Learning to read music: Am I slowing myself down?

[Sam versus]

I've been working out of the Hal Leonard series, and while playing I've tried not to let myself memorize the written music, even as I may memorize the melody by ear. My thinking has been that this would help my sight reading later on. Lately it has occurred to me that this might be detrimental to my general learning to read music. Should I be letting myself memorize the written music?

 

[Elk]

Perfectly acceptable. Just ensure even as you start to remember parts of the line that you're still following it with your eyes. Now, if you get to the point where you've remembered entire pages of sheet music, probably time to move on!

FWIW -- the most detrimental thing people tend to do when learning to read is stopping when they make a mistake. Avoid this, take it day by day, and enjoy the process. Reading music is such a joy

 

[KenD]

I've been working out of the Hal Leonard series, and while playing I've tried not to let myself memorize the written music, even as I may memorize the melody by ear. My thinking has been that this would help my sight reading later on. Lately it has occurred to me that this might be detrimental to my general learning to read music. Should I be letting myself memorize the written music?

It's perfectly natural to memorize and, in some situations, advisable. If you notice, most concert soloists don't read while performing.

When you have memorized a piece of music and can play it at an appropriate tempo without error or interruption, it's time to challenge your reading skills with a completely unfamiliar piece The tricky part for me has been learning to sight read rhythm markings fluently at tempo.

 

[Geepers]

Reading music is such a joy

It is. And so is heroin. I’m a fluent reader (bass, piano, trumpet … and drums actually) and love it. BUT I also have to continually remind myself that the written page is just instructions about where (and when) to place your fingers in order to make music. Notation is not music any more than the map is the territory. Develop your ability to read by all means - it opens up a whole world of musical opportunities - but remember it is just an aid. Some musicians never learn to tear themselves away from the page and their music-making is the poorer for it.

 

[Killing Floor]

Not sure. How can it hurt? Interested to read what y’all say.

 

[Elk]

It is. And so is heroin.

TalkBass -- where reading music is compared to shooting heroin

 

[Wasnex]

I've been working out of the Hal Leonard series, and while playing I've tried not to let myself memorize the written music, even as I may memorize the melody by ear. My thinking has been that this would help my sight reading later on. Lately it has occurred to me that this might be detrimental to my general learning to read music. Should I be letting myself memorize the written music?

How do you avoid memorization and learning the melody? Also how can this possibly help you?

For most people in most situations, reading music goes hand-in-hand with memorization. Basically you play a part to the point where you no longer need to read note-for-note. Each section of the music then becomes sort of an archetype or symbol that let's you recall and play the part without focusing on each note.

The only time when this is not relevant is when you are sight reading. Sight reading may involve music you have never seen or music you have not seen for a really long time.

You can try to read note for note all the time, but IMHO it's not beneficial to put so much focus on the notes. There are a lot of processes going on simultaneously when you play music, and there is not enough mental focus to keep track of all of them. Therefore it's necessary and beneficial for some of the processes to be automated.

In reality, when you get really good at sight reading, you frequently are not really reading note-for-note. Rather you know the key center so well that you don't have to look at each note. You might see step-wise motion or arpeggios that you play automatically. What should stand out is accidentals written in the music.

Ideally you also know common rhythmic patterns so intrinsically that you just play them without having to figure them out.

Of course if you are just starting to read, it's most likely going to take years of regular practice to get to the point where most of the process is automated. IMHO trying to avoid memorization is the opposite of what you should be doing.

If sight reading well is your priority, then IMHO the trick is to constantly read new material that is right at the edge of your abilities.

When I work up material for a concert or tour, I review all pieces of music to identify the sections I need to work on. Then I cycle through each section. I start by trying to work out the fingering. Each time I cycle through a section, I start a bit slower than I ended on the previous cycle and then try to work it up a little faster. I find it's best to move on to a new section before I get too frustrated. IMHO pushing too hard can cause mental blocks that prevent progress.

The goal is to master each section a bit faster than it will be performed. When a section is mastered, it is set aside until the next practice session. It's normal to loose some proficiency between sessions. So when you start a new practice session, you may want to add some previously mastered sections back into the rotation. It may take multiple sessions to truly master everything, so that you can play it cold.

 

[Chris Wilke]

I've been working out of the Hal Leonard series, and while playing I've tried not to let myself memorize the written music, even as I may memorize the melody by ear. My thinking has been that this would help my sight reading later on. Lately it has occurred to me that this might be detrimental to my general learning to read music. Should I be letting myself memorize the written music?

There is reading music, and there sight reading. Two different skills IMO. You can only really sight read once (or perhaps multiple times after giving sufficient time to forget it).

Both are valuable but to get good at sight reading you need to constantly try new material. Look for familiar patterns and work on reading a bar or so ahead of the notes you are playing. I find it much easier to do if the piece is somewhat predictable and doesn’t involve a lot of shifts.

Using a written page to play a piece of music is also valid practice, of course. Perhaps it’s a difficult piece that is difficult to memorize, but not really the same as sight reading.

Understanding rhythmic notation really helps if the parts are heavily syncopated. This is something worth investment of time to get proficient at.

 

[SteveCS]

I've been working out of the Hal Leonard series, and while playing I've tried not to let myself memorize the written music, even as I may memorize the melody by ear. My thinking has been that this would help my sight reading later on. Lately it has occurred to me that this might be detrimental to my general learning to read music. Should I be letting myself memorize the written music?

There are numerous things to consider here. IMHO, whilst Ed's books can help you to read, that is not the main purpose. The main purpose is to teach you 1) how to play the bass and 2) how the bass works in music. IMHO, how the bass works in music requires that you do analyse and memorise the principles and mechanics of the music - how notes are chosen and placed in context of the harmony and rhythms, how melodic lines fit into the harmony (or more importantly how the harmony relates to the tune), how the bass operates in cadence/resolution. These (and many others) are all things that will help you understand and create music with great bas parts.

Then there is the difference between reading and sight-reading:

Right now it sounds like you are learning to read - linking the notes of the stave to locations/positions and fingerings on the instrument, how rhythm notation works, how key and time signatures work and all that stuff. This is stuff you must remember and ingrain. Do it slowly, deliberately and 'out of time' (without a metronome or click). Do over again and again if necessary, and break down difficult bits into smaller chunks before putting them back together again.

Sight-reading (playing at sight) is specifically seeing and playing something unseen and unheard directly from the score at first sight (or Prima Vista). To practice this you are right in that the music should not be memorised. To that end you should look for books of sight-reading exercises. These are deliberately written to be difficult to memorise. When working with them it is best just to attempt each one once then move on no matter how well it went. Playing them over and over defeats the purpose - you don't want to be learning them, just how to read them. That said, there is nothing wrong with going back a few days later and having another go.

YMMV

 

[suickers]

Janek gwizdala has a sight reading book that's pretty good, dm me

I'd recommend going through as much new music as you can, it only took me a couple months or so to get good enough at reading for my band

 

[Mark Ambler]

Countless top musicians have used this book, the 'holy grail of sight reading books'.

 

[Geogio]

I have the Leonard 3 in 1 Edition, but I initially learned from Mel Bay Roger Filberto's books - no pictures no diagrams just notation, Suzuki does the same thing, I find the pictures distracting and maybe they are for me but not for everybody.

I sight read through High School and afterwards, eventually I ended up in a 22-piece big band, it was all charts. I don't think you can pull off 22 pieces without charts or any stage band for that matter. New material was being constantly introduced and brought up to speed in short order.

 

[corvette_br]

TalkBass -- where reading music is compared to shooting heroin

You see, I myself have never learned to read music because I thought of it as a gateway drug.

 

[SteveCS]

Countless top musicians have used this book, the 'holy grail of sight reading books'.

It is a very good book but it does focus only on rhythm. If you want to play anything other than C you have to make it up.

 

[Mark Ambler]

It is a very good book but it does focus only on rhythm. If you want to play anything other than C you have to make it up.al

Agreed, and reading rhythm is arguably the hardest thing. Sort that out and work on some Real Book heads. There is a Bass Clef version if you can't or don't want to read Treble clef. Enjoy!

 

[dreamadream99]

As mentioned before, learning to read music, and sight reading are two completely different skills, and as such, must be practiced separately and in different ways.

1. When learning to read music you may take it as slow as you want, stop and start at Will, and start over multiple times. When learning to sight read, you must play through new music at tempo without stopping, and only once. If you make a mistake you must keep going. Pretend you are playing in a band, and they are not going to stop for you if you make a mistake. You must simply regroup as soon as possible and keep going, without slowing down or starting over.
2. When learning to read music new studies are slightly more complicated than what you have already learned. When learning to sight read you should be reading at a level slightly below where you are at with reading music. You don’t want it to be too simple, and you don’t want it to be too overwhelming.
3. When learning to read music, you subdivide and start slow, and speed up. When you sight read, you try to read ahead of where you are playing. Anywhere from a few beats to an entire measure ahead. When you are sight reading, if you don’t know the next note until you play it, you are already behind.
4. When learning to read music, you get to play through new material as often as you like until you understand it. When you sight read you must peruse the music silently beforehand, then read above and below the line (dynamics, tempo and volume markings, directional markings, etc.)

 

[BarfanyShart]

I think it's typical to do a bit of both. Choose one to three things on the more challenging side, and go ahead and memorize them - because that's it's own muscle to exercise. Then intentionally don't memorize the rest of your book stuff, and eventually get some other random book that you only open for real sight reading.

 

[Polfuste]

Thanks for this topic. I'm exactly at a similar crossroad: I've learning to read with a book but without bass in hands. Just to be able to understand sheets in G and F keys. Since i've reached a basic skill of notes & rythms comprehension, i've started to transcribe music using Musescore to not use tab anymore. After a while of practice and several sheets, it becomes a pleasure to do. Now i'm trying to add the bass and play while reading, to be able to play music i've transcribed by reading it. Without a lot of success so far. It's way more difficult and i'm not able to do it without repeating one bar a lot of time to be able to fix it in my understanding and translate it to my bass. I don't really understand why cause transcribe and writing it in musescore seems quite easy. Certainly i've to be patient and will see some improvment by the time.

Thanks all for your advices !

 

[Geepers]

I've been working out of the Hal Leonard series, and while playing I've tried not to let myself memorize the written music, even as I may memorize the melody by ear. My thinking has been that this would help my sight reading later on. Lately it has occurred to me that this might be detrimental to my general learning to read music. Should I be letting myself memorize the written music?

By what you describe you’re still in the learning-to-read phase so memorising the piece is fine as long as you look at the notes on the page as you play them. It all strengthens the connection. Once you’ve really cemented into muscle memory “this note on the staff is this fret on the bass”, THEN you can worry about getting good at sight reading. I suspect that will be quite a way down the track (if at all in fact).

 

[Whousedtoplay]

learning to read music, and sight reading are two completely different skills

Two completely different skills?

Can you be good at sight reading without reading music?