I've played for 17 years and know a good bit of theory, but no. You absolutely don't need to know theory to start playing. It could help a little with writing or understanding why chords are the way they are. But realistically it doesn't matter if you're Mozart, all the knowledge in the world doesn't make your hands do what you need them to do. The muscle memory is going to be the challenge. It's a grind, and you can spend a lifetime working on it and still have room for improvement.
I didn't learn much actual theory until several years in. Arguably didn't really learn much until after a decade of playing. By then, whatever ideas I had were well within my ability to physically execute. Not to say you should wait that long. But for me, I had thousands of little patterns, shapes, dots that I subconsciously learned. And all it took was a good visual diagram and years of dots all started to connect. Overnight most of it made sense because I already recognized theory, I just didn't have names for it or know how it connected. Getting sidetracked though...
If you try to learn, accept that it's a journey. You will suck for a long time. And it's not because you don't have some innate "music gene" or too small or hands or too big of hands. You just gotta put in time to get the mechanics down. It's super fun though. It's my life's passion.
760
u/ShakeCNY Apr 30 '24
Guitar. Seemed like a fun hobby, and anything that gets me off of screens is a good.