Can you actually read music

[magic2119]

That's the thing...when is it "useful"? If you can sight read it perfectly, then clearly it's useful. How about if can sight read it with a couple of flubs? Is that useful? How about if you need to scan it and maybe make some marks before you can play it...maybe you need to take it to the woodshed for 20 minutes.

To me "useful" is any of the first three. Reading perfectly obviously qualifies, sight read witha couple of flubs would be the norm for people that can read I think. So that definitely counts. scaning it before playing shows a general knowledge so that wold count. I don't think that taking it to the woodshed, pulling out your old high school book and looking up the fingerings for each note for 20 minutes counts though..

'd love to get other people's version of what counts as "being able to read"

 

[jabsys]

I learnt to read music years ago in school, didn't take long to get used to the bass clef although really for the music I play it's not very useful.

 

[carl h.]

Reading - you can learn the entire piece without touching your bass. Learn = be able to play it solid enough for any gig.

 

[carl h.]

just for grins...

Here's what the violins (and basses at times) are playing in the background of a tune you all know either as the chase music from Blues Brothers where the Illinois Nazis are falling, or the kill the wabbit music.

(This is standard fare for symphony players)

Richard Wagner | Free Violin Sheet Music click on Die Walkure - they don't allow hot linking.

Most pro players don't just read this down the first time they see it as your eyes can't process all the information fast enough to do so. But they still read the music even after playing it many times, using it as a reminder rather than really reading it.

 

[tekhedd]

I'm just glad the question wasn't "can you sightread" because I stink. And I think being able to read music is important to playing in the same way that being able to tell someone the address of a gig is to navigation.

 

[groooooove]

I'm just wondering how many people can actually read music.

To qualify, you need to be able to read music, tell what note it is by name as well as find the correct fret.

thats not really reading music.

sight reading a fairly simple bassline, perhaps. in reality, being able to look at a score and have an idea what it sounds like is when you can actually read music.

 

[dmonroe]

Yes and No. I spent years playing Sax so I was reading in Treble clef. When I first started trying to learn the bass I found myself basically reading it in treble clef then having to change it in my head. It was just too hard to suddenly start reading Bass clef. So I just used my ear, watched the guitar player, listened to the drummer and never learned. I'm attempting to correct that now though.

 

[jordak]

I've gotten quite rusty since I stopped my piano lessons, but I can read music passably.

Maybe If I worked hard at it for a couple of weeks, I could get my sight-reading skills up to par.

 

[BskhdbidkubbdkuNcisiifyy]

Yess, I can learnt at school and now with the new band I am starting again to use it and I am not so rusty as I thought hehe

 

[pacojas]

(still waiting for the troll)




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[LowDown Hal]

Yes

 

[skychief]

Is it really black or white? Aren't there shades of gray?

Not really. Either you read or you dont. The grey area is how WELL you read. I read, but only bass clef. And i cant read "on the fly" very well. I kinda cheat by writing the corresponding alpha character above the note (time permitting).

 

[turbo chicken]

well with a black and white yes or no ... i have to say yes with your qualifications.

but if anyone off the street would ask the same without qualifications i say "No, I'm not proficient at reading" ... because they want to know if they can hand you some notation and you play it after familarizing yourself with it for a couple mins. This I can't do ... give me an hour though ...

I learned to read in orchestra 19 years ago and can still name the notes and i can find them with ease on the bass.

I still have to clap out the rhythm before I play though.

 

[dtsamples]

A good transition from tab reading to notation reading is the Guitar Pro software. It's expensive, but there are a great deal of tabs on Ultimate-Guitar.com. Once you download the song file, you can see the score in either tablature, standard notation, or both. However, since the songs are usually "tabbed out" instead of transcribed, the notation can be a little counter intuitive. Fun way to start learning to read though.

Note: I am in no way affiliated with Ultimate-Gutar.com or Guitar Pro. Just use the software and like it.

 

[RyanJD]

I started playing piano, then trombone and eventually bass, so reading notes has always been a must for me.

 

[zachoff]

Nope.

 

[Popbumper]

Treble - yes. Played clarinet for some 30+ odd years.
Bass - no, I am learning, but a dadgum "C" in bass does not look like a "C" in treble. Mildly frustrating.....

Chris

 

[ThudThudThud]

Been years since I had to, and I am now in the squinting-tongue out-mouthing the words stage. I could play what I read, but I don't think metronomes go that slow.

 

[jmattbassplaya]

I use to be very, very proficient in bass and treble clef, but I haven't had anything to read in a while since I'm no longer in any sort of real ensemble so I'm sure I'm a bit rusty.

 

[Russell L]

I used to sit around with the Real Book and read the music of the titles I didn't recognize. I did it without playing anything, and I could tell what it sounded like. Some things were hard to tell, but I could get most of it, certainly the melody, at least, even if I couldn't always hear every chord change.

Practice, practice, practice.