The value of reading.

[Bilbo]

I am known on here for advocating reading of music and have seen dozens of threads about the importance or otherwise of the skill. I have recently started working much more intensively on my reading and am now reading treble clef as well as bass. What I am finding is that by slowing myself down, I am learning quicker. I cock about with a chart for days and then, all of a sudden, I am playing it. More importantly, I find that new charts are becoming easier to move around as I become more and more comfortable. I am looking at Al Di Meola stuff, some Piazzolla, two Ravel pieces and some Scarlatti. I stress that I am NOT sight reading these pieces cold but studying them through the learning process. It feels like 'more haste, less speed' as the saying goes. There is so much material out there now, it's wonderful.

[JohnR]

Couldn't agree more. My reading was functional at best but I still got tremendous value from it. I have been without my bass for several months while it is being rebuilt by Paul from Wal and I have have taken the opportunity to work on reading and transcriptions. I am nowhere near being a decent sight reader yet but am light years better than I was just a few months ago.

[dand666]

What I find helps is that you practice, every single day.

15mins each day, sight reading a NEW piece of music ideally at a low tempo.

[JapanAxe]

Here (in no particular order) are some of the benefits I've reaped from learning to sight read:

Paid gigs with bands who play from dots
The immense joy of playing with a Big Band
The ability to sight sing
Access to music written for other instruments (i.e. not just 'tabbed out' for guitar or bass)
Virtually endless learning resources
Faster and more accurate transcription skills
Being taken more seriously by traditionally schooled musicians

[scalpy]

It's one of life's greatest pleasures, meeting a muso at a band call, probably not even being introduced, conductor starts, bang, there's a piece of music you know is going to be played to x amount of people that evening/ next day. Reading does that for you and I for one love it.

[converse320]

I'm struggling a bit, but plugging away. I've come to bass from saxophone, so I have some transferable skills, but its very different having so many different places to find any given note. I think I might tape over the tab at the bottom of the score on the stuff I'm working on, as the temptation is to just use the score for the rhythm and tab for pitch.

[Bilbo]

Tab is not always correct. Best to work on your own fingerings.

[Grangur]

[quote name='converse320' timestamp='1491165485' post='3270991']
I'm struggling a bit, but plugging away. I've come to bass from saxophone, so I have some transferable skills, but its very different having so many different places to find any given note. I think I might tape over the tab at the bottom of the score on the stuff I'm working on, as the temptation is to just use the score for the rhythm and tab for pitch.
[/quote]

Don't worry about where to play. If it doesn't work out in the first position then try again playing up near the 7th fret. It gets easier.

You did try some pieces here;

http://basschat.co.uk/topic/215336-learning-to-read-the-dots-sheet-music-to-learn-with/page__fromsearch__1

[bassjim]

Recently started learning to read notation properly about 6 months ago. I find I'm already applying this skill (I play covers) even though I'm still at a pretty remedial stage. For example I find it easier to identify the timings on some passages in songs I'm working on.
If its a new tune I need to know, and I can find the transcription, I can learn it faster and more accurately than the usual just by ear and using youtube.
Also for for a dep gig I have coming up I have started to write down on the stave various bass line parts as a way to remind me what to play. Normally I write down the notes in order with various symbols I have made up, but this is so much better.
It makes so much more sense when you come back to it after a few weeks. Well worth having a go at. Hard to start but as it sinks in it gets quicker. By no means am I ready to start sight reading any time soon but just this tiny bit of understanding has gone a long way already.
In hindsight I should have started doing this a long time ago. There is definitely value in it if you can find a clear advantage with it.

[Grangur]

It seems to me that there are those who can't read who argue "there's no benefit".

Has anyone who has learned ever said "it useless, I wish I'd not bothered"?

[dand666]

Never.

[dodge_bass]

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1491938430' post='3276680']
It seems to me that there are those who can't read who argue "there's no benefit".

Has anyone who has learned ever said "it useless, I wish I'd not bothered"?
[/quote]

Spot on. Nobody was ever the worse off for learning to read. The process of learning to read forces you to confront so many other aspects of your musicality that it can be a very challenging process but ultimately progresses you enormously as a player.

[TKenrick]

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1491938430' post='3276680']
It seems to me that there are those who can't read who argue "there's no benefit".

Has anyone who has learned ever said "it useless, I wish I'd not bothered"?
[/quote]

This is one of the finest posts I've seen here. Nail, head, hit.