Dumb question: Pino doesn't read music?

[David Jayne]

Seems to me that the sort of calls he gets don't require it. No doubt he reads chord charts and stuff. But his gigs don't require sight reading in the usual sense. He's lucky he's so good at constructing such great parts! That's why he gets the call. But then you have guys like AJ who can do both. I'm told that when AJ gets a studio call he might be handed a chart but is traditionally allowed to completely ignore it... Which is better? You decide.

 

[bluesdogblues]

So I was watching this clip -- not a huge Paul Young fan but Pino's amazing (saw them both live in the late 80s as opening act to Genesis) -- and it struck me. Pino is a world-class session musician. How does he do that without reading music? I'm woodshedding trying to really learn to read bass clef after decades of half-assedly scraping by kinda being able to (mostly) fumble my way through, and this guy can walk into a studio and do some of the most impressive work without being able to read?

At the end, -even at the highest demanding recording/live session, music is not what/how you read, but how you play & deliver it.

 

[TMARK]

Sir Paul couldn't read music, I don't think Sklar does either, and something tells me neither did Jamerson.

Some people just have phenomenal ears.

Jameson could read and knew his theory.

As to reading, it's not that hard to learn. My 7 year old can sight read G and F clefts for piano and violin. Took her about four months. It took me about a year to sight read F cleft well. It's not essential but it helps, especially in taking apart piano and organ music, transcribing it and playing it, in order to see how, say, a Bach piece really works.

 

[jallenbass]

I don't think Sklar does either,

Sklar can read. He was a classically trained pianist before he was a bass player. I'm quite sure that he, as well as Pino, has great ears though.

 

[bluesdogblues]

Jameson could read and knew his theory.

As to reading, it's not that hard to learn. My 7 year old can sight read G and F clefts for piano and violin. Took her about four months. It took me about a year to sight read F cleft well. It's not essential but it helps, especially in taking apart piano and organ music, transcribing it and playing it, in order to see how, say, a Bach piece really works.

Yes, reading music is nice skill to be learned and to have (or even a must in some discipline),..but it doesn't have to do with how good or how bad a musician (nor music as the result) is.
How hard/easy is it to be learned, can be different to any people, also depend on what kind of 'partiture' it is.
I believe musicians at the level of Palladino etc, even if they say that they can't read music, and they don't read music (while play), but they would be able to read, understand and play (easy musical notations) at least what your kids can do. It's just that they don't have a habit to read music while they play, and perhaps they just don't really want to seriously learn it (for some reasons).
Refers to the OP, for some live/recording sessions job it can be a must, for some other, not.

 

[hsech]

The closest I have come is reading is jazz fake books and the Nashville system. It's never slowed me down, but then again I'm not rich, famous or depend on playing for a living.

 

[TMARK]

Yes, reading music is nice skill to be learned and to have (or even a must in some discipline),..but it doesn't have to do with how good or how bad a musician (nor music as the result) is.
How hard/easy is it to be learned, can be different to any people, also depend on what kind of 'partiture' it is.
Refers to the OP, for some live/recording sessions job it can be a must, for some other, not.

I agree. Reading has no bearing on a musician's talent or the music they write. I read mainly to figure things out, things that sound interesting and I wonder how it's done. I've been doing this since I took music theory in high school. I get a hold of the music and transcribe the lines to bass or piano and play them.

 

[electracoyote]

Folks who are wondering how a session bassist could do it without sight reading skills need to understand that pop music sessions rarely work from formal charts in standard notation. In order for a bassist to be required to read a chart, that would necessitate someone charting the bass line in advance. And that just doesn't happen all that often in pop music (the rare pop bands like Steely Dan or Frank Zappa being the exception). The bassist in a pop music session usually listens to a solo voice/instrument version, or perhaps some live or recorded guide tracks, and looks at a lead sheet for chord progression. They discuss with the BL/producer/arranger what the overall feel and goal is for the track. Then they come up with some ideas and start going for it, while the session leader comments and filters the line, either approving the ideas or making suggestions along the way. Sometimes there is a pre-written signature bass line integral to the song, and that gets demonstrated for the bassist on piano or guitar. As soon as everyone is on the same page, they roll for takes. A musician like Pino, in addition to having an uncanny ability to augment the song in a positive way, can wrap up this process relatively quickly, saving a lot of time and money, which is another reason he's so in-demand for both studio and stage work. He has an incredibly good intuitive knowledge of his instrument, a wide musical vocabulary, great ears, and excellent memory.

I have no idea where Pino stands as a sight reader of standard notation, but as others have mentioned, in his line of work, I doubt it's called for all that often.

 

[AaronVonRock]

In the context of rock music, having a good ear is more valuable than being able to read music.

 

[EASonBass]

I believe there's also a big difference between being missed here as well. Doing a session to play a written part will get you an hourly rate. Creating the bass for a session (a la Pino) will get you your hourly rate plus royalties. There's far fewer of us who can step in and efficiently create an outstanding bass composition then there are who can sight read a part.

 

[pnchad]

Yep this is Pop music - not to minimize at all

There's already a concept, feel, tempo, etc ( although adjustable) so it's a matter of changes & taste

Pino hits a home run frequently - that's a valuable skill - puts his signature on it

He really opitimizes 'putting the song first' - he's there to do job and delivers

In fact, it's so good it becomes central to the tune more often than not

 

[mntngrown]

Some of the best musicians in the world don't read a lick of music!

My personal experience was regarding the death of Mr. Entwhistle. A few days after the Vegas gig when John died in his hotel room, The Who was scheduled to perform at the Shoreline ampitheatre in my area. The Who, no doubt, thought about cancelling their tour, but called Pino, who knocked the performance out of the park! Few players can step in at a moments notice and kill it, especially with a band that has unique songs. I have stepped in for blues gigs, because the structure is usually a common language. I did not hear Pino make one chord change mistake in the Who set list. Stupid Pete Townsend actually made a dismissive remark when introducing him. He talked about his lyrical name, then said something like,"but all he does is stand around and play bass". Which is all Entwhistle did, and without whom the Who would have been just another band IMHO. Pino rocks!

 

[A-Step-Towards]

I can barely read music and I cant just read and play on the spot perfect. Yet get so many offers for playing with people its crazy, when I run a craigslist ad I will get 10+ emails a day and in said ad I state I am not great at reading music and mainly get by based on knowing the notes of the fretboard and having good ears. I post that and videos of me playing and the emails come in. Sure no orchestra hires me but thats not what I am shooting for anyways. I think most of my favorite musicians cant read, I was heavily influenced by GNR and I remember Slash and Duff in a article saying "No we cant read, we know the fretboard notes and thats about it" regardless if you like the music they both were good at what they did, as was Jimi Hendrix who didnt read so I can see Pino not being a reader either.

 

[MDBass]

Jameson could read and knew his theory.

As to reading, it's not that hard to learn. My 7 year old can sight read G and F clefts for piano and violin. Took her about four months. It took me about a year to sight read F cleft well. It's not essential but it helps, especially in taking apart piano and organ music, transcribing it and playing it, in order to see how, say, a Bach piece really works.

Sklar can read. He was a classically trained pianist before he was a bass player. I'm quite sure that he, as well as Pino, has great ears though.

Sorry, I should have been more specific...

No doubt JJ can read and knows his theory due to his upright background (though I didn't know about Sklar's classical training), but my point was that two of the most iconic session bassists of all time weren't sight reading on those iconic sessions.

It's possible that they were given chord charts with some rhythmic notation, but that's a totally different skill from sight reading sheet music, which is just never asked for on most contemporary recording sessions and gigs.

It's a good skill to have no doubt, as then you are qualified for gigs that do require it, but it isn't necessary to be an incredibly talented, prolific session player.

Your ears and musicality are much more important.

 

[ninjaaron]

I can play off lead sheets on first site. Actually reading notes off the bass cleft... have to sit down with it for a bit. Does that count?

Most "pop" music (not overly chromatic stuff) I can play after I hear it once though, so long as I don't forget the bridge :-/

One of my best friends and I sat on the telephone for hours in High School and did year training for "fun." Name that interval/chord/cadence/mode. Didn't even seem like work at the time, but it was the best thing I ever did for myself musically. Funny enough, ear training has also made me a better reader. I can sometimes hear the line by looking at it.

 

[squidtastic]

True -- but how on earth can you be a session player without it? I can't imagine even getting in the door without being able to read...

Lots of sessions don't require reading charts. It's not uncommon for the producer/writer/leader to just ask you to come up with a bass line (which has obviously been the case many times for Pino).

 

[Mik75]

Most of the times, I looked at chord charts. Sometimes an important passage is completely transcribed (1 or 2 bars). The MD or arranger tells you what he likes to hear as well. But nowadays, complete transcriptions are seldom. Usually a software instrument would do that. But whenever creativity is needed, the human bass player wins the race! ;-)

 

[mcarp555]

In order for a bassist to be required to read a chart, that would necessitate someone charting the bass line in advance.

This. I see a lot of people in this thread assuming that someone has sat down and written out fantastic basslines, then hired a talent like Pino to simply play them back like a mechanical monkey. Isn't that a bit like hiring Picasso to crank out a paint-by-numbers kit?

knowledge of reading and theory is important, and beginning players ignore this at their peril; but whether the innovative bassists mentioned in this thread can or could read is besides the point. It's all about who came up with the part in the first place. Jamerson came up with his own parts, but an army of arrangers have been busy ever since transcribing them for other players to copy.

 

[Famuus]

So I was watching this clip -- not a huge Paul Young fan but Pino's amazing (saw them both live in the late 80s as opening act to Genesis) -- and it struck me. Pino is a world-class session musician. How does he do that without reading music? I'm woodshedding trying to really learn to read bass clef after decades of half-assedly scraping by kinda being able to (mostly) fumble my way through, and this guy can walk into a studio and do some of the most impressive work without being able to read?

Howy s*t that bass sounds good

 

[two fingers]

Pino knows chord structure forwards and backwards (as do the great Nashville session guys). They read charts. When they see a "1" or a "C" on the chart in the key of C, they aren't just thinking C. An explosion of thought processes centered around the C chord, and whatever chord is next, run through their minds so quickly it is as though the music just falls out of them. It's a gift really.

A good friend just recorded an CD in Nashville. He and I played together for years. We can both hold our own with regard to music theory. But the level at which he described those guys in Nashville is another thing altogether. Many of them don't read notation. But they know the "math" behind music like they know their names.

Stir in some heart, soul, and natural talent and BOOM! Great music.