Reading Music

[ken_white]

Right, i was having a discussion the other day with someone and they suggested that i should start learning how to read music..

Ok, i mainly play in covers bands, but is reading music actually useful??

I thought i'd put this to everyone on BC..

Is it worth me learning how to read music, will it be beneficial to what i do?
Will this give me a better understanding of time signatures and timing?

I mainly play rock, thinking of getting into a bit of funk too..

Will this help me develop as a player?
I can read tab...

Any help or advice will be appreciated

Thanks

[zero9]

Being able to read is most useful

[Earbrass]

You're new around here, aren't you?

OK everybody, tin hats on; you know the drill.

[BobVbass]

It depends on what you're playing - good bit of swing on a double bass it's very handy for figuring out what the hell is going on, run of the mill covers in a band you'll never use it (or I never do)

[Bilbo]

You can get away without it or it can be the most important tool you have; it depends on what ambitions you have as a player. You will need to make a decision based on your chosen path. If you stay with a covers band and are happy putting together one new song every month oro so, you can get away without it easily. If you are in six bands and running new tunes every week, you woudl be better off learning it.

Personally, I am a staunch advocate of reading and would recommend it even if you don't read on gigs.

[bassfunk]

Do you have a good understanding of theory? I'm not a reader. But I do have grade 8 theory (a bit rusty now as I don't use it as much as I should do) I'm also trying to learn to read as I think it will help me understand rhythm and harmony a lot more, and I'm slowly getting there with Jazz and find it helps with Walking bass lines etc.

IMHO If you're just going to stick to Rock/funk covers then maybe learing enough theory so you can figure stuff out from notation and see how the notes you're playing relate to the chord/key you're in etc. But if you're going to become a full-time working musician then I personally think reading is incredibly important.

[Mr Fretbuzz]

[quote name='Earbrass' timestamp='1352120554' post='1858902']
You're new around here, aren't you?

OK everybody, tin hats on; you know the drill.
[/quote]



LMFAO :-)

[thumperbob 2002]

it will open up new avenues to you, unless you have amazing ears. I could play for years before I learned to read music ( which was pretty boring intially, though once the pressures on at a gig I cant say I could describe it as boring anymore ) I wouldnt say I was a great reader, but can get by. Our trumpet player, who is also a conductor in some big bands, read the brass part to Sir Duke straight off first time, and that is a good reader, I think you could say.

Though I think it depends who your bandmates are also- its great to be able to play along with Jamerson etc ( but not straight off for most of his stuff ) but if you are doing the normal Rock stuff in Pubs I would say its academic whether you`ll use it or not, Theory is important though.

The question is, would it be better for you to really get to grips with Theory ( which everyone could use ) or spend at least 30 mins per day learning to sight read- which is not so useful for everyone?

[lowdown]

[quote name='Mr Fretbuzz' timestamp='1352122503' post='1858938']
LMFAO :-)
[/quote]

Add me to that list....


Garry

[MrTaff]

I can read but I've never once had to read anything in a cover band, apart from the fact that the sheet music simply isn't available for a lot of the stuff you'll play, I find it easier to remember stuff if I learn it by ear.

[BigRedX]

If your band decides that it's going to communicate all it's musical ideas by notation then learning to read is probably going to be a good idea. You could learn it if you want to be part of another musical project that requires reading or you just want to learn for your own personal satisfaction, or not.

[pietruszka]

Reading is incredibly useful. I can read, I'm not very quick but I can certainly read, I learnt YYZ from dots and things like Master Blaster are a joy to learn from. At the moment (as a challenge I stress!) I'm learning the marimba part of Zappa's St. Alfonzos Pancake Breakfast.
I haven't come across a situation where I've needed it. Yet. It's a very good skill to have at your disposal.



Dan

[risingson]

Do you have to read music? Short answer no. Longer answer, no but it helps in a lot of situations, including broadening your musical horizons even outside the notation you end up learning from. You'll find learning to read most effective if you develop it alongside a strong set of ears!

This is a topic that's been covered quite a few times before, whilst most people will be fine to offer advice (including myself), a search might be handy to see some of the answers that members have given to this question in the past. I would add that anything that broadens your musical horizon will have a positive effect on you as a musician, even if you consider reading to be a redundant format for the music that you perform.

[Wil]

I think it really depends on your circumstances. I play by myself and in an originals band, and never have to play anything without having loads of time to learn it by ear first, so I've never needed it.

I can read bass clef but never learned the bass or guitar fingerboard (at the time I was playing cello). Besides learning some classical pieces from sheet music I've never used the skill, and I'm very rusty.

Some people say it's essential for communicating with other musicians but there are other ways to do it. We've got a classically trained cellist in for some sessions on the album we're recording, and in the rehearsals to learn the parts I just sing what I want her to play, find the note on my guitar, stomp on my tuner to find out what the note is if I'm not sure, and she jots it down for her own reference.

Edited November 5, 2012 by Wil

[Bilbo]

[quote name='Wil' timestamp='1352131372' post='1859122']
stomp on my tuner to find out what the note is if I'm not sure, [/quote]

Never heard of that before!

[Wil]

It does the trick. If I were doing the same thing for one of the regular members of the band I'd usually just sing/play the part and it'd be up to them to work it out, which again, works fine for our needs (we're playing alt rock so it's not rocket science. It's more about the dynamics and how each part works together than any complex individual parts).

[xgsjx]

I think being able to read helps you understand music better. You might never need to read in a band, but knowing a little theory behind things can give you more freedom to play what you want if your song doesn't need to be an exact copy.

It's just like any language, people speak English without knowing how to read.

[fatback]

I'm finding improvising to an unfamiliar chord chart really useful practice. I can't see me ever needing to read the dots though, other than for exercises.

[Doddy]

[quote name='ken_white' timestamp='1352120351' post='1858895']
Ok, i mainly play in covers bands, but is reading music actually useful??
[/quote]
Yes.
[quote name='ken_white' timestamp='1352120351' post='1858895']
Is it worth me learning how to read music, will it be beneficial to what i do?
Will this give me a better understanding of time signatures and timing?
[/quote]
It can totally help with the understanding with time signatures and timing because you will learn to
read rhythms and subdivisions,which,at it's most basic,is all time signatures are.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1352131027' post='1859113']
If your band decides that it's going to communicate all it's musical ideas by notation then learning to read is probably going to be a good idea. You could learn it if you want to be part of another musical project that requires reading or you just want to learn for your own personal satisfaction, or not.
[/quote]
I don't think it's a matter of what the rest of your band do or think.I often work with people who can't read,but it doesn't
make my ability to read redundant...in fact,it often makes things a lot easier.

Some people have suggested learning theory...this is a good idea,but for the most part,reading will make this easier.
Buy a book on theory and generally there will be examples written out. Likewise,if you can read you can pick up
literally any book or magazine on music and be able to play it's written exercises or transcriptions and take advantage
of the vast amount of information that is available. You may never get a reading gig (if you can't you definitely won't),
but there are many other benefits.
[quote name='Wil' timestamp='1352131372' post='1859122']
I can read bass clef but never learned the bass or guitar fingerboard
[/quote]
This need's sorting out I think.

[Wil]

But... The time I spend learning to do that is time I could spend doing something fun!

I forgot to mention I can sight read piano, self taught again. I used the skill to learn some Tom Waits tunes. When I wanted to learn to play some Gershwin preludes I did it by ear and enjoyed the process far more, so that was that.

Edited November 5, 2012 by Wil

[BigRedX]

[quote name='Doddy' timestamp='1352141568' post='1859308']
I don't think it's a matter of what the rest of your band do or think.I often work with people who can't read,but it doesn't
make my ability to read redundant...in fact,it often makes things a lot easier.
[/quote]

Absolutely, but if you never work with other musicians who communicate through written notation then the ability of being able to read is of no benefit other than the self satisfaction that you've learnt a skill.

[Doddy]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1352147040' post='1859432']
Absolutely, but if you never work with other musicians who communicate through written notation then the ability of being able to read is of no benefit other than the self satisfaction that you've learnt a skill.
[/quote]
But,maybe the reason you never work with musicians who communicate via notation is because you can't do it yourself? (Not you
personally....a general 'you').
I don't think many people start playing with the intention of doing reading gigs (I certainly didn't),but they get reading
gigs because they learned how to do it.

[wateroftyne]

If you have the time and the inclination to learn to read, go for it. No harm in it.

Despite what you may hear, you won't be condemned to a life playing Sex On Fire at the Dog'n'Duck without it.

That said, if you want to do reading gigs, the answer is obvious.

[musophilr]

some might say you don't need it, but even if you do find yourself not needing it, it won't do you any harm. proper notation tells you so much more than where to put your fingers. it tells you when, and explains the relationships between what you're playing now, what you played before, and what you're going to play after. you see music as patterns of rhythmic and melodic devices, and because it's easy to spot scale fragments and arpeggios when they're written down (and those are the basic manoeuvres you've practised - haven't you) you can just pull the relevant tricks out of the bag.

Plus you can also access music that was written for other instruments. It's a universal language. Pianists don't read tab! In fact it always amazes me that guitarists and electric bass players seem to be the ones who refuse to do what students of all other instruments do (in the west, anyway) which is learn to read as they learn to play.

[Blademan_98]

[quote name='musophilr' timestamp='1352153327' post='1859538']
some might say you don't need it, but even if you do find yourself not needing it, it won't do you any harm. proper notation tells you so much more than where to put your fingers. it tells you when, and explains the relationships between what you're playing now, what you played before, and what you're going to play after. you see music as patterns of rhythmic and melodic devices, and because it's easy to spot scale fragments and arpeggios when they're written down (and those are the basic manoeuvres you've practised - haven't you) you can just pull the relevant tricks out of the bag.

Plus you can also access music that was written for other instruments. It's a universal language. Pianists don't read tab! In fact it always amazes me that guitarists and electric bass players seem to be the ones who refuse to do what students of all other instruments do (in the west, anyway) which is learn to read as they learn to play.
[/quote]

I like the way you have put this.
Superb and really says it for me.