Does dave know music theory?

[dpresti]

I've always wondered this... and if so, where did he learn it?


or does he just play, and he knows what sounds good?

[ChadRap127]

some people do.. some people dont

[dpresti]

is that an answer, cuz i cant make sense of it.

does dave know theory, yes or no?

[mmazz72]

he might.

[pay4whatuget]

he knows some. in the acoustic guitar world magazine interview for some devil, he dropped some lingo about chord progressions and stuff. i don't think he's up there with tim in terms of knowledge, but he knows some. i'm pretty sure he wrote crash on piano...he was taking guitar lessons when he was very young, so he probably learned some then.

[dpresti]

thank you!

[Haiku Jimi]

ehhh....yeah what he said ^ He wrote Recently on the piano, I'm not sure about Crash, could be both. But then again, piano isn't a tough intsrument to fiddle around with.

I doubt Dave knows too much about theory...an average amount I'd guess. He does have a really unique style though, which makes up for it. He's not too keen on soloing either...I'm sure he's ok but he tends to stay away from it, its not in his comfort zone (i think I even recall him saying something exactly liek that in an interview).

[Firedancer 13]

Music Theory was one of the worst classes I ever took.

[robdean218]

dave knows a LOT about music theory, some of his guitar riffs cannot just magically occur when noodling around on the guitar one day....you gotta know how to progress, also if he didn't know theory he wouldn't be able to do any improv during jimi, and his jimi solos are always changing it's not like he just made up one and kept playin it over and over

[Haiku Jimi]

dave knows a LOT about music theory, some of his guitar riffs cannot just magically occur when noodling around on the guitar one day....you gotta know how to progress, also if he didn't know theory he wouldn't be able to do any improv during jimi, and his jimi solos are always changing it's not like he just made up one and kept playin it over and over

I think the riffs are just a part of his style and the way he grew up learning to play. But yeah I guess he does know more than he likes to show. About his improving during Jimi though...I'm sorry its not that good. I dont mean that in a bad way...its good in the sense that it SOUNDS good, but its nothing to make you think "wow that guy knows his stuff". His improv is ok...which is why I think his theory knowledge is - ok.

[WaLtErK123]

chad, where did you get the software to make that ipod list?

[Dancing Ants]

Alot of Dave's stuff is based in african music, so he doesn't have to know theory, just how his peers and musicians in his country played.

also, his solo in Jimi Thing is like 6 month old guitar player solo. I don't mean that in a bad way, but I watched Jimi Thing on LS, and did it EXACTLY after the first watch/try. At 6months. Nothing too hard there.

[pay4whatuget]

i think it's on the prism coffee house show (date??) where dave sticks his foot in his mouth about theory. he's about to play warehouse w/ tim and he says "this one's in Bminor, Bminor. I know that because timmy told me so." and then tim corrects him, because apparently warehouse is not in bminor.

[Haiku Jimi]

i think it's on the prism coffee house show (date??) where dave sticks his foot in his mouth about theory. he's about to play warehouse w/ tim and he says "this one's in Bminor, Bminor. I know that because timmy told me so." and then tim corrects him, because apparently warehouse is not in bminor.

meh...I thought it was in B minor...the verses anyway....

Oh well.

[robdean218]

Alot of Dave's stuff is based in african music, so he doesn't have to know theory, just how his peers and musicians in his country played.

also, his solo in Jimi Thing is like 6 month old guitar player solo. I don't mean that in a bad way, but I watched Jimi Thing on LS, and did it EXACTLY after the first watch/try. At 6months. Nothing too hard there.

yeah wow good job you could copy a solo with a video of him doing it infront of you...tough stuff, but to actually come up with it on stage on the spot, that's a different story, that requires knowledge of music, i don't think dave's intention during jimi thing is to go off like tim reynolds might with a solo, but more to just give a nice little jazzy riff that goes well with the song at that stage, and therefore i think the jimi thing solos are usually awesome

[Haiku Jimi]

yeah wow good job you could copy a solo with a video of him doing it infront of you...tough stuff, but to actually come up with it on stage on the spot, that's a different story, that requires knowledge of music, i don't think dave's intention during jimi thing is to go off like tim reynolds might with a solo, but more to just give a nice little jazzy riff that goes well with the song at that stage, and therefore i think the jimi thing solos are usually awesome

Do you honestly think it takes that much skill to pull off though? I'm not even speaking technically or speedwise, but just straightforward. I dont want to get into an argument over his skills, but honestly, most people that have been playing for a few years (heck let me even make it at least 8 years - and that's an overstatement) can improv that kind of thing. Its a few licks that he plays a few times, nothing big. I'm not saying he's a guitar-moron, but he certainly doesn't know too much theory.

[RushianSyrinx]

Theres a difference between KNOWING what sounds good and PLAYING what sounds good. You dont need theory to write riffs/progressions, you just gotta play what sounds good to you. Same goes for soloing - you dont need to be able to play scales to solo, you just need good feel.

Sure having the theory knowledge/scale knowledge helps a ton, but it's not required. As a result, I'm willing to bet Dave doesn't know all too much theory.

Dave definitely plays more what he feels than thinking "Hmm..im playing a D minor chord...now *insert rambling theory jargon here*"

[robdean218]

what about the fact that he surrounds himself with musicans who undeniably know a good deal of music theory in leroi more, butch taylor, tim reynolds and boyd tinsley (despite those of you who think he plays the same pentatonic shit over and over again, he did study classical violin)...anyway you would think that being around that group of people, some music theory would start to rub off on him

[RushianSyrinx]

Sure, if he sat down to learn it. But having theory rub off and knowing theory are two different things. Theory is not easy to learn. Dave may only know what sounds good and Boyd or Roi or Butch may try to explain it and he may just nod and smile.

[AJDMB05]

i think it's on the prism coffee house show (date??) where dave sticks his foot in his mouth about theory. he's about to play warehouse w/ tim and he says "this one's in Bminor, Bminor. I know that because timmy told me so." and then tim corrects him, because apparently warehouse is not in bminor.
That exact same banter was on the Storytellers video I think, or the AUD. I didn't think it was in Bm either, but I can't offer a counter key either.

[1eyed_jack]

music theory is way overrated. its good to know some, but if thats all you worry about then it kinda takes away from the music

you just have to go with what youre feeling. my friends been playing for like 5 years and his solos sound pretty good. he doest know much theory either. I, on the other hand, know some theory and scales and my solos sound like shit. mainly because im trying to play what ive been told sounds good rather than what i am feeling at the time

[chris917]

he has said time and time again in interviews that he doesnt really know much about music theory.

[earl]

"When John [Popper of Blues Traveler] came into the studio for Under the Table and Dreaming, I was taking a crap upstairs. He walked in and shouted up at me, 'What key is the song in?' And I said, 'I think it's in G or A.' By the time I had finished my business upstairs, he had finished his solo."

- Spin Magazine

Thanks winglet

[Virtuoso]

Ok so lets meet in the middle... He doesnt know a lot but then he knows more than a little... He knows some.

Who really gives a crap?! The music is good!

Myke

[Rob]

When Dave first started writing, his knowledge was very limited. This was actually a blessing, as he wasn't confined to established chord progressions and was able to do things outside the established sounds for his musical interests. His early riffs were, indeed, noodling. He has said in interviews he'd play around in a scale looking for circular patterns. Songs like Recently, Satellite, DiDo, and Stone illustrate this- they're simply circular noodles.

In the past few years (since the move to Seattle) he started taking formal guitar lessons. I believe I recall something about Grace is Gone being born from those lessons and his introduction to some country theory. Sugar Will is a great illustration of Dave's increased maturity with the guitar- this is not a simple song. It is a grown variation of his circular noodling, using the entire fretboard, inversions, variation, etc.

So, the answer... Dave is learning musical theory formally now. I'm sure he has been learning all along, picking things up from all the musicians he has been around. When he first started, he'd had some instruction, enough for him to create the riffs we find so memorably.

[JG2121]

So he's started taking lessons now, thats cool. I bet the next album will have some sweet guitar lines.

[stevo]

haha, how would you like to be teaching lessons and Dave Matthews shows up at your house. "No I'm sorry Dave, you're playing it wrong...try it this way, maybe it will sound better..."

:ugh:

[onesweetwh1rld]

"When John [Popper of Blues Traveler] came into the studio for Under the Table and Dreaming, I was taking a crap upstairs. He walked in and shouted up at me, 'What key is the song in?' And I said, 'I think it's in G or A.' By the time I had finished my business upstairs, he had finished his solo."

- Spin Magazine

Thanks winglet
Under The Table was a longgggggg time ago! 10 Years changes a person a lot.

[TripPin BilLie]

haha, how would you like to be teaching lessons and Dave Matthews shows up at your house. "No I'm sorry Dave, you're playing it wrong...try it this way, maybe it will sound better..."

:ugh:


:lol :lol

[Dancing Ants]

yeah wow good job you could copy a solo with a video of him doing it infront of you...tough stuff, but to actually come up with it on stage on the spot, that's a different story, that requires knowledge of music, i don't think dave's intention during jimi thing is to go off like tim reynolds might with a solo, but more to just give a nice little jazzy riff that goes well with the song at that stage, and therefore i think the jimi thing solos are usually awesome

his solo on there is like this (or close..can't totally remember):


e------------------------------------
B------------------------------------
G------------------------------------
D------------------------------------
A----------11-12-13----------9-10-11
E-9-10-11-----------9-10-11---------



anyway, not hard. i could come up with that.

[clemson357]

i think it's on the prism coffee house show (date??) where dave sticks his foot in his mouth about theory. he's about to play warehouse w/ tim and he says "this one's in Bminor, Bminor. I know that because timmy told me so." and then tim corrects him, because apparently warehouse is not in bminor.

4-22-93

[yankees51]

Back to the first page, the verse of Warehouse is, in fact, B minor. The "leave all the lights on" part modulates, though -- I forgot to what. The last part ("I love to stay here") is B major, IIRC.

[halcyon]

I seem to remember hearing somewhere that Jimi Hendrix didn't know any theory and he turned out ok in my book. He went by what sounds good and from what i recall hearing in some interviews, Dave just messes around some and plays what sounds good. I dont knw...just rambling I guess. :monkey

[Rob]

There are a ton of musicians out there that don't have formal training. To them, music is intuitive- that's an incredible gift. Some choose to fly on their own, some choose to refine it, etc. I admire Dave's incredible ability "out of the box," and I'm enjoying his newfound sounds as he becomes a more educated musician. I think, as musicians, we can especially appreciate his growth through the instruction he's received, especially in the past two or three years.

[1eyed_jack]

his solo on there is like this (or close..can't totally remember):


e------------------------------------
B------------------------------------
G------------------------------------
D------------------------------------
A----------11-12-13----------9-10-11
E-9-10-11-----------9-10-11---------



anyway, not hard. i could come up with that.

sweet dude,. why dont you play jimi thing and put your own solo in there, im interested in hearing it.