Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

reading frustration


gapiro
 Share

Recommended Posts

I've been playing bass for 6-7 years and have played a couple of shows (Last Five years, Hairspray, The wedding singer) , all of them by the skin of my teeth pretty much (well, thats how it felt to me, I got compliments on the playing still)
I generally find that when i'm asked to do a run of shows, I spent a lot of time with the score and my reading ability feels better, although I know i'm not perfect, I know i'm playing something that loosely correlates between the written score and the feel of the music.

Anyway, the last month or so I've been dedicating 3 x 30 minute slots a week to practising reading
The last week i've been away for xmas and without instruments of any sort, come back to it tonight , tried to start and just falling to pieces.
It seems to be that I have nights (not just the first time) where this happens. In particular I find I am reading barely one note ahead and cannot count properly ( eg a dotted crotched followed by a quaver getting me completely and utterly out) , whereas on other nights I find i'm reading 2 bars ahead.

Is this normal? Will this get better over time ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hairspray is meant to be pretty tough, well done for getting through it! There's something about reading for a guitar based instrument that's particularly tough. It's been advocated before on here but before you play a note just read it through and just try and get an idea for what the tempo is, any rhythmic characteristics that may be a feature and of course any crazy leaps or time signature changes or such corners. We warm up physically, sometimes it's a good idea to do so mentally as well!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You can practise reading music i.e. Retain your current reading ability, without an instrument by either 'reading' through scores, in time mentally or tapping out with a metronome, quite successfully if the requirement exists! It often does for me because despite reading music from a young age, I still have difficulty reading at tempo, under pressure, when needed most. It is no different from any discipline or physical condition. You have to keep at it!

On a positive front, it comes back quickly - 30 mins, 3 X a week is good...I try and do 10 - 15 mins a day (5 X a week), but never manage it!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...