The formalised study of music theory tends to focus on musical elements such as rhythm, pitch and harmony and is often associated with the traditions of western classical and jazz music. This study of the theoretical concepts of music commonly focuses on the execution of written tasks and exercises, often with little or no reference to one’s musical practice. This is problematic as it contributes to the perception that music theory is irrelevant to the practice and performance of music. For students of Irish traditional music, whose practice is primarily an oral one, this abstractness of music theory is further compounded by the frequent positioning of music theory curricula and pedagogical praxes in terms of western classical music and the omission of their own practice. Furthermore, the implicit nature of the Irish traditional music student’s conceptual frameworks is often not considered in the music theory classroom and the valuable practice-based capital they bring with them tends to remain untapped and largely ignored.I and others (McLoughlin 2023; Keegan 2011) believe that Irish traditional musicians engage with a music theory, albeit one which is redefined and understood in terms of its own predominantly oral cultural context. Stemming from analysis of educational action research carried out in the third level music theory classroom, this paper examines ways in which music theory curricula and pedagogical praxes can be reconsidered so as to reflect and engage Irish traditional music and its structures. Creative, relevant and imaginative pedagogies, which reflect principles of Universal Design for Learning, were employed to facilitate practice-based student learning and provided opportunities for learners to explore conceptual structures which can be articulated as a musical theory. Valuable student feedback gathered through questionnaires, together with participant observation and post-class reflective journaling found that learning through performance provided opportunities for students to embody and situate their learning in their practice. It is out of this classroom-based research that the idea of an integrated, practice-informed approach to teaching music theory is proposed. This approach offers ways in which music theory can be taught through one’s practice, thereby reflecting and emerging from practice. Significantly, it is proposed that an integrated, practice-informed approach is a democratic model for teaching music theory and such an approach can be utilised in other educational contexts, including the teaching of popular, rock, folk and other traditional musics at post-primary and third levels.