I feel the same way, Charlie, that each tune challenges me in exactly the right way, as if Duke et al had picked the tune out especially for me! I think Duke has a way of speaking to the camera that feels very immediate and warm; I feel as if he is really speaking to me personally, and that's reinforced by the personal feedback. It's one of the things that makes the lessons here at SJ so special.
I have a very rich background in theory (piano lessons since 5, Berklee class of '78, played jazz/blues/whatever gigs for decades on piano), and sometimes I'm tempted to respond to one of my peers here when they ask questions relating to theory. But on guitar, I'm just another student and not nearly as good or experienced as most of you, so I don't want to come off like Mr. Smarty Pants about it.
But I'm happy to share what I know if it helps anyone. I think the theory knowledge is a great benefit, and I don't think it has to detract from your playing at all. It can give you a real safety net when you are playing unfamiliar songs, for example. I used to work for a guy named Sleepy La Beef, who is a great Rockabilly guy. He plays loud, fast, never stops between songs, never tells you the key, and you'd better keep up or else. So I learned that he generally only played in a few keys, so I'd always choose notes/chords that would work with any of those keys until I figured out what song he was playing and what key he was playing in. He used to play through two twin reverbs wired together. The first night I played with him I made the mistake of setting up near his amps. I couldn't hear out of my left ear for days.
For me, being able to read is like being able to take notes (no pun intended), until I can get something all in my head, or a way of refreshing my memory easily. Or being able to get the sense for some music for which there is not audio alternative. It certainly doesn't limit me or control me, being able to read music. I used to teach piano and they'd always give me the little kids because the other teachers scared them. I remember getting this 6 year old boy who asked me if reading music was very hard. I said, "Can you count to four?" He nodded. I said, "Do you know the alphabet up to G?" He said, "Of course!" and I said, "Ok, that's most of it. The other thing I used to do with kids is say, "Did you and your friends ever make up a secret code? Like maybe A = 1 and B = 2 or something like that? Well, we musicians have a secret code. If we draw these five lines, and make a black circle over the bottom one, that's an E!" And then I'd have them show me how to spell FACE using the secret code.
Really, learning to read music is so easy and can be very useful. Learning scales is harder, but even more useful. To be able to know instantly that G# is the major 6th in the key of B is incredibly helpful, and that's what the major scales can give you among many other things. Playing the scales correctly teacher your fingers where the notes are, so that when your brain decides this thing you are hearing would be a really good note to play now, your fingers A) already know where it is and B) maybe more importantly, they know how to get there.
Sorry, I've gone on much longer than I intended. :-) Short version: In my opinion, some music theory thrown into the mix of your studies in music may provide a real boost to your playing, and it's relatively little effort for what may make a real difference. Just my two cents.
