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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Sweet Dreamer" data-source="post: 67330" data-attributes="member: 836"><p>I'm actually in agreement with much of what you say here.  Music notation has indeed been a great thing for humanity in general.  It has allowed musical ideas to be passed down in a more precise form, and that has also allowed musical ideas to become more complex as well.   In a cultural sense written music is as powerful as written language.  It can also be a great tool for individuals as well.  Especially if they are interesting in reproducing precisely what someone has done before.  Or if they'd like to convey their own musical ideas to other people via written notation.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>That's correct.  All that any "theory" amounts to is nothing more than an explanation of why things work.   In truth, IFR is its own explanation of why music works.  So it's just yet another form of "music theory".   The only difference is that IFR focus on how to improvise music, instead of how to read it from musical notation.   </p><p></p><p>IFR focuses on the art of improvising.  So if that's the goal, then this is the theory you want to use to achieve that goal. ;}</p><p></p><p>I'm just responding to the goal that was suggested is all. </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>If Mal studies IFR <u>sincerely</u> for a few years this goal will most certainly be achieved.</p><p></p><p>I would strongly hesitate to suggest that studying conventional music theory would necessarily achieve this goal in such a short period of time.   It may or may not.   Like you say, that can all depend on the individual. </p><p></p><p>I'm just offering food for thought, for whatever it's worth. ;}</p><p></p><p>I study both.  I recommend studying both.   For example, IFR starts a person out playing every note their instrument can play (i.e. the chromatic scale over the entire comfort range of their instrument).  Well, there's no reason why they can't look at sheet music of chromatic scales at the same time to see what that looks like.</p><p></p><p>Same thing when moving on to studying the scales as "step patterns".  Fine.  Look at scales written down on paper in musical notation when you do that.  Then you'll see what it looks like on paper too. </p><p></p><p>When you start to play those same step patterns starting on different notes, look at how all those different modes are written down on paper as you practice them. </p><p></p><p>It can only result in even a deeper understanding of everything.</p><p></p><p>So do BOTH.</p><p></p><p>And yes, I highly recommend the O'Neil books too.  I have them for trumpet, sax, clarinet and flute.  They're great!  They'll also introduce the pentatonic scales as well. </p><p></p><p>So my ultimate "advice" is to do BOTH.   Learn to read music, and learn it intuitively on your instrument through IFR as a "Harmonic Landscape of scale-step patterns".  You can't go wrong learning both ways of viewing music on your instrument.  One method doesn't need to exclude the other.</p></blockquote><p></p>

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