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Is reading important


mic mac moe

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2 hours ago, Leonard Smalls said:

Luckily for you, my laptop is currently being hosed down and cleaned of all the unpleasantness it produced with absolutely no input from me...

Perhaps when it's been re-motherboarded and returned to me it'll start to produce music which is a beautiful amalgam of Thomas Arne, Thomas Tallis and Thomas The Tank Engine especially for you!

😎

Bring it on. xjmd97M.gif

...

:lol: B|

...

:friends:

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On 30/08/2018 at 12:21, mic mac moe said:

I personally think that reading is paramount, maybe not for getting gigs in dad rock bands, but it certainly gives a deeper understanding of time, subdivision and maybe groove. I'm currently trying to brush up my reading and writing. Even bought a nice caligraphy pen!! My last few bands have been heavy on the covers, and me being as lazy as poss, tend to trust tab sites etc. How many times I've been wrong!! 😆 

Agree - wish I had learned to read years ago, and definitely needs to go hand in hand with theory study. I think it makes you more rhythmically & harmonically aware (imho).

I was chatting to the keys player in the band I was depping for a few weeks back, and he said l've got the technical facility to do the show gigs that he leads on (he does a lot of small theatre / show stuff), but the thing holding me back is my reading ability.  I started learning to read about 7 years ago as I was fed up with feeling as though I was missing something in my playing, and am really glad I did it. 

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11 minutes ago, louisthebass said:

Agree - wish I had learned to read years ago, and definitely needs to go hand in hand with theory study. I think it makes you more rhythmically & harmonically aware (imho).

I was chatting to the keys player in the band I was depping for a few weeks back, and he said l've got the technical facility to do the show gigs that he leads on (he does a lot of small theatre / show stuff), but the thing holding me back is my reading ability.  I started learning to read about 7 years ago as I was fed up with feeling as though I was missing something in my playing, and am really glad I did it. 

Nice one. The gigs I always wanted were the show band, theatre and cruise work. Sadly I ruined my life by getting married to a psycho at 20

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11 hours ago, mic mac moe said:

Nice one. The gigs I always wanted were the show band, theatre and cruise work. Sadly I ruined my life by getting married to a psycho at 20

Are you still married. ?    If not then do it now. Its never too late to start something new.

Don't think i could do that kind of work not just because my readings skills aren't good enough. I just don't think i would enjoy it plus its playing for long hours at a time. Hard work and i'm basically lazy :laugh1:

Go on go for it. Life is too short to have regrets like that. Make the most of it while you are fit and able.

Dave

 

Edited by dmccombe7
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It`s not at all impuortant for me with what I`m doing at present, but in a few years when I retire I intend to learn a lot of Motown material, and at that point I have a suspicion that brushing up on my reading skills will prove invaluable. I also think that if my reading skills had been better earlier on I would have developed my playing quicker, yes I`m good at what I do but I would no doubt have been better all-round.

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Pino gets gigs and sessions even though he can't read. So did Glen Campbell.

So did Joe Osborne, but when he discovered he could get even more gigs by reading. . . he learnt to read.

Reading is fine. Not reading is only fine if you don't need to.

I do quite a lot of deps but with some bands there can be long gaps between calls. I chart everything and make notes of rhythms, runs and riffs. When I get the next call I can be up to speed in no time. It's surprising how little band sets can change over the years.

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29 minutes ago, chris_b said:

Pino gets gigs and sessions even though he can't read. So did Glen Campbell.

So did Joe Osborne, but when he discovered he could get even more gigs by reading. . . he learnt to read.

Reading is fine. Not reading is only fine if you don't need to.

I do quite a lot of deps but with some bands there can be long gaps between calls. I chart everything and make notes of rhythms, runs and riffs. When I get the next call I can be up to speed in no time. It's surprising how little band sets can change over the years.

Thats another great usage..... Creating a personal archive. Absolutely invaluable, especially if catalogued correctly (not like in my room!! 😆

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1 hour ago, Bilbo said:

Reading dots can take you to places you might otherwise never go. I value it considerably as a learning tool, for recording compositions and for reducing wasted time in rehearsals. 

Especially the wasted time in rehearsal. I often come across guitar players who "haven't had a chance to listen to the song" when learning by ear. Sucks when you're paying for rehearsal space

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I'm slowly getting to grips with reading music but I'm far from proficient.  Give me sheet music with a bass line (not for the left hand of a pianist) and I can gradually work out what to play, but I need time and space to do it.

We have recently done a kid's song at church that is very bass driven.  When we did it I wasn't playing in the band and there was no bass player but when I heard the song I knew it would be good for the bass guitar.  I found a recording of it and sure enough, the bass drives the melody along at a brisk pace.  The intro is all bass and it continues right through the song with quarter and eighth notes aplenty.  I listened to the recording several times but could not work out more than the first couple of notes but then I found the sheet music with a proper bass guitar part!  The first note is D below the E string and it even drops to low B - not possible on my four string bass.  I am therefore learning to play the song on my four string using all the right notes but without the benefit of the B string - enter Eric Morecambe!  The tune is in the key of D with F & C both sharp - except some of the Cs need to be natural!

This has done wonders, not only for my music reading, but also for finding the required notes on other parts of the fret board.  It's slow going at the moment and I cannot play the song at the indicated speed yet but I am getting more familiar with the notes above and below the five line stave.  I'm also having to use the D and G strings more which has made me "boldly go" to parts of the neck where my fingers generally don't stray!   I think learning to read and play songs that you will use rather than simple exercises might be the way to go if you find learning to read music a chore.

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On 02/09/2018 at 08:35, dmccombe7 said:

Are you still married. ?    If not then do it now. Its never too late to start something new.

Don't think i could do that kind of work not just because my readings skills aren't good enough. I just don't think i would enjoy it plus its playing for long hours at a time. Hard work and i'm basically lazy :laugh1:

Go on go for it. Life is too short to have regrets like that. Make the most of it while you are fit and able.

Dave

 

I love the theatre pit work that I’ve done. I hated the cruise ship jobs though, it wasn’t long hours, just three 40 minute sets 5 times a week, I just like to be a little more free than the job allowed, I also like being home.

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