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Missing out by not being able to read music?

#241
og61pbass said:
ok Mr. Devo James Brown your right i cant read but I've been playing for over 35 years,and every style of music you can think of ,mariachi,country,latin rock,rock top 40 funkalypso,R&B ,soul Motown,Tex mex ,Tejano and Blues,and I was always playing,i would learn everything by ear,I tried to learn to read but it was boring and it made me feel like i was starting over from scratch,besides i was to busy rehearsing and playing to even have the time to learn to read,maybe its not an expert opinion but my experiance can sure speak for itself...::p
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Not so much with english either, I see. ;)
 
#242
I respect everyone's opinion on this subject and I apologize for saying overrated I should of said it wasnt necessary in my situation, I respect those who have taken the time and dedication to learn and apply their music reading skills,but I have been fortunate in all my music endeavors not to have to read . It probably wouldn't hurt for me to learn but I'm happy where I'm at, notice I said happy not satisfied I'm always trying to improve my technique and always open to new and different ways to play and learn,so with all due respect lets all enjoy the talent that we were blessed with and keep that bottom end going that all music needs...;)
 
#244
Well I wish everyone luck in their music, no matter how far they want to pursue it. All I can tell you is I would be working a day job if not for reading music, and a bad day playing music beats a good day anywhere else as far as I'm concerned ;).
 
#245
og61pbass said:
ok Mr. Devo James Brown your right i cant read but I've been playing for over 35 years,and every style of music you can think of ,mariachi,country,latin rock,rock top 40 funkalypso,R&B ,soul Motown,Tex mex ,Tejano and Blues,and I was always playing,i would learn everything by ear,I tried to learn to read but it was boring and it made me feel like i was starting over from scratch,besides i was to busy rehearsing and playing to even have the time to learn to read,maybe its not an expert opinion but my experiance can sure speak for itself...::p
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Nobody said you "have" to learn to read music in order to be a busy player. There are even many session pros who haven't learned to read. That's not the point though... the point is whether folks who choose not to learn to read are missing out on something. I would say they are.

I've been a full-time professional bass player for almost 20 years. In that time I've only *had* to be able to read notation about a dozen times. (Not counting chord charts, Nashville numbers, etc..) Still, I think having some ability to read has made music far richer and rewarding for me (not speaking purely financially). Being able to communicate with both readers and non-readers is important to me as well as making music much more enjoyable.

Practically, I have to switch between many different gigs quite often. I don't have time to "memorize" every lick, rest and embellishment in all the material I need to perform or record. Being able to quickly sketch out a melody and rhythm allows me to focus on MAKING music and not MEMORIZING music! Without some literacy, many gigs would be a real drag (as well as limiting the number of gigs I could do).

Literacy will always serve to enrich. It's important not to get bogged down in academia (unless that's your bag), but I really don't see how a case can be made that reading music isn't enriching. :confused:
 
#246
BassChuck said:
+1 There you go, that's it. This topic as been kick about on TB for years, and the song remains the same.

I cannot recall anyone ever saying, "Help me forget to read music", or "how I regret learning to read".

I will say that as someone who has read music all their life I cannot imagine how difficult it would be to pick up that skill later in life WITHOUT having 1.) A reason to do that, 2.) a teacher to help, and 3.) A group of musicians to read music together and keep up with each other.

All that said, even a modest ability to read standard notation will open doors of all kinds. It will be worth the effort, good luck.
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Reading (ie. sight-reading fluently) is incredibly hard to learn later in life, since there might not be much incencitive to do it*, but I agree that learning to decipher standard notation in your own free time is not that hard and can help A LOT with rythmn, chords and music theory. I'm lucky I learned to read in the "proper key" (bass) when I played trombone in high school.

Hell, with the growing number of bass and guitar players who can't get around the fretboard pass the first position, reading can help them at least learn the notes on the fretboard instead of just patterns.

And if reading standard notation is still too time consuming, at least being able to naviguate through chord changes using a chart is a valuable asset in almost any band anywhere, even pop/rock.

* Not everyone is after the jazz/theater/big band/salsa gigs that need you to be able to read cold from a book.
 
#247
og61pbass said:
ok Mr. Devo James Brown your right i cant read but I've been playing for over 35 years,and every style of music you can think of ,mariachi,country,latin rock,rock top 40 funkalypso,R&B ,soul Motown,Tex mex ,Tejano and Blues,and I was always playing,i would learn everything by ear,I tried to learn to read but it was boring and it made me feel like i was starting over from scratch,besides i was to busy rehearsing and playing to even have the time to learn to read,maybe its not an expert opinion but my experiance can sure speak for itself...::p
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Dixieland, bluegrass, swing, big band, light opera, theater scores, symphony orchestra, chamber orchestra, baroque, medieval, renaissance, disco, punk, metal, fusion, arena rock


Just a few additional styles I've been involved with in the last couple years to some extent. Some don't really need to be written, but some are impossible to perform without written parts. I was doing 2 hour sets every weekend - all different music each week. Maybe on one occasion did I do the same song on back to back gigs, but they were in different states.

I challenge you to perform 2 hours of new material at a professional level every week without reading.:eyebrow:

Try this one out. It's similar to sweet child o mine. Not especially difficult and well received by crowds.
Here's the recording to learn by ear, [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]. It's called the Italian symphony. The legit version of sweet child o mine. Neither are particularly difficult and a typical example of something done on a weekend gig with 1 week of prep time.


Seriously, a professional bassist can do this in his sleep. Then hit a blues jam that night and tear it up.

If all you want to do is lay down a groove and jam with your buds, you probably don't need to read to enjoy life. I enjoy Shakespeare and I enjoy looney tunes and bugs bunny, but I hate slasher pics. They all have merit and liking one doesn't mean you must exclude the other. Enjoy the doing what you like and who cares what others think. You can have a fine rewarding life not reading, but you are missing out.
 
#249
AngelCrusher said:
I got my Minor in English but because I don't buy into your bizarre arguments and logic I am not a native speaker?. :eyebrow:
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Sorry - from a number of your replies I genuinely got the impression you were not a native speaker. You are? OK then...

AngelCrusher said:
I haven't read anything from you that changes my opinion in any way.
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A shame, because having read your posts in this thread I've entirely changed my mind. I now agree that those who can neither read, nor write, are extremely unfortunate, and should make their best efforts to learn.
 
#251
I don't read music, but I'm not missing out on anything.

The reason?

Because I'm never put in a situation where reading music is involved. I'm strictly a live, on-stage, cover band bassist that plays by ear. I play from memory. I learn each song from the recording. It's what I enjoy doing. I have fun deciphering each note from the recording. After doing it for the past 40 years, it comes very easy and naturally to me. I show up at band rehearsal already knowing all of my bass notes/lines. Whether it's Yes, Rush, Zeppelin, Journey, Styx, it makes no difference. I'm dialed in and ready to go.

Again, I'm only talking about me. I'm not suggesting that this pertains to or applies to anyone else.

Playing bass is strictly a hobby for me. It's all just for fun. I have a full time professional career in a non-music related field that is financially rewarding, so playing bass (by ear) is just something I do for fun.

Having said all of that, I am not saying that someone else won't "miss out" on something by not learning to read music. I'm just saying that *I* am not missing out. Just me. That's all I'm saying.

In no way, shape, or form do I have the opinion or take the position that what works for me should work for others. If reading rings your bell, then by all means grab that sheet music and rock the world!

One think I will absolutely NOT do is find fault with anyone for the choices they make for themselves.
 
#255
Ric5 said:
Famous Musicians who don't read music

Beatles
Van Halen
Pink Floyd
Rolling Stones
Bee Gees
Bob Dylan
Adrian Belew
Jimi Hendrix
Eric Clapton
Slash
Curt Cobain
Lionel Richie
Tom Petty
Jimmy Page
Stevie Ray Vaughn
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Yeah, fine Ric5, but they are missing out on, um, on....uh.....um, they are missing out on......uhhhh.....well, let me get back to you on that.............
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
I found it!!!! They are missing out on paper cuts!
 
#258
Ric5 said:
Famous Musicians who don't read music

Beatles
Van Halen
Pink Floyd
Rolling Stones
Bee Gees
Bob Dylan
Adrian Belew
Jimi Hendrix
Eric Clapton
Slash
Curt Cobain
Lionel Richie
Tom Petty
Jimmy Page
Stevie Ray Vaughn
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Now, how about a comprehensive list of famous musicians who do read music? And feel free to add as many to the list of those who cannot read as you can find. I won't ask you to list every famous musician who can read, that list would be too large.
 
#259
Febs said:
I've never understood why the Beatles are always the first group that people point to in these discussions about reading, when so much of the Beatles' success was the result of the efforts of George Martin and a variety of other session musicians and arrangers who did read music.
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I thought George Martin was the producer not the artist. I think they are referring to the artists who wrote and performed the actual songs. John, Paul, George and Ringo.
 

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