[quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='989716' date='Oct 15 2010, 10:17 PM']I have no grades at all nor can I read music (the same for many musicians if we are still allowed to call ourselves that?) and recently spent an evening with a very fine classical player who came to a blues jam with me a couple of years ago and said he wished he could do that,I thought he was taking the piss at first but he wasnt and he got me to go and show him the basics of the 12 bar and a few simple licks to get him started. I was amazed at what he could play if it was in front of him and literally nothing without! It was like some kind of comedy sketch. You cant teach rock its not possible ,Look at cold play and all that stuff,Middle class mushy rockers cant do a full on Metallica thing,They think they can and I have played with some top notch drummers that read symbols and all sorts of stuff but when it comes to the final rock out at the end,Nothing.....its not on the page.[/quote]
I played bass on a Total Guitar magazine CD (issue 10 if anyone cares) because the magazine wanted a club band type vibe rather than schooled musicians. I was hugely flattered at the time & I think we always admire players who are different to us. I have the upmost respect for people who read music etc & it amazes me on the rare occasions they tell me they like my style.