“Al Di Meola was at one of the John Petrucci camps and he said, ‘Learn as much theory as you possibly can and then forget it!’” Progressive virtuoso Jason Richardson gives his take on the timeless ‘music theory versus ear training’ debate

Jason Richardson, member of the American heavy metal band All That Remains, performs during the opening act for Megadeth 'Destroy All Enemies' Tour at the Toyota Music Factory.

Do you need to be a music theory savant to compose hard-hitting guitar parts (or, any guitar part, for that matter)? Or is playing by ear enough?

While music theory and building a lexicon of sorts does help you find your way around the fretboard a lot quicker, it's not the be-all and end-all. Progressive electric guitar virtuoso Jason Richardson is the latest to give his take on this timeless debate – with a little help from Al Di Meola by way of John Petrucci.

“Theory is important because it helps expedite the writing process, but it’s obviously not a necessity,” he tells Guitar World when asked about constructing the dual harmony lead lines on AntiFragile, the band's latest album. “I know plenty of players who write the craziest-sounding stuff, and some of them don’t know anything about theory.”