Music theory training starts with learning the vocabulary and language of music. Each element can be understood as written in music notation, on the instrument, and when heard in sound. These three ways of knowing and understanding are not easily connected because the paths of learning differ for each. The instrument is learned by demonstration and physical motion.
Learning music notation requires knowledge of staff and written symbols. Ear training requires that the concepts of pitch, interval, scale, and chord be connected with sound. The results of not connecting ear training, instrument study, and music reading leave musicians with limited skills. It is easy to go down one path and lose sight of another. Thus we have musicians that play by ear but cannot read music or those that read but cannot play by ear or improvise. Music students who combine music lessons with instrument study and ear training tend to make the most progress and become the most versatile musicians because these skills reinforce one another.
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