Where did theory come from ?
Well it came from our attempt to describe what we hear and create
labels for what we hear.
Theory therefore can be used in a "reverse engineering" way to train
your ear.
For example probably your first brush with theory - when you play say
a C and then the next note up or higher we say you've sharpened it and
describe it as "C Sharp". We use the term sharp because that's the
best word we have to describe the feeling we have when this happens.
We could say the note is "C Up" or "C Higher" etc...
So as time went on our collective auditory experience was documented
and described.
Teaching theory should could go hand in hand with teaching your ear.
Unfortunately, Colleges and institutions have a major problem, most
students ears are underdeveloped, and the ear takes time to develop.
So theory courses become removed from the ear content and become an
intellectual exercise. Sadly, also some who are doing the teaching
have under-developed ears, so many mistakes are made, and many
misunderstandings perpetuated.
In my teaching I start with ear training lesson 1. You can never start
to early. Theory is taught as we go along, as the ear develops. As your ear developes the labels and the system we've made makes sense,
both intellectually and more importantly to your ear.
The ear is essential, theory helps us give labels to what we hear and
increases our understanding, better to say "C Sharp" than say "C up a
bit", and a consistent labeling system helps.
For example when someone says it's a iim chord you should have a
sensory ear experience that tells you what that is or will be
like. Likewise when a iim chord sounds you should be able to say
a "ah there goes the iim"!
Alisdair MacRae Birch
Guitarist/Bassist/Educator/Arranger
