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Can you read music?

Can you read music?

  • Yes, I can read musical notation.

    Votes: 263 84.6%

  • No, I can only read tab.

    Votes: 41 13.2%

  • I can't understand either one.

    Votes: 7 2.3%
  • Total voters
    311
#41
NoTalentHack said:
I guess there's no difference in not learning and forgetting what you learned -or if you learned it or not.
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Totally OT: According to Daniel Dennett (philosopher, neuroscientist, and head of the Department of Cognitive Studies at Tufts University), while there is a difference, depending on the timescale it's not a functional, practical difference. I.e., because the net result is the same there's no useful reason to make the distinction.

Sorry, just more useless trivia from my brain attic...
 
#43
Standard music notation is as easy to read as TAB once you get the concept of playing in positions. It definitely gives you way more options as far as music to study as well as more work opportunities.
 
#46
dave64o said:
The unfortunate thing is that it's not always easy to find sheet music for bass but instead there's a plethora of (often bad) tab out there waiting to tempt you.
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Who in a band is actually called upon to sight read bass parts? Anyone here? Maybe if you're a studio musician or play in a big band situation, or the local symphony, but I can't imagine much else.

I'm a weekend warrior like a lot of people, with a 50 song set list. Who learns their parts by looking at the notes or tabs? Does anybody? Just curious......its a long way from what I do.
 
#48
I do some theater work and that definitely gives my reading chops a workout. I'm currently working out the music for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

I also teach some, and I much prefer standard notation to anything else.

Tabs are interesting to me only to compare to recorded music while listening for position choices/changes.
 
#49
standupright said:
i don't understand why anyone would want to either just read tab, or even rely on tab at all.
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My guess is that people like them because they make it super easy to figure out where to fret the notes to play without having to think. As for the rhythmic side of things, well, that's a different story, of course.

Personally, I can read music but wouldn't trust myself to be able to sight read without preparation, things like super high notes and tricky rhythms can throw me off easily.
 
#51
sorry to bust back in, but one thing that does bother me is when someone throws piano sheet music in front of me when I've got my 4 string. While I may be able to sight-stumble my way through most stuff I've never been good ad transposing that octave on the fly.
 
#52
I learned how to read music a long time ago ... I finally learned tabs about 10 years ago. I really try to stay away from both and rely on my ear. Many tabs and a lot of sheet music is flawed and wrong. Also I play better when I am not reading. The faster I commit a song to memory and get away from sheet music the better off I am.
 
#53
I'm the only one so far who can't read anything..I don't know about tab, I never had any experience with it and am not even sure what it is, tho I see it mentioned in some lessons sometimes. C'mon, bluegrass bass players, 'fess up! It's lonesome here at the bottom!

I can only play what I hear, and not all of that!
 
#59
i can sight read straight forward stuff if its not too fast on both treble and bass cleff on guitar, bass or keyboard but if the its syncopated with ties and dots and everything then i have to crack. lets say i'd rate my reading at 2/10. i can work out fairly harder stuff but i have to spend time with it so i cant call it reading
 

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