- Dec 21, 2007
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- Lark in the Morning Instructional Videos; Audix Microphones
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Recommend a system or resources for learning to read
- Thread starter kesslari
- Start date
Nope. Didn't find the $50 bill hidden inside, either...
LOL, nor me!
There is a 5-beat bar on page 5...
I have a mild dyslexia; learning to read was difficult for me. Here are the 3 things that helped me get over the hurdle, from beginner to advanced-beginner reading skills:
- Put your bass away. Practice reading as a completely separate skill from playing the bass. (In exercise/workout terms, you want to isolate the specific mental "muscle" that needs training.)
- Get the sheet music for some of your favorite songs. Listen to the recording while you visually follow along in the sheet music. Over time your brain will form connections between the written symbols on the page and the corresponding sounds. (Incidentally, this is how I learned to read English as a little kid: My parents read to me out loud, while I followed along visually in the book.) If you hear something interesting, like a pretty chord or a funky rhythm, make a mark on the page, so you can go back later and analyze it.
- Sing. If you can sight-sing an unfamiliar melody, that is a good benchmark that you are an excellent sight-reader. The holidays are coming up, so maybe go out caroling with your friends, or go to church and sing hymns with the choir!
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This may have been said. To learn how to read standard notation you have to read a lot of standard notation. Read something every day or rust develops -- on my equipment.
That has been my problem.
Once I struggled thought a piece, I have memoried it, it's under my fingers then. Even as a kid my dad had me leaning piano, his instrument. But once I got it, I wouldn't read it just play it. I did that all through life, piano, violin, bass
Another thing, I would stop associating letter names with the notes on the page. I see a note, I would just finger it and not think, that's A now, there's a Bb. I would just play it, but if asked what note is that right now, I would have to remember what I played or fingered, then tell you. My violin teacher was shocked to see that after year's being under his tutelage.
Kinda goofy huh?
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That has been my problem.
Once I struggled thought a piece, I have memoried it, it's under fingers then. Even as a kid my dad had me leaning piano, his instrument. But once I got it I wouldn't read it just play it. I did that all through life, piano, violin, bass
Another thing, I would stop associating letter names with the notes on the page. I see a note, I would just finger it and not think, that's A now, there's a Bb. I would just play it, but if asked what note is that right now, I would have to remember what I played or fingered, then tell you. My violin teacher was shocked to see that after year's being under his tutelage.
Kinda goofy huh?
My piano teacher used to say "stop" midway through a piece and then say "where are you on the page?"
She knew full well I had no idea
My dad would do that also, still didn't change anything
What I like about the Jeff Berlin stuff is that they are very hard to memorise. I have no choice but to read it!
Poor ol' fella
I love that guy, and I got were he was coming from as far as his stance on musical education. I wish his personality was more agreeable and he was still here on TB
I’ve found Jeff Berlin’s method to be very helpful.
- Oct 22, 2015
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Chiming in with a +1 for Jeff's Bass Mastery.
YouTube has literally thousands of bass transcriptions. Why not learn to read with a tune you are familiar with. For Free
Instead of giving your hard earned $$$ to SBL, send them to Helping Hands: Monkey Helpers for the Disabled, Inc. They have been training monkeys to help adults with spinal cord injuries and other mobility impairments since 1979. These animals help people lead independent lives with a new purpose, caring for their service animal. This charity takes care of all the monkey’s training, nutritional, and medical needs for their entire life.
Instead of giving your hard earned $$$ to SBL, send them to Helping Hands: Monkey Helpers for the Disabled, Inc. They have been training monkeys to help adults with spinal cord injuries and other mobility impairments since 1979. These animals help people lead independent lives with a new purpose, caring for their service animal. This charity takes care of all the monkey’s training, nutritional, and medical needs for their entire life.
Totally agree with the charity vs. SBL sentiments. And totally agree that familiar music can be used to learn to read retrospectively. But the point of the sight-reading exercises is that you try to play them cold, as in you've not seen them before. They are not designed to be practiced until you can play them. Once you know how it goes it's just reading or memory jogging. So these books come out intermittently, between periods of learning and practicing reading, i.e. not sight-reading.
YMMV
There is no substitute for just doing it. You need to get your hands on lots of material, because you want to be able to read something on the spot, as opposed to practicing something over and over. I started with Simandl. Then Bach left-hand material is good. I've got trombone books, as well as some Carol Kaye, Jamerson, and tons of other random transcriptions I've collected over the years.
In all honesty, I don't do a ton of stem reading on gigs, there just isn't as much call for it in the spheres in which I work. But maintaining a base level is important.
- Dec 21, 2007
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- Lark in the Morning Instructional Videos; Audix Microphones
I realized the pattern today, in part due to reading your post and first thinking "well, yeah, of course..." and then it hit me.
What I have done 4 times now in the past few years is I start to read. I start making progress, somebody suggests Bach, and I start working on a Bach piece.
Which then becomes my focus, but in the course of learning it I shift from reading it to memorizing it as I learn the parts. And in the weeks of working on it I stop working on other reading. Meanwhile I've been doing less of my usual practice because I'm working on Bach, so when I finish with Bach I'm wanting to get my usual practice going again... and reading gets forgotten... again.
I just "finished" learning the Cello part of Bach's Gm "Little Fugue".
This time I did do a little work on Bellson and Motto while working on the Bach, but not a daily or even regular practice.
Yesterday thought "oh man, here's all the stuff I was working on that I haven't practiced..." and the cycle resumes. But I caught it this time.
Today reading (just reading) goes back into the practice regimen. Back to Bellson and Motto, for now.
- Dec 21, 2007
- 15,233
- 45,119
- Disclosures
- Lark in the Morning Instructional Videos; Audix Microphones
The other thing that I wondered about is that I took piano lessons as a young kid (10?), for a year or more. I read during that time. And i wondered "how did I completely lose that skill?"
I recently remembered (in the course of working on Bach) that even then I really worked on memorizing the pieces rather than reading them. So although I could "read" it was still just as a learning aid.
I recently remembered (in the course of working on Bach) that even then I really worked on memorizing the pieces rather than reading them. So although I could "read" it was still just as a learning aid.
