[danthelion]

I have decided to start this thread because of some of the questions I have read to do with time signatures & slurs etc... There seems to be alot of confusion out there & some of the answers given are not correct, yet if people could read music things would be very clear.

I personally learnt to read music some time ago & while at first it took a while to grasp it now makes perfect sense, the only skills you need are very simple mathematics that a child can do & the desire to learn.

Why learn? Because your comprehension & enjoyment of music will skyrock! And while many professionals play only by ear, those who can do both are many times better off, as both abililities multiply each other as opposed to just adding to each other. I know some guys (& girls) who have both abilities, they can pick up a piece of sheet music hear it in their head & sing it. Also when you get into tabbing advanced pieces of music or transcribing, you will need to know.

How to learn? In most public libraries around the world you will find books on the subject, nowadays they come with CDs that let you hear the samples & most public libraries are free! (Well you probably pay for it through your rates/local taxes etc...)
If you can't get to your library soon there are websites out there & free software to get you started:

http://www.download.com/Music-Readin...ml?tag=lst-0-1
(includes a review)
http://www.mtbasics.com/downloads/mtbasics.exe
(latest version)

Persevere! I know it sounds like hard work, but it's not. It's not as difficult as learning another language or quantum physics, it's about as difficult as learning to use the internet. If you learn just a few things a day for about 10-15 minutes you will be reading fairly well within a few weeks to months. Go on give it a try, you have nothing to lose, you can only be enriched!

Dan

Ps. Public libraries are great resources, you will probably find other books there that will help you with your music. But beware, don't fall into the trap of spending all your time reading & surfing the net to learn guitar. Nothing can beat practicing on the actual guitar.

[Kirk Lorange]

Thanks for that, Dan. I agree, being able to read conventional notation can only be an asset to any musician.

I have, over the decades, had a few stabs at learning how to sight read. I can get by, slowly, but I must say that I never found it very easy. I seem to be lacking something in the understanding department when it comes to notation. I think maybe because I started looking into it when I was already a competent player I found it holding me back, if anything. The main thing though is that I could never really see those little black dots very well ... But, I might have another go at it one of these days.

Still, this is the Plain English Guitar Site, dedicated to those who choose not to learn notation. We sure don't want to make out like you must know how to sight read in order to play guitar. I think if I had been told that 45 years ago, I probably would have chosen some other occupation. The main thing is making music. Notating it or not, and whether to use tab, notation or diagrams, comes second.

If you do see any mistakes concerning anything at all on the forum, please feel free to correct it, especially if it's one of my posts!

[Neilsonite]

Hi Dan, I'd just like to second Kirk's request that any mistakes be pointed out, as those kinds of mistakes can cause confusion and hinder learning... Even if there are just small points of contention with anything I've written, please let me know - I won't be offended.

James

[danthelion]

Thanks for your replies guys! By way of clarification my purpose in starting this post is not to point out mistakes or to say that reading is better than playing by ear, or that reading is a must do.

I just feel that for those who are starting out they should have a go at trying both reading & ear training, & not be limited to just one. There seems to be a conception out there (not on this site) that reading is difficult & therefore people shy away from it. I am hoping people will see that it is rewarding to learn & relatively easy, hence be enthusiastic about learning both reading & ear training.

The main thing is to have fun playing music!!! Music is a hearing art, but to transcribe, arrange & communicate ideas on paper, reading does help. When I started out I was just happy to be able to play chords, songs & melodies, but several years later I started to discover the fun of making your own arrangements & reading helped.

If I get time I will add the odd comment about notation etc... in the appropriate forum.

Dan

[allthumbs]

That's pretty much my understading too. Learn chords,tunes, techniques and reading standard. I am just carefull about people getting the idea that they can't play till they learn to read standard. Depending on goals,some people will want to learn it sooner ,some later and some not at all.

[Lcjones]

just to add a note ..

i took took three or four years worth of piano lessons when i was a youngster and of course that meant learning how to read "music". Since that time I haven't looked at "sheet music" except for a passing view.

but what is important is even with just a fundamental knowledge of reading staff you can understand quite a lot when you look at a tab sheet.

you may see and be able read tab in the typical "six" line format yet not understand the music. like the time (beat), measures, whole notes, half notes, etc.,etc.,

now, having that knowledge hasn't neccessarily made me a better guitar player. it has however, allowed me to buy music books and understand how songs/music are put together song. so when i hear that song, i see the music. and likewise, when i read the music i can hear the song in my head. ( or at least close enough for government work )

les

[RockaBilly]

From my experiences, reading music or theory can be a blessing or it can be a hindrance. Music is ear dominated and playing by ear is the best way. It's really up to you. Do you need it? I read music and I can play it in my head while reading and I also know theory. I need them because I'm hearing impaired. I want to enjoy my guitar and I'm doing it.

There is an advantage with reading music or theory and that's to communicate with the members what you want to do.

"Hey Joe, play a D after this A and jump to E."

[Bugger Hey]

I don't know if this as any thing to do with want your talking about, but I's going to say it any way.

A couple of years ago, I decided to go back to school, and try to relearn somthing new, I don't know if I did or I didn't, (matters not), but want does matter, is the one thing that stuck in my mind at the time, and now.

And that is each and eavery person learns a different way, some read, other hear, and then there's the (monkey see, monkey do) person.

Each and every way is a good way of learning, but it may not be every one's cup of tea.

now I'm only new, and try to find my way around this here site, it would seam to be resonable, and covers the three main objectives.

Read,
Listern,
and of course do.

there is a few things that could be look at (may be) from a very berginners view, but that's part of the learning thing, after all, ray charles, could not see, but could play a piono.

so there's my thougths, good bad, or other, right, or wrong.

[papadog65]

This thread brought back lots of memories. I started out playing trombone in a grade school band and on into high school and college and learned to associate the musical notes on sheet music with the slide positions and how much "lip" to give them. I even learned the names of some of the notes (like Bb and F and so on). A brief stint in an orchestra introduced sight reading the 'bone in Tenor clef. Later keyboard lessons required reading in both bass and treble clefs, which really twisted my mind. Nowadays, thankfully, there are tabs! Even so, I can still sight read some guitar music, but mostly I play by ear (given some chord names to start with) or by studying the tablature. Whatever way it's done, the most important thing to me is to be able to make the music. If being able to read notation, then go for it. That adds another dimension to your abilities.