’s why I broke with my family, earned a degree in Computer Science and blissfully spent 37 years writing firmware for a living. It was interesting, lucrative, creative, and splendid. And amongst other things, it provided me with the capital to purchase a Stratocaster in 1991, which I have tried to learn to play many, many times, never having enough time.
And now that I’m 62 and retired, I’m concentrating much more on guitar than ever before.
And one piece of the puzzle is demystifying music theory.
And I hope Justin can expand my horizons and make music theory interesting and fun instead of hard and mechanical.
4 Likes
Hi Justin 
I’m here for a few reasons:
(i) I want to develop my ear — I’m already doing ear training, but I believe learning theory will help even more;
(ii) I’m 45 now and haven’t been playing for a long, long time, so I thought about things that could keep me motivated — and the learning process itself (in anything) is a huge motivational factor for me;
(iii) I’d say my skills are somewhere around the intermediate level right now, and I just want to keep playing, you know?;
(iv) I simply love music — almost every kind of it!
1 Like
Well at 72, I’ve had a wild ride. Currently, re-starting playing guitar, playing popular songs and getting people to at least smile. Trumpet, piano, and Glockonspiel, in my deep, early past; with 2 kids, 2 marriages, and now 4 grandchildren, to interfere for long periods. I am loving pursuing music as a pashion, rather than a task. Both my parents were song writers in the 20’s and 30’s, but then the war came. Right now, I have a casted broken left arm (another story) so am doing Justin’s theory course in the hopes of hitting the group running in time for Xmas carols. I’m enjoying Justin’s other courses too.
2 Likes