Reading music

[mjnyc]

I can very painstakingly read standard notation, but would like to improve a bit.

My question: when sightreading, do you look at a note, say to yourself internally the note name and then find it on the fretboard?
Or can you go straight from the note on the staff to a note on the fretboard?

I can imagine seeing the low E on the staff and going straight to the open E string, but beyond that it seems like a challenge.

Any suggestions for working on this?

Thanks!

Michael

 

[jallenbass]

I got better at sight reading when I was in situations that required it. At first, you learn how to play the part by practicing the written notation and then referencing it in rehearsal and performance but eventually, it becomes more like reading this text.

 

[ahbass2500]

My question: when sightreading, do you look at a note, say to yourself internally the note name and then find it on the fretboard?
Or can you go straight from the note on the staff to a note on the fretboard?



Any suggestions for working on this?

Echoing the prior post a little. At first you are going to have to think about it and likely work on it slowly outside of rehearsal. Once you have done it enough, you may not have to think about it at all.

In terms of working on it, start where you are and practice to where you want to be. Sounds like where you are might be taking a piece of music and figuring out where the notes should land one by one. When you do this pay attention to both the note and the rhythm. The more you work through things, the quicker you will translate from the page to the instrument. Eventually you the translation becomes near (maybe even completely) automatic.

Side story:
I learned how to read bass clef in 7th grade jazz band. I could play bass, but had used tabs up to that point. Could read treble clef due to playing French horn already. Asked the tuba player to confirm the first note of the song was an F. Found the F on the bass. Figured out the notes one by one from there while the director was telling a story. Lucky for me our director was an older gentlemen who really liked to tell stories. Figured out the entire song under pressure during his story. Took the music home that evening and worked out everything that was in the folder. Slowly got better from there.

^The fact I typed that story makes me feel like I will one day be an older gentlemen who really likes to tell stories.

 

[MonetBass]

Like everything else when learning a musical instrument, practicing will make you better at reading. Keep at it!

 

[mambo4]

I'm not even halfway to fluent, but my guess is a fluent reader experiences the same as reading text:
they comprehend entire phrases at a glance, the sound is in their brain ,and they know how to "speak" it.
Only slowing down to parse individual notes when they hit new or unfamiliar "words"

Pitch, at this point, slows me down more than rhythm in most cases.
It's worth separating rhythm into its own practice routine

I always recommend Cuban /"Salsa " music like Oscar Stangoro's Latin Bass Book,
for intermediate reading practice. The note choices and rhythms are simple yet challenging due to syncopation, and it's fun.

 

[dreamadream99]

You have to divide this discussion into two topics. There is music reading fluency, and then there is sight reading. You needn’t learn them one after another; you can learn them concurrently. The way that works is that as you learn to read music, you sight read at a level slightly below that. But based on the way that you describe your issue, I think you need to be more fluent at recognizing written notation, before you try to tackle sight reading. If you are still in the phase where you don’t immediately recognize the note name that you see, you are not ready yet.

Spend more time learning to read notation. Until you get to a point where you recognize every note name on the staff. If there is any delay in any note, it will hamper your efforts to sight read.

 

[SteveCS]

I can very painstakingly read standard notation, but would like to improve a bit.

My question: when sightreading, do you look at a note, say to yourself internally the note name and then find it on the fretboard?
Or can you go straight from the note on the staff to a note on the fretboard?

I can imagine seeing the low E on the staff and going straight to the open E string, but beyond that it seems like a challenge.

Any suggestions for working on this?

Thanks!

Michael

The important here is to distinguish and separate learning to read from sight-reading. When learning to read it is important to do so out of time (ditch the metronome, drum machine or whatever), and to go slowly and deliberately. Start easy, with whole or half-notes, training the process of seeing a note, knowing the name, finding it on the fingerboard then playing it before moving on to the next note. Start with open strings then notes 'in position'. Try something like Jeff Berlin's bass mastery package 1 along with the Hal Leonard Bass Method (Book 1 or the Complete edition), and perhaps 300 Progressive sight-reading exercises from Robert Anthony.
Sight-reading is an advanced level of reading where you can perform from a score something you've never seen or heard before and happens in time.
And one more thing - a little every day is better than a big 'session' once a week. My reading is good but only because I try to sight-read a few pages, or even a few lines, of new stuff every day. It doesn't matter what it is - bass, cello, trombone/low brass, whatever. When you start the process, leaving it for a few days will set you back weeks.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

I can very painstakingly read standard notation, but would like to improve a bit.

My question: when sightreading, do you look at a note, say to yourself internally the note name and then find it on the fretboard?
Or can you go straight from the note on the staff to a note on the fretboard?

I can imagine seeing the low E on the staff and going straight to the open E string, but beyond that it seems like a challenge.

Any suggestions for working on this?

Thanks!

Michael

I find the tonic of the song key and instead of thinking about what the note is, I think of its number in the scale and find it positionally. Then again, I don’t sight read real well either. LOL.

Having Dyslexia doesn’t help much either. For me I have more issue reading the rhythm, and especially when the notes get above the staff.

I think the same thing goes with sight reading and getting to Carnegie Hall….Practice Practice Practice

 

[bass12]

The important here is to distinguish and separate learning to read from sight-reading. When learning to read it is important to do so out of time (ditch the metronome, drum machine or whatever), and to go slowly and deliberately. Start easy, with whole or half-notes, training the process of seeing a note, knowing the name, finding it on the fingerboard then playing it before moving on to the next note. Start with open strings then notes 'in position'. Try something like Jeff Berlin's bass mastery package 1 along with the Hal Leonard Bass Method (Book 1 or the Complete edition), and perhaps 300 Progressive sight-reading exercises from Robert Anthony.
Sight-reading is an advanced level of reading where you can perform from a score something you've never seen or heard before and happens in time.
And one more thing - a little every day is better than a big 'session' once a week. My reading is good but only because I try to sight-read a few pages, or even a few lines, of new stuff every day. It doesn't matter what it is - bass, cello, trombone/low brass, whatever. When you start the process, leaving it for a few days will set you back weeks.

+ 1 on Jeff Berlin's Bass Mastery reading package (I'm not familiar with the other recommendations but I'd trust SteveCS's judgment). And the second paragraph is spot-on. Make reading part of your daily routine - even if it's only a few minutes per day. Several years ago I decided I was going to read for at least ten minutes a day (I'd usually do around twenty). Over the course of six months I missed maybe two days. It was amazing how much my reading improved in that time. Put in the time and be patient and improvement will be an inevitability.

 

[bass12]

Just to emphasize: there's no trick (at least not that I'm aware of) where reading is concerned. It's a matter of putting in the time. The more you read the faster you will recognize notes and the faster you'll be able to transfer that information to your fretboard. You need to be patient with yourself and allow for your reflexes to develop. This PDF package is really well thought-out in terms of progression (starting out really easy and building upon what has been covered in a considered, "logical" manner): [This invalid link has been removed]

 

[MonetBass]

This is a great site (no affiliation) for not only learning to read but theory and ear training: www.musictheory.net

 

[Gorn]

It's like reading out loud. You see the symbols and you speak what they represent. Until you get to that point, you're still learning, which is fine. It's part of the process.

 

[Pings Bass]

My question: when sightreading, do you look at a note, say to yourself internally the note name and then find it on the fretboard?

no

Or can you go straight from the note on the staff to a note on the fretboard?

yes

It doesn't take too many hours of practice to get there, but it does take many hours of practice. maybe stop thinking so much about notes and more about intervals

 

[Levent]

There are bass guitar specific reading books, the one I started was by Abner Rossi. It makes you read easy parts from each major and minor key in different fixed positions on the bass. By the time you finish the book, you won't have any questions where to play each piece you come upto again. You will look at the key of the song, range of the notes and decide something on your own where to play it.

 

[JC Nelson]

Learn the scale for the key of the music you are playing in, all of your notes are in that scale with the exception of incidentals.
Then it is more about learning patterns instead of picking out notes.

 

[BismarckHerring]

I’m not a good rader at all, and I have trouble naming a note quickly when I see it. But one thing that makes it a bit easier for me is to have the current scale ready in my muscle memory, and then read the intervals between the notes, not the note names. I’ve heard a classical pianist say that that is how she sight reads fast passages too.

So once I know the scale and the first note of a phrase, I don’t think of each next note by its name, but as the note that is x scale degrees above or below the previous one. This is especially useful with lines that use small steps, as second and third intervals are very easy to recognize, even to the untrained eye.

 

[Axtman]

Think of it like this. When you see the word "cat" you don't say "C - A - T" "Ka Ah Tu" "CAT". You see the word and automatically think/say "cat". Of course, when you are first starting to read English you do sound out every letter, but eventually you can read without really thinking much about it.

Good luck and keep practicing!

 

[FullumMusic]

I can very painstakingly read standard notation, but would like to improve a bit.

My question: when sightreading, do you look at a note, say to yourself internally the note name and then find it on the fretboard?
Or can you go straight from the note on the staff to a note on the fretboard?

I can imagine seeing the low E on the staff and going straight to the open E string, but beyond that it seems like a challenge.

Any suggestions for working on this?

Thanks!

Michael

It's very similar to reading your spoken language.

As you learn, you're looking at the letters, putting the letters together, making a word out of the letters, reading the word, and then moving to the next word, repeating the entire process.

As you get better at reading, you eventually move on to just seeing the word and reading them in order; then to looking at the shape of the word and seeing bigger phrases and sentences as a whole.

---

When you start reading music, you're seeing the note on the staff, thinking about what note it is and the different spots you can play it on the neck, and then playing it on the neck, and how long to play it; then you move on to the next note, and repeat for ever note.

The more you do it, the better you get. Soon you're seeing the note and knowing what note it is and how long to play it and where it is on the neck at the same time.

Then you get even better and you start reading ahead, looking at groups of notes and musical phrases as a whole and playing them in time.

---

It just takes practice and time. You get better at reading music by reading music. You can't really force or speed up the process. Your brain has to go through the learning process. The only way to "speed it up" is to do it more. So if you feel like you're reading too slowly or unmusically, don't sweat it. If you keep at it, it will come in time.

 

[Wasnex]

Reading music relies on a bunch of different processes. When you are first learning, you have to go slow because you have to deal with multiple processes on a conscious level. As you begin to master the instrument, many of these process become increasingly automated.


Let's say the written note is a C.

As a beginner, you have to consider if this is a C natural, C#, or Cb. To figure this out, you must consult the key signature. If the key is G major (one sharp), the C is natural. If the key is D major ( two sharps), it's C#), If the key is Gb major (6 flats), it's Cb. As a beginner you may have to stop and figure the key. As veteran player you should know the key at a glance.

As a beginner you need to figure out where to play the note. If you are just starting, this may involve identifying the A string and then counting the frets up to C. Optionally, you may have a reason to play the note on the E string, so you will play it at a different position on the neck.

As a seasoned player much of the process is automatic. You look at the key signature, and when you see a written C you intuitively know if it is C natural, C#, or Cb. You may need to consciously decide if you will play the note on the A or E string and which finger to use, but you probably won't have to think too much about which fret is the target. You see the note and just play it. While playing you don't necessarily even think of the note names.

The decision where to play the note on the neck is based on the shape of the bass line. In other words, where has the melody of the line been and where is it going. To do this, you quickly review and analyze anywhere between a few notes to a couple of measures of music. Once your hand is is position, you intuitively know which finger to use for the next notes in the music. If the music is fast, technical, and requires a shift, the shift may happen automatically or you may have to stop and figure how to play the line. You may stumble while sight reading, but later with practice the line becomes automatic.

While you are playing, your conscious mind shifts between several mental processes. Essentially the most important process at a given moment should rise to the conscious level. However, you don't necessarily use the same mental process for a give section of music every time. One time through you might be thinking about the note and the next time through you may focus on feel or dynamics.

Understanding rhythm and feel also involve multiple processes. As a beginner, you have to work through rhythms consciously to figure out the timing of a line. But as you gain experience, you see the notes and automatically know the correct rhythm without having to figure it out.

Learning to play is not a one and done ordeal. You proficiency will vary depending upon your most recent experiences. If you play a lot of music in Gb major, you will get really good at it. If you rarely play in Gb major you proficiency will decline unless you practice to maintain proficiency in the key. Same goes for rhythms. Rhythm notation for funk tunes looks a lot different than rhythm notation for classical music. So you be really good at reading funk and get totally thrown if you have to read some classical music.

 

[badgrandad]

When I learned to play viola, I associated the note on the page to a fingering on the instrument. It worked fairly well due to the comparatively fewer position changes when playing most music. Bass guitar on the other hand I will often play parts or songs at different positions on the neck depending on key of the song, and in fact rarely play in first position using open strings etc.

I am trying to learn bass notation by recognizing what the note is, then deciding where on the neck I want to play it.