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What is Music Theory and do you need it? I answer questions about music theory. See written questions & answers below. Gotta question? Want my help? Go to christianhowes.com/education

Q: Isn’t it true that at some point in your violin career, your fingers basically know all the possible patterns that our only 4 fingers are capable of, therefore not really thinking of what notes you are playing, but using your ears to place those patterns in the correct place etc….


A:
With 12 notes in 4-ish octaves on the violin, I can only guess the math of the possibilities, and my assumption is that many lifetimes would not give us the ability to truly know all the sequences/patterns/iterations.

However, if the question is more meaning something to the effect “ Once we know a scale or a few chords pretty well, at some point we should be able to develop this confidence and a full enough Language with which to express ourself over at least certain types of rhythmic and harmonic forms or songs. yes, I agree that this is true. Furthermore, I believe many musicians can say ALOT with whatever language, theory, or technical ability they have. I played with Les Paul for 14 years, when he was between the age of 80-94. He basically had 2 functioning fingers on his left hand and he made it work! He played a lot of music with those two fingers.

This begs the question of “How much does a musician actually NEED to learn”. I believe that often a musician can say a lot with what they have. But it does depend on Context. For example, I may be comfortable playing over a rock groove because I Know that groove pretty well, but then, suddenly when I try to play over a bluegrass tune, I just haven’t learned that language yet.

Same is true of harmonic language. The guitar solo in Stairway to Heaven uses three chords that can easily be navigated using the A minor pentatonic scale. One can basically play ANY note in the scale over that solo and it will always sound right. But this same strategy may not apply to Giant Steps. So context is important, and often we need to learn different information (harmonic or rhythmic) to fit into different musical contexts.

#1 are you processing notes in your head or the latter (by pattern/;ear)

If I try to think about the ways I perceive a musical note, there are at least 4 ideas that come to mind


1. on the staff
2. on the violin fingerboard
3. a sound
4. a note name


These are four ways I could “call” “name” or “perceive” the same thing. But whether I rely more heavily on one or another I’m not always sure.
It could be possible, if I had the ability to "see colors in sound” or had a higher degree of perfect pitch, that I would have OTHER ways of understanding the note. But I don;t have those abilities, so i rely on what I have,


If someone is Blind, similarly, then they go through life without that ability. But they strengthen other abilities (like hearing, smell). Musicians who do not Read music presumably develop stronger memories.We rely more or less on different perceptual abilities. Some more on reading, theory, or ears… the more we can strengthen any one of these, it will help us. But it could be difficult, and maybe not always worth the effort. On the other hand, it could be revelatory.
NPR did a piece the other day about a woman who had Aspergers’ syndrome. People with Aspergers are “missing” a function in the brain that let’s most of us “read into” the emotions and tone of social context in every day speech. When a Magnet was applied to this person’s brain, for the first time in 50 years, she could “read into” the tone of social speech such as sarcasm, irony, humor, etc… Suddenly she realized everything she had missed for 50 years…


Musicians with less “theory” presumably have "Other Theory”


In other words, music theory may dictate that a chord is a “Major 7”. A musician who does not know the name “Major 7” may have another Name for this chord. They may have some point of reference, either from their ears, the fingerboard, a Lick they learned, etc… that gives them an ANCHOR to somehow know what they want to do with that Major 7 chord.


Instead of calling this theory, let’s call it “applied theory”, or “functional theory”. i.e., “Anything that gives you an understanding and confidence in what you want to do musically in a given context”.


Again, “Applied Theory" is Very contextual. So a musician could have an understanding of how to navigate the harmony or rhythm of a funk tune, but not a famous Bossa Nova…In order to feel comfortable in that Bossa Nova, they may need to develop MORE/OTHER “applied theory”… Whether that applied theory needs to come from a textbook, it may depend on that musician and/or the textbook.

COntinued on my blog and email list.... My written answer was too long for youtube's allowed description length.!


Connect with me at christianhowes.com/education or reach out at chris@christianhowes.com

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Grab your instrument and play along to "Before You Go" by Lewis Capaldi. Whatever level you're at, you can play my melodies back or make up your own. Works great for violin, viola, cello, or any instrument.

00:00:00 The Complete Melody
00:01:10 Play After Me
00:14:00 Shorter Phrases
00:15:44 Backing Track Only
00:21:45 Rhythmic Play Along

👉 Subscribe for more play-along lessons on this channel.

🎻 Find all my Play Along Videos (many styles & all levels) here:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6By1KZHRO2KHi59cupsiiPXU7tbyOZTw

🎻 Play Along Directory (sorted by style/difficulty levels) & Backing Tracks: https://bit.ly/PlayAlongWebsite

🎻 To enjoy and progress more in your practice or teaching, connect with me for 1-1 or group lessons, DIY courses or visit christianhowes.com for more fun learning resources.

#PlayAlong #BeforeYouGo #LewisCapaldi

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Play along on violin, cello, and viola for a fun practice (g major) to this funky tune. In this funk violin tutorial we'll get into rhythm, bowing techniques and how to make your practice more interesting for yourself. At the end of this video, you can do your thing as I leave the backing track playing for you.
Happy practicing!

00:00:00 Funk Play Along Start
00:01:22 Get Into the Groove - Rhythm Exercise
00:05:50 Rhythm Exercise Part 2
00:11:44 Pentatonic Scale, a bit slower
00:14:05 How to make your practice more interesting for yourself
00:21:03 Do your thing! - Backing track only

🎻 More Easy Play Along Videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6By1KZHRO2I5yzSZi3Kv0IrpxS487NOy

🎻 More Funk, Groove & Soul Play Along videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6By1KZHRO2LbFyIX3NY3JG2KpJ1wtTG3

🎻 To join my weekly group lessons: https://bit.ly/WeeklyGroupLessons


#PlayAlong #FunkViolin #ViolinTutorial

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Fiddlers Casey Driessen and Christian Howes hang out on Chris's deck in the mountains of Asheville, North Carolina, to discuss extensive clips from Casey’s album Otherlands. We talk about chopping/rhythm, and other aspects of musical collaboration for fiddlers and string players who want to expand their creative voice, musical community, and career or lifestyle. We play a tune together as well in this hour-long interview.

Creative Strings Podcast Interviews Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6By1KZHRO2IsWNiV4uMkViHTj1zCqVOG

Find more at www.christianhowes.com

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Play along to " Leave before you love me " by the Jonas Brothers x Marshmello and enjoy practicing. In part 1 of this three-part series, you'll play after me, starting on the note A.

👉 Subscribe for more play-along lessons on this channel.

🎻 Find all my Play Along Videos (many styles & all levels) here:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6By1KZHRO2KHi59cupsiiPXU7tbyOZTw

🎻 Play Along Directory (sorted by style/difficulty levels) & Backing Tracks: https://bit.ly/PlayAlongWebsite

🎻 To enjoy and progress more in your practice or teaching, Visit christianhowes.com for more fun learning resources.

#PlayAlong #JonasBrothers #FreePlayAlongSongsViolin

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You Regard Instrumental - Play along to an easy version of the track You by Troye Sivan and discover how to play over this great popular song.
Subscribe for more play-along lessons on this channel.
Visit christianhowes.com for more resources.

#PlayAlong #Easy #TroyeSivan

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Play along on violin, cello, and viola for fun practice. Easy to intermediate level.
Go to www.christianhowes.com for my free e-course and other ways to learn.

#Funk #PlayAlong #BowedStrings

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Sign up to work with me in group and/or 1-1 coaching this summer here: https://christianhowes.com/csw_online6/
You can contact me via email or phone this week:
phone (if in USA) 614-332-8689
email chris@christianhowes.com

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More Fun with Perpetual Motion. Performed live for an audience of Suzuki students.
Join weekly group classes with me here: https://christianhowes.com/csw_online6/

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Play along to fun pentatonics and more. Thanks to the Greater Washington D.C. Suzuki Institute for hosting me. Advanced Suzuki violin cello and viola students had a great time playing along with this one.
For more ways to work with me, reach out to me at chris@christianhowes.com or go to christianhowes.com/education

#PlayAlong #Advanced #SuzukiViolinTeaching

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Grab your instrument and play along with this easy relaxed guided practice session in D major.
To make practice more fun and enjoyable, and progress, join me weekly for my live practice classes here: https://christianhowes.com/csw_online6/

#Easy #PlayAlong #GuidedPractice

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Play along to this guided practice session. Bring mindfulness to creative integrated practice.
Join my weekly Group Classes here: http://bit.ly/Weekly_Group_Class
I love meeting with people 1-1 on Zoom. In 30 minutes I can give students valuable feedback to help them clarify opportunities in their practice. If you’d like to take a private lesson with me, here’s a special coupon: http://bit.ly/free_lesson_7_for_7_bonus

#MusicisYoga #Easy #MindfulPractice

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Play Along on Violin, Viola, Cello, or any instrument. Summer is here!
Want to enjoy and progress more in your practice? Practice LIVE with me on Zoom. Join my weekly Summer Group Class here: https://christianhowes.com/csw_online6/

#PlayALong #Easy #StringOrchestra

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Whatever level you're at, you can play my melodies back or make up your own.
Works great for violin, viola, cello, or any instrument. Connect with me for 1-1 or group lessons, DIY courses, and more at christianhowes.com

#CreativeStrings
#PlayAlong
#Blues-Inspired

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Learn the melody to Coffin Dance and then play along over the groove in a fun dance party.
For More Coffin Dance and More Orchestra Dance Parties subscribe to this channel or join my weekly live group classes here: https://christianhowes.com/csw_online6/

00:00 Learn Coffin Dance Melody 1st pt
02:25 Play w groove
04:29 Learn 2nd part of melody
06:10 Play full melody w groove
09:20 Play Along Dance Party



#CoffinDance #PlayAlong #OrchestraClassroom

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Play along to this segment from class 1 of 14 during the 7-week Creative Strings Workshop (Spring 2021). The weekly group classes are designed to provide you with awareness, skills, and greater enjoyment of your practice. Whether you're a hobbyist, elite professional player, or teacher, if you want to free yourself from limiting beliefs, bridge the skill gaps, feel more motivated, and find your fullest musical expression, join us for Summer July 12-Sept 4 here: https://christianhowes.com/csw_online6/

Reach out with questions to me at chris@christianhowes.com

#PlayAlong #GuidedPractice #Awareness

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