I’m pretty new to the world of Stick, and I’m spending some time trying to wrap my head around it.

A few months ago I returned to music after a many-year hiatus. Most of my previous instruction was of the typical “classical music instrument performance” nature that one finds outside of a college degree program. As such, the focus was heavily biased toward technique, interpretation, and sight reading, with minimal emphasis on music theory (and we won’t talk about improvisation or ear training).

Although one of my near-term goals is to better patch this hole, at this point the extent of my theory knowledge is reading standard notation (bass and treble clefs), matching key signatures to keys (major and minor only), basic intervals, and circle of fifths / fourths. In contrast, when looking at some of the forum posts and Stick-related videos, I often see folks casually discussing the finer nuances of Stick playing when dealing with “progressions in F# dorian, for chords in second inversion with diminished 7ths, augmented 13ths, and a cherry on top”. This in conjunction with the non-trivial string layout and a more “DIY” repertoire makes me wonder what level of music theory is required to realistically even play the Stick beyond the “two-handed Hot Cross Buns” level.

Insights?

You're just shooting in the dark without some idea of music structure - on any instrument. That's why the first thing I wanted to do on Stick was not to simply "noodle in place" but to learn some actual songs with common chord progressions and scale based melodies. That way you carve out a mental map of intervallic relationships. That was especially important on the 5ths tuned bass side which for me is ground zero on Stick. That, and how the 2 halves of the tuning line up with each other. On Stick, like all well designed instruments, common chord and scale sequences flow together nicely. Once you can visualize what you're trying to do, dexterity issues are just a temporary inconvenience. Whether you want to play Giant Steps or Kumbaya, you still have to get from chord to chord with some authority and navigate the melody with your right hand. If you got circles of 4ths/5ths, basic chord spellings and major and minor scales, you're halfway there. After that, learn some tunes. If a tune calls for a m7b5, you'll learn a m7b5.

I've been playing Stick for 34 years and I still don't have what I would consider a "thorough knowledge of theory."

Basic major and minor chord shapes, pentatonic scales and a few others are all you need to plays much of the music you hear every day.

The only real prerequisite is desire, though a little patience helps as well.

Welcome!

I would answer 'no', just as for any other instrument.

Learning music theory is very a good idea, but ultimately, you can just play freely, perhaps within a particular memorised scale so that it doesn't sound unpleasantly atonal, and just go with whatever sounds good. This approach also opens up the most possibilities in music because you are not working within conventional limitations.

Technical discussion in the community doesn't imply a theory requirement.
An unusual tuning is irrelevant when playing freely and going with what sounds good, that works with any tuning.

Not required but prudent. The Stick is tuned super logically. By understanding theory and inlay placement, scales, chords and other vocabulary tools become quite simple. Even basic progressions like I IV V become easy to navigate in any key.
In my Mel Bay Stickology book, there's a short 10 page theory section titled
Music Theory (don't be afraid of this....it WILL make you a better Stick player)

Steve Adelson

I consider myself quite good on music theory, when I'm playing bass (my first instrument) I feel like a calculator, but because that for me was hard to "feel" instead of "think".

When I started with the stick I decided to put more attention to the sound, and to be honest still I have problems looking for the notes in the fretboard, but that gave me a feeling of "freedom", focusing more in textures and sonorities than in a certain finger choreography.

However, through the time, a little of theory in necessary.

Wooten's logic makes sense for me: Music is a language and we learned our mother tongue imitating the sounds, and trying to comunicate using them, after becoming an expert speaker, we began to learn about grammar in order to improve our skills even more.

As a person with extensive musical training and knowledge of music (bachelor and masters in jazz), I can tell you that music theory serves only as a label on what you can and should already hear with your ears and mind. This is why so many fantastic musicians who don’t know music theory are monsters in their field and why so many educated musicians (like I was) have all the “knowledge” of music in their heads but don’t have the first clue as to what it sounds like.

If you really want to broaden your musical horizons, a good place to start is to figure out a scale/chord/musical idea that really Rogers your Hammerstein and figure out theoretically why it is the way it is, that way every time you hear it, you know what it is.

For example:

When I hear a Melodic Minor scale it makes me think of old film noir movie soundtracks. It makes me feel like I’m walking around a dark rainy night in the 40s. I know that it is a minor scale with a major 6th and a major 7th but I have a memory attached to it’s sound that allows me to identify it without having an instrument in my hands.

Find the meaning of sounds to you and then find how it makes you feel and theory will be like a old friend calling you on the phone an saying “hey it’s me”.

Remember, the instrument is an extension of you. You are making the music. The stick is like your vocal chords, the music is like your thoughts and the emotion they produce is triggered from your reactions to it.

I hope this makes sense.

I'm currently reading his book as well, pretty much sums up what the OP is asking.

A lot of the posts are eluding to what I would lead with: What do you want to do on Stick?

Degrees of theory are only a requirement in the context of what you want to accomplish. The more theory you know, the more you can actively choose to create by design instead of happenstance. Paraphrasing Greg, if you enjoy more typical music types, a limited amount of theory will take you far.

Personally, I find myself not at the extreme end of theory, but in that general area. I don't enjoy extensions past 11, and frequently I find focus on chords takes away from melody and rhythm. But what you need is all up to your preference on what you enjoy.

Man, it's all about Energy! Emotion! Communication!

I've been listening to a lot of Eric Burden and Animals tracks, and I doubt those guys had a shred of theory, but they communicated powerfully.

And I'm writing this having devoted many years of theory study in the misguided notion that this would somehow make me play better.

Now I just play open mics. Everything you do must serve the groove - your bass, your chords, your lead parts, your vocal melodies, your backing vocals, whatever.

Familiarity with your instrument will lead naturally to a theoretical understanding. Just don't put the cart before the horse.

If you wish to study theory to improve your playing, TAKE BABY STEPS. Make sure that every lesson can be realized on the Stick, and play it 40x with each hand so you really get it.

This knowledge has to be in your body.

R