# Andrew Wasson guitar players that know theory and those that don't



## Lola (Nov 16, 2014)

This is a very well explained video.


----------



## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

Lola said:


> This is a very well explained video.


He mentions Chet Breau (son of Lenny Breau) as being his "mentor" (near the end of the video).
I had never heard Chet Breau mentioned anywhere in the past.
Has anyone seen him perform?


----------



## bw66 (Dec 17, 2009)

Summary: "Learn more, earn more."

Thanks for posting!

Also, I think that it's fair to say that most bona fide teaching studios these days can take you wherever you want to go. For the person teaching out of his/her basement (like me), there is often a little less versatility.


----------



## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

bw66 said:


> Summary: "Learn more, earn more."
> 
> For the person teaching out of his/her basement (like me), there is often a little less versatility.


"Learn More, earn more" is a new phrase to me. Concise and powerful!

I'm not trying to be argumentative (or offensive), but what do you mean by _"...there is often a little less versatility"_. Why is that?


----------



## bw66 (Dec 17, 2009)

greco said:


> "Learn More, earn more" is a new phrase to me. Concise and powerful!
> 
> I'm not trying to be argumentative (or offensive), but what do you mean by _"...there is often a little less versatility"_. Why is that?


A lot of "independent" guitar teachers are the first type mentioned in the video - they have learned by ear with some input from other players and have become great players, but often they can't read a chart or explain what they are doing, and they are sometimes fluent in maybe only two or three styles of playing. And there is nothing wrong with that, if that is what the student wants to learn. But if you want to be a busy musician, you may want to look for a teacher with a broader range of knowledge and experience - the third type mentioned in the video.


----------



## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

@bw66 Thanks for explaining.


----------



## Budda (May 29, 2007)

As a type one teacher, I agree. 

When I was teaching for a store, I referred one of my students to another teacher (uni degree in classical afaik) because she wanted to learn fingerstyle.


----------



## Dorian2 (Jun 9, 2015)

@Budda , that says a lot about your character and professionalism. Good on you.

Great video @Lola. He IS making a fairly broad generalization of the whole concept here, but it's totally understandable. I'm in the 3rd category. Through all the theory and knowledge I do happen to have, in the end I play with my gut instinct and feel for the tune. I also at times struggle to stop over analyzing things that I hear and play. It's a massive hindrance for my own creativity at certain points of time. Vice versa for learning something by ear. Considering keys/key changes/modulation, time signature, and more advanced techniques and rhythmic patterns can plainly become a pain in the ass if there is no theoretical understanding going on when learning a song by ear. And both approaches support one another for myself in unity I find. Certain "sounds" that we hear (say a certain mode like Phrygian) in a song lends itself to having a different "feel" to it. That's where the ear training/listening skills and learning by ear come in for me.

Just a personal reflection of how I play and approach things guys. It's handy to know yourself as a player. Probably the most important lesson there is actually.


----------



## dgreen (Sep 3, 2016)

Some great insight in the video.
Being confident as a player is the (second) best tool you can use when applying your theory onto the fretboard (imo)
best tool... your ears.
Theory enhances your tonal options on the guitar, or any other instrument you may play


----------



## mawmow (Nov 14, 2017)

Ah ! Very interesting to hear a teacher address this subject. I do not qualify as a music teacher even though I like to share what I know about it. I still am and probably be forever a student...
As most beginners, I guess, I began playing simple chords on simple songs and expanded my repertoire with more complex chords.
When I turned to fingerstyle, I soon understood I had to know at least a bit about musical theory (reading staff, using scales, modes, CAGED system and so on) if I wished to customize my personal tabs. I am still working at it on my now permanent leisure times...


----------

