What Percentage Actually READ Music?

[Bighouse]

I'm almost 50. I don't read music...very well. I don't even really like reading TAB. I do, however, feel that if I really want to progess as a bass player I have to really get this musical notation language into my head.

Long, long ago, in High School I had a girlfriend who talked me into taking a Music Theory class. I remember it all very well and still understand from it much of what I hear today. I loved composing melodies for the class assignments and still do so to this day in my head. (She, by the way, was an amazing bassist and clarinetist...) I've only really recently applied myself (in my limited time-availabilty way) to memorizing standard music notation- hoping that it will help me progress and evolve as a bassist.

So, at the risk of showing my ignorance and sounding totally numptish....How many of you actually read and rely on standard music notation to play- and how many use tab or just play by ear? (I figure I'll probably never meet any of you so I can afford to embarass myself.)

[cjj]

I used to be able to read music (played all sorts of brass instruments through grade and high school as well as piano), but I'm not sure I could do it any more without a bit of practice. I can and do look at tab from time to time, but for the most part, I play by ear. I find music/tab to be most useful for figuring out how someone decided something should be played and initial learning of a piece. After that, I have the basic idea and I'll improvise according to what I think is most interesting/fitting.

[kiramdear]

I don't sight read, but I can sleuth the standard stuff out if forced to. I got put off from reading when I noticed that most of my friends who could sight read couldn't improvise a part if their life depended on it. I learn and compose by ear and make little charts for reference. I did take a semester of music theory in college, so I have a basic understanding of how chords and harmony work.

[beatlefreak]

I can figure it out, but can't play and follow it.

[Bighouse]

Excellent progress...three of my very favorite forum members all seem to say the voice within is more important than the voice written on paper by others....interesting...compelling...but then again...hmmm...

[Bighouse]

(I think my avatar has to take a pee break- can I say that here?!?)

[ajish4]

I think Kira hit the nail on the head.

I've been reading since the 3rd Grade, so that is what I'm most comfortable with. Almost NEVER look at tabs if I can help it....

I NEVER really mastered learning by ear.....I AM however REALLY putting a LOT of effort into it. It takes me 100 times longer than most to just listen to a piece and learn how to play it.

It's funny, most musicians I meet, say the WISH they could read, and those that can read WISH they could play by ear!

As Kira stated, I can't compose worth a damn and I feel it is from all the sight reading I've done over the years. But put a piece of muisc in front of me and I'm off to the races. I feel it has acutally HURT me in a GIG situation. I"ve never "gigged" cause I'm so locked into reading the music. SO, when it's JAM TIME, I kind of fade into the crowd!
I've always been envious of those that can hear a tune and just join in.

Our guitarist is amazing, he can hear a song on the way into church, pick up his guitar and just start playing the damn thing....makes me want to pack it up and go home.

I'm at the point now, where most of what I play every Sunday is off of Keyboard chord sheets. I used to play right off the page note by note but there are so many varibles in live playing with 15 musicians, that sometimes, it's better to just let the music breathe.....I found that playing EVERY NOTE AS WRITTEN was sometimes TOO MUCH.

I'm given the music every week for about 50 songs. I'm finding it MUCH more enjoyable to create my own bass fill just based on the chords than reading note by note. I can't get away with it at Christmastime however, where each part is exact and I have to play 10,000 quater notes a song!

IMHO, a mix of all the options make for a well rounded musician....SHUT UP JOEY, THEY KNOW I"M ROUND!

[kiramdear]

I'm pretty good at recognizing intervals instinctively, inside and outside my head. Couple that skill with some basic theory knowledge and, as Tony put it, I'm off to the races (or the jam session). I can teach myself a new song after hearing it once or twice, in most cases.

[jps]

I'm not much of a reader, either. It takes me time to get it down. But, I am good at improvising and composing my own pieces.

[teb]

I can't read music, tab, Nashville Notes or anything else musical and never had any music theory. When they tell me to go up or down a fifth, I usually say "no thanks, I'm not thirsty, maybe after the session...." At times, I think it would be really helpful to know more about the structure involved and have some means to understand the transitions though. We used to do a lot of back-up sessions for people who wanted to record their own albums, most of them low-budget affairs with no future other than being cheap Christmas presents for everybody the "composer" (emphasis on the "poser" part) knew. We played on some real doozies, where the biggest challenge was often not cracking up and falling on the floor in hysterics during a take because the tunes and lyrics were so bad. You didn't dare make eye contact with the other guys in the band, because you knew you would lose it. We would run the tune once or twice, hit "record" and go, doing an entire album in three or four hours. Our lead guitarist was a music major and knew to keep his hands where I could see them and I'd be fine. I'm proud to say that I've played on some of the worst country and gospel albums ever recorded. I just wish I'd kept copies of all of them for posterity.

[jimk]

I find reading tab to be tedious, at best. I usually rely on chord charts for guitar arrangements, or else my ear. My standard short answer to this question is "Yes, I can read vocal music."

Being a fiddler in various string bands over many years has taught me how to fake it pretty well. Sometimes I prefer to learn a new fiddle tune from a book, if the music has been written down. But many times, some one will come up with a tune that doesn't exist anywhere but on a recording.

If I'm asked to sit in on banjo, then all I really need is to hear the singer, or fiddler play the tune, watch the guitar player for the chord changes, and then I'm off to the races.

But as far as guitar goes, just give me a chord chart, and the vocal melody line, and turn me loose.
JimK

[winston]

I read music...........albeit very slowly these days. I abhor tabs...................I would rather just play with soul and feeling with my eyes closed and let the music flow as it should.

[Scastles]

I can’t read a lick. Everything I’ve learned has been by ear, pretty much. I recall learning barre chords from a photo I saw of John Lennon playing one, and wondered ‘how in the h--- do you play that?’ I was like fifteen. At that time few of my peers had progressed past E,D, A. Over time everything became more natural though. Chords and progressions became logically. There are some configurations I play today that I’m not even sure they can be found on a chord chart

[woodyng]

i can't read a lick,and those little tic tac charts make me queasy. my piano teacher found me out rather early....i would read the notes,learn what i was playing,and then just remember it. i only took piano for about 2 years,and unfortunately it didn't stick. (i do have a alesis keyboard i occasionally scare the neighbors with). with bass,i took a few lessons to learn finger positions,and basic technique,and then proceeded to play for the next 30 or so years by learning songs by ear...i mostly follow the singer,and usually just improvise my parts....i would like to be able to read,but i'm not sure it would make me a better "player".....i have always enjoyed listening to music that was way beyond by skill level,i think maybe it helps me to come up with something that hopefully isn't too plebian.....but i am mostly a pretty basic player.

[sloop_john_b]

I can sight read bass clef well when I'm playing bass or piano. Sight reading treble clef has been an uphill battle. I can do it decently when singing and playing piano, but still not as well as I should when playing guitar.

To be honest, not many instances have come up in my musical career that have ever required me to do much, if any, sight reading. I'm very rarely given charts for that matter, either. If I'm doing a recording session, I'll either make notes to myself on manuscript paper upon listening to the song, or just do it. My ear is pretty well-developed, and that has been more important thus far than being able to read well.

Of course, YMMV. I'm playing very little jazz and no classical music.