Panterachat

Anymore it's always interesting when guitarists or drummers read sheet music. I don't even think schools teach it anymore unless you are involved in a band program or something. I was lucky to learn it at a young age but I always found tab to be easier for bass or guitar. Recently, though, I have to communicate a lot of ideas to people who aren't guitar/bassists and also worked with a drummer who wrote everything out in sheet music and now I find it a lot easier.

So, are any of you guys proficient in reading or writing music or did anyone have any formal instrument instruction?

I've been attempting to learn to read sheet music for a while now. Not exactly easy at first...

I had about a years worth of guitar lessons with a teacher who tried to teach me to read when I was about 15. I never practiced and I still can't read for shit now. If I had to transcribe a part for another musician, I'd probably use powertab.

I took piano in high school. I knew how to read and play sheet music on piano before because I had a keyboard and a bunch of books from the time I was in 1st grade but this actually made me somewhat...good...at it.

I can't connect it to guitar all that easily though.

I learned a basic idea of it when I played piano (they key of E, F, etc.) but I really should have gone beyond that. Really I like to play it by ear like most everyone.

I used to be able to read music when i played piano, but I didn't play for five or six years, and then I picked up a bass and found numbers easier to write/learn with.

Theres an amazing jazz guitarist at my college that I'd like to take lessons off, only drawback is I don't read music, so... it's about time I get on that.

BassPhemy wrote:I took piano in high school. I knew how to read and play sheet music on piano before because I had a keyboard and a bunch of books from the time I was in 1st grade but this actually made me somewhat...good...at it.

I can't connect it to guitar all that easily though.

Actually, the best way to do that is just practice all the modes in C major. There are no accidentals, so you get a pretty good command of where all the notes are AND get the fret positions for modes memorized at the same time. The added bonus about an instrument like guitar or bass is that everything is moveable. When I use a keyboard, it fucks with my brain a little more because you can't just move everything and have the patterns line up the same but I get by.

They just need to make a good MIDI guitar and my problems will be solved.

i can read and write. its kinda cool to have a bunch of friends who can also do the same because it makes jammin' so much better

hippy wrote:i can read and write. its kinda cool to have a bunch of friends who can also do the same because it makes jammin' so much better

Man, I don't think I've ever gone to someone's house to jam and dropped a pile of sheet music in front of them.

"Submediant, motherfucker, do you know it?"

BassPhemy wrote:http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/msg/484997681.html

$200? Jesus. I remember those, I'm pretty sure they're not MIDI compatible.

There was a really short run of these. They need to put something out like them again. The problem with MIDI is the fact that pitch modulation and vibrato doesn't track very well.

BassPhemy wrote: I can't connect it to guitar all that easily though.

I'm having the same problem. I can make sense of it on a piano/keyboard, but I can't apply it to guitar as easily.

I played organ back in the day, at that time I could read music pretty good. As soon as I started guitar i switched to tabs only, by now my music reading skills are down to zero.

Pfl?yd wrote: "Submediant, motherfucker, do you know it?"

I played saxophone from 5th grade through the end of high school, and played recorder in some performance thing we all did in 3rd grade; so essentially I've been reading since I was in 3rd grade.
I played guitar in jazz band for three years in high school, and one year in junior college. I'm debating whether or not I want to get back into that next semester as my schedule is going to be pretty hectic.
I'm taking a theory and piano class this semester, as though I've read music forever; none of my music classes in school gave me a stable foundation in theory. However a lot of my confusion has since been dealt with, so I'd say I have a pretty good knowledge of basic-intermediate theory. I plan on delving into even the most complex parts of theory in the future.

But anyway, to answer your question, yes I read/write music. Treble, bass, alto, and tenor clefs, virtually any time signature or key signature (though on the latter I'd have to take a few seconds and go through the circle of 5ths on some of the hairier key sigs), pretty comfortable with more complex rhythms/syncopations.
However I haven't sight read for guitar in a long time. And sight reading individual notes and trying to follow that on guitar, I had quite a hard time with that. It'd take some practice for me to get somewhat proficient at it now.

I'd recommend learning how to read/how to understand basic theory to any musician, even percussionists. Even though I knew I needed to learn more theory in the past, it wasn't until I got a good, stable foundation in it that I realized just how crucial it is.

Kellan funfact: Dating all the way back from the mid baroque until maybe, say 50 years ago; it was common practice, if not downright expected for anyone in western culture to be proficient in reading music and at least one instrument.
It's probably still somewhat commonplace in Europe. Kind of like how it's really nothing for Europeans to be fluent in 4+ languages, while in America it's astounding to find somebody that cultured.
Simply put, America sucks at music literacy. If I had my way, music would be mandatory in schools, not the last elective one might think of signing up for. Even if you don't play anything, I still think you should be cultured in music history and be somewhat proficient in reading music and understanding music theory.
Just think. A world without hailtothefros.

AMERICA SUCKS
AMERICA SUCKS

Kellan wrote:I played saxophone from 5th grade through the end of high school, and played recorder in some performance thing we all did in 3rd grade; so essentially I've been reading since I was in 3rd grade.
I played guitar in jazz band for three years in high school, and one year in junior college. I'm debating whether or not I want to get back into that next semester as my schedule is going to be pretty hectic.
I'm taking a theory and piano class this semester, as though I've read music forever; none of my music classes in school gave me a stable foundation in theory. However a lot of my confusion has since been dealt with, so I'd say I have a pretty good knowledge of basic-intermediate theory. I plan on delving into even the most complex parts of theory in the future.

But anyway, to answer your question, yes I read/write music. Treble, bass, alto, and tenor clefs, virtually any time signature or key signature (though on the latter I'd have to take a few seconds and go through the circle of 5ths on some of the hairier key sigs), pretty comfortable with more complex rhythms/syncopations.
However I haven't sight read for guitar in a long time. And sight reading individual notes and trying to follow that on guitar, I had quite a hard time with that. It'd take some practice for me to get somewhat proficient at it now.

I'd recommend learning how to read/how to understand basic theory to any musician, even percussionists. Even though I knew I needed to learn more theory in the past, it wasn't until I got a good, stable foundation in it that I realized just how crucial it is.

Kellan funfact: Dating all the way back from the mid baroque until maybe, say 50 years ago; it was common practice, if not downright expected for anyone in western culture to be proficient in reading music and at least one instrument.
It's probably still somewhat commonplace in Europe. Kind of like how it's really nothing for Europeans to be fluent in 4+ languages, while in America it's astounding to find somebody that cultured.
Simply put, America sucks at music literacy. If I had my way, music would be mandatory in schools, not the last elective one might think of signing up for. Even if you don't play anything, I still think you should be cultured in music history and be somewhat proficient in reading music and understanding music theory.
Just think. A world without hailtothefros.

I agree wholeheartedly with the music education thing, though it reflects our education system as a whole.

It's funny that you run across a lot of "rock" musicians who are all about trying to prove how good they are at an instrument like guitar or drums, but when you get to classical and orchestral musicians it's simply just assumed you are really good at your instrument because if you aren't, you have no business playing the instrument at all.

Totally. Modern day vernacular music, if you want to refer to it as that; is sort of a double edged sword in that respect. There's next to no requisite musical knowledge to be had if you want to play in a rock band or whatever; but on the other hand you've started to venture into music in general without any knowledge behind the history of how it got to this point, or what you're doing from a technical standpoint. With symphonic/orchestral music or jazz, you really simply don't have any choice in whether or not you want to learn theory or read music. Sure there have been some jazz musicians/groups in the past that didn't really read charts or anything, but those are extremely far and few between.
Anyway, again; music literacy is something that can only be beneficial to any musician, even at the lowest levels of understanding.
Like learning any new language, you need to learn also how to read it and use of proper syntax.

I wish I would have been a band geek now in middle and high school. I was in mostly advanced classes and had a shitload of homework and I knew that it would only add more after school work for me and could possibly ruin music for me forever but it would have done me good at this point.

I wish I had invested more time in learning theory at a young age rather than "just wanting to rock" like a 15 year old pot head tends to do.

I guess the one good thing my parents did was make me play piano and my school had a pretty extensive music program, even though I wanted nothing to do with it at the time. Still, I didn't start actually applying myself to formal music until I was well out of high school.

i dont know of a high school guitar class that doesnt make you read sheet music. it's pretty damn easy for me but i can't stand playing something off paper. for this reason i could never be a "respectable" studio musician.

Lord of This World wrote:i dont know of a high school guitar class that doesnt make you read sheet music. it's pretty damn easy for me but i can't stand playing something off paper. for this reason i could never be a "respectable" studio musician.

The BellAire school system not far from where I live has a full band program.

CFH Eternal wrote:

Lord of This World wrote:i dont know of a high school guitar class that doesnt make you read sheet music. it's pretty damn easy for me but i can't stand playing something off paper. for this reason i could never be a "respectable" studio musician.

The BellAire school system not far from where I live has a full band program.

like a rock band? thats fucking horrible. band chemistry needs to be learned in a garage playing shitty covers with your friends at parties.

Lord of This World wrote:

CFH Eternal wrote:

Lord of This World wrote:i dont know of a high school guitar class that doesnt make you read sheet music. it's pretty damn easy for me but i can't stand playing something off paper. for this reason i could never be a "respectable" studio musician.

The BellAire school system not far from where I live has a full band program.

like a rock band? thats fucking horrible. band chemistry needs to be learned in a garage playing shitty covers with your friends at parties.

Actually, there is a volunteer music school here that was inspired by that "School of Rock" movie. My friend's daughter was in it and it, by all accounts, was really cool and successful. Now they actually got funding to expand it. I think that's a pretty positive program for young teens. Anything to keep them from being fat, dumb video game addicts.

I would love to learn how to read sheet music, and I'd love to expand my knowledge of music theory beyond the neophyte level of understanding I posses of it....but right now I'm having a hell of a time just going at it by ear, and I'm too lazy to try to learn something else at the moment. As much as it would be easier to share my ideas with other musicians using methods other than tablature, I'm happy with the instant gratification I'm getting with my nigger music.

i was in the band during all my middle school and most of my high school years. back then, I could read trombone/trumpet sheet music. i doubt I could still do it or even play them

Pfl?yd wrote:

Lord of This World wrote:

CFH Eternal wrote:

Lord of This World wrote:i dont know of a high school guitar class that doesnt make you read sheet music. it's pretty damn easy for me but i can't stand playing something off paper. for this reason i could never be a "respectable" studio musician.

The BellAire school system not far from where I live has a full band program.

like a rock band? thats fucking horrible. band chemistry needs to be learned in a garage playing shitty covers with your friends at parties.

Actually, there is a volunteer music school here that was inspired by that "School of Rock" movie. My friend's daughter was in it and it, by all accounts, was really cool and successful. Now they actually got funding to expand it. I think that's a pretty positive program for young teens. Anything to keep them from being fat, dumb video game addicts.

that's different though. the environment is way too sterile in public schools. a "school of rock" thing can be really good for kids.

no, and i don't know the concert key ionian mode from the c major scale

Kellan wrote:It's probably still somewhat commonplace in Europe.

not really brah!

I know the basics