What Percentage Actually READ Music?

[N.F.A.]

A timely topic for me. I am spending time learning to read music and chord charts this summer. I have always played by ear, but decided that I wanted to deepen my understanding by learning theory, sight reading, etc. So far so good, but still have a massively long way to go..I may never need it, but I want to learn it for myself, if nothing else.

[jdogric12]

I read, but not enough to hurt my playing.

[sloop_john_b]

I read, but not enough to hurt my playing.

[jimk]

I read, but not enough to hurt my playing.

+1
JimK

[8mileshigher]

While several years of piano lessons as a kid leaves some vague note recognition skills .... but decades later, its really me depending upon chord-chart/tabs and other downloads from the net... and playing along to recordings.

Problem is that so many songs posted by folks on various guitar sites are people's interpretations and not necessarily the same chords, etc. that the original recording artist might have done. Oh, well !

[gibsonlp]

When I started playing I started learning notes along with chords, I used to be able to do prima-vista, but nowdays I need to look at the chart for a while, I can easily read and play G-clef notes, but I always had issues with F-clef, I get mixed up with G-clef all the time and it's a shame, because I play bass

[clementc3]

Robert asked, "How many of you actually read and rely on standard music notation to play - and how many use tab or just play by ear?" but I think the forum has answered the REAL question, which is, "Does standard music notation help you play music?"

The answer to that question is a resounding "No." However, at the risk of being boo-ed or booted off of the forum (with less than a half-dozen posts to my credit) I will express a slightly contrary view, namely, that reading standard music notation is still a good thing.

Note that the ability to READ music does not mean that you have the ability of PLAY musically. Now, God has blessed a chosen few with the ability to simultaneously sight read and play music like the angels; for the other 99.99% of us (which includes me), standard music notation is just an incredibly powerful shorthand means of communicating (potentially) complex, long or unobvious musical ideas that would otherwise take forever to learn. I read it, I play it, it sounds like ****, but then I play it again and I say, "Oh, I get it - his idea is ... " and I play it again, and it sounds a little better, and I play it again, and I feel it, and it becomes mine, and ...

Standard music notation is a code, like a foreign language; when we can read what someone else has written, we can inhabit their consciousness a bit. When we can read someone else's music we can experience what they - including the "rock stars" of past ages like Bach and Chopin - felt and created. If we can't recreate their experience for ourselves, we can't feel it like they felt it. Imagine a non-English speaker hearing John Lennon's "Imagine" - he will enjoy it, but he won't feel the full impact of it.

As I said, though, standard music notation is just a code, a shortcut to help us understand someone else's idea faster. If you look at it on the printed page though, it bears no resemblance to what it should sound like! It is a bear to learn, just like learning a foreign language. Making it into music is still up to us, not the ink squiggles on paper.

[kiramdear]

Very good post, Clement. Well said.

[scotty]

What percentage actually read?

[headbanger]

Read?!

I have enough trouble reading this ...

[kennyhowes]

I do read standard notation, yes. (I have a degree in music.) Tabulature, only if I'm learning a solo or something from a magazine and I'm absolutely desperate.

Do I read on a regular basis these days? Nyahh. I should though, just to keep in shape.

Does it matter if one can or can't? Depends on what you want to accomplish.

[doctorwho]

I just use tabs or play by ear. I can't read standard notation.

[beatlefreak]

So would you say about 2/4 of us read music? I guess we're not very sharp...

[whojamfan]

Pentatonic? I thought you said "Gin and Tonic"

When I first started playing, I would get those "artist" books to learn the songs I already knew in my head. So many of them were not only wrong musically, but the keys way off as well. Since these books had both tab and standard, I really was turned off at the idea of investing tons of time in to learning how to read music that was wrong. Tab has gotten much better these days, but a lot of the stuff on the internet is the "authors interpretation", and it can still be plenty wrong.

A few years back I was playing in a 4 set a night cover band, and had to learn a boatload of tunes. I learned most of them completely by ear, and the couple that stumped me a little, got worked out with the other guitar player. I mainly play the songs that I write, or the band I'm in writes, with a cover or 2. Songs that I play for my enjoyment have mainly been learned by ear or with another player.

As far as "jamming" or whatever, I'm happy that I'm not overly concerned trying to figure out which inversion of what scale over what chord pattern I should use, and then how I can "break the rules" to make it sound "good". I'd rather just feel it and hit some bum notes than miss the groove thinking about all of that other stuff. I'm not at all slagging those who have dedicated themselves to learn all the theory, or say their playing is "soul less", I'm just saying I got turned off of that when I started, and really have not have had much of a reason to learn it.

So, music-no, Tab-yes, Chord charts-no prob.

[antipodean]

I can sight read "elementary" bass clef pieces. I find tab no easier than standard notation. Mostly it's chord charts and a lot of faking/improv.