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Can you read music? Do you think it important?

Aussie Player

Aussie Player

Apr 20, 2011
2,860
3,609
#1
I learned, which really just means I went to lessions for the first few years but my lessons always began with my teacher asking me to warm up while he got a coffee.
One day I played Badge from Cream. He asked me how I did it and wanted me to play it again for him.
I never had another lesson.
A few years later I was recording a single in EMI and the drummer and I were offered studio work because we were so tight. We both declined because we couldn't read.
My point is that I am me because I can't read. I feel my bass lines. They are me and I always get compliments so I know I am ok.
What are your thoughts?
 
#2
Learning to read and 'feeling your bass lines/being you' is not an either/or thing. You can do both. Most of my gigs have required reading. So, for me, it has been a valuable skill to learn. And, no, it hasnt affected my 'feel.'

That said, not everyone NEEDS to learn to read, but it would never be a bad thing to learn.
 
#4
I can read, but I am not amazing at it. Anything with ledger lines above a high F starts to get tricky and depending on how syncopated and how fast the tempo is, I have to work at it.

I agree with NickyBass, it's not an either/or thing. I am always surprised at how many people justify not learning to read by saying it will change their playing for the worse. When has learning more about something been a bad thing? It's just another useful skill to have at your disposal.

In my current musical situation, I don't have to read, but it has been tremendously helpful. I would recommend that every player learn to read.
 
#5
Yes I can, and yes I do feel it's important. Just to give you an idea of how essential it is for me, here are some instances where reading allows me to play in the groups I'm a part of:

-If I couldn't read big-band charts with confidence, I would never have sucessfully auditioned and joined the city-wide big band I'm the bass player for.
-In small ensembles, reading lead sheets and original charts other players have composed allows the group to cut straight to playing--not spending time figuring out individual parts.
-Classical playing. 'Nuff said.
 
#6
I liken it to speaking. We all learn to speak "by ear"...... but you can only learn so much so fast, and your communication is limited. When we read, we open up those lines of communication, and learn at an even faster rate. And there is so much more available to learn from. Really, it's the same with music.
 
#7
Give me 24hrs and I can pretty much nail a song by ear. In hindsight, I wish I'd spent some time learning more theory and learning to sight read, but then I've never needed to. If I was touting myself as a hired gun, then of course the ability to read would be invaluable, but then bass playing isn't my source of income.

I have huge admiration for those that can read music.
 
#9
I can tell you the notes on the staff, rests, time signatures, sharp, flat etc. but I couldn't read that all put together and play that as I'm looking at it on the manuscript. I couldn't have a shhet of music put in front of me having never heard it before and play it by reading, so no, I can't "read" music but I know the individual notes. That wouldn't help me if I had the sheet of music thrown in front of me and had to play it right there and then. I wish I did know how to read. Might have helped me get more work but it's learning a new language and that takes so much discipline and time and the fact that I can pretty much play whatever I hear by ear kind of ruined that schooling for me. Learning a new language is tough. My wife is Russian/Lithuanian, I've been with her for 8 years now and still can only say a handfull of things.
On a sidenote, I've always enjoyed watching this youtube vid....
http://www.youtube.com/embed/2kotK9FNEYU
 
#10
Your reasoning is a bit flawed. To you, reading and playing by ear "with feeling" are mutually exclusive. In other words, you think you can't do one if you CAN do the other. Not so. I don't have time to list all of the amazing, world renowned, famous, and idolized bassists who can/could read music. I am an electrician. Many times I am able to fix something by using my "gut instinct". By your reasoning, I would be less of an electrician if I got an electrical engineering degree.

The ability to read music is a tool. You should have every single tool possible at your disposal if you plan to play bass for a living. You should have good equipment. You should be able to read music. You should know the Nashville number system of charts (that alone has gotten me more gigs than I can count).

But assuming that knowing music theory and musical notation will somehow "suck the feeling" out of your music is a cop out. It's your way of justifying to yourself why you haven't taken the time and effort to do it.

I can learn just about any popular song by ear in a matter of minutes. I play through it a few times and I got it. That's fine when I have nothing but prep time before a gig. But when someone calls me to the stage or studio last minute, I have to have a way of playing along without ever having met anyone on stage and never having played more than half the material. The ability to read music and charts will get me that gig every time.

Edit to add:
Sorry for the long post but I wanted to add....
Whenever I feel like I am in a "rut" in my playing, I will pull out my Arban's trombone book and read through some exercises on my bass. If you ever want to break away from traditional bass patterns, read some music that was never intended to be played on bass. It will open you up to some new ideas FAST.
 
#16
I think it is very important to learn to read ... to me it is important to be able to do something without hearing it first. You can't always have that luxury.

Also ... all you know about music, you have heard it before ... it is the same thing as reading it somewhere. Also I think it is hard to go further and learn more complex theory and all the "why does it work" without reading music. It is like, there is so much knowledge that you can't possibly having a chance to learn all by ear.

The same thing in learning english ... learning by ear from your parents can get you the basic but you it isn't until you learn to read that you really evolve and that you can learn stuff that would be to complex or that wouldn't make any sense by just hear someone talk about ... Just think of when you learn how "direct object" work in a sentence ... it is just too abstract if you don't have written english in front of you. Same thing in music.

Of course all of that is IMO.
 
#19
Yes, I can read, and it is important for certain work. I've never seen it as an either or skill myself. Some work that musicians may get demand reading skills, among others, and to get that kind of work(if you want it) you need the skills they expect. If not, then you may never need it. But, it won't change your playing at all, and when is a new skill ever a bad thing? I never "needed" to learn to read music, but I learned it because I wanted too. Honest truth is that I rarely do, but I can if I ever need to.
 
#20
@Aussie Player: You should have probably jumped at the opportunity for Studio Work. Many early Studio Musicians (Joe Osborne, for example) learned to read Electric Bass "on the job" and since it was a new instrument you could edit, change and generally inject a lot of your personal approach, which is what the Producer at EMI heard.
Personally, for me it's a mix. I learned and developed a style from listening to and emulating Bassists I liked, but Jack Bruce talked about Bach so I started looking at Bach's Cello Suites, Stanley Clarke talked about John Coltrane so I started looking at Coltrane transcriptions and Jaco played Donna Lee so I studied a lot of Charlie Parker's melodies and solos. I certainly couldn't have learned all of that by ear-I'm not that good! ;)
I wouldn't have had the career I have had without being able to read, simply stated.
 

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