Sight reading vs Playing by Ear?

[Bilbo]

The trouble with the bass in Jazz is nobody knows what it does until it stops doing it.

[Waddo Soqable]

10 minutes ago, Bilbo said:

The trouble with the bass in Jazz is nobody knows what it does until it stops doing it.

And until then no one much cares either ! 

[Caz]

On 27/05/2021 at 08:47, All thumbs said:

I'd love to know your own experience and how it related to what I talk about in the video...

I've only been playing bass for less than 2 years, and could read music from playing piano and timpani (which is also bass clef). So from the beginning on bass I've been reading and writing music in the form of chord charts or fully written transcriptions. I think that has helped speed up the learning process a lot as a beginner, as knowing what the notes should be gives more freedom to work on the playing side of things. There are a couple of limitations so far - my memory for pop music needs work so I try to not read in this context, to get the ear/memory side of my brain working.. this is definitely lagging behind my ability to just read through a tune.

I joined a big band taking over from a bassist who did the gig for over 20 years but would only read notation, so he has written in notation over chords and improvised sections, and in charts written for the band there are often no chords because he preferred only the dots. Which has been a roast! Ideally I wouldn't want to become reliant on reading to that extent, it'd be good in the long term to be able to read notation when it's there, walk or improvise over chords when those are there, and in other styles of music just work on playing from ear and memory.. there's room for everything.

Caroline

[chris_b]

20 hours ago, Waddo Soqable said:

I bet no one's even  listening to the bass when you gots all those horn sections banging away. !

The band will be listening to, and feeling, the bass. I read a Bebop player, whose name escapes me, describe the bass as the heartbeat of the band, and another describe bass as the link between rhythm and melody. Critical functions that any good musician will be aware of. Bass is still a critical part of the music, even if you only notice when it stops.

By the time I left school I had taught myself to read music. I wasn't great and was slow, but I got reading gigs, and did some recordings reading the dots. I managed that because I could hear where the music was going and that papered over the cracks in my reading. Most band leaders and arrangers were happy. Then Rock came calling and I stopped reading. Now I'm so rusty I'm effectively a non reader. IMO if playing bass is the equivalent to a round of golf on the weekend, playing by ear is your greatest asset. Anyone else should be able to do both.

[dodge_bass]

On 28/05/2021 at 11:51, Doddy said:

I often hear the point of "I've never done a gig/ I've only done a handful of reading gigs ever", and that is totally cool. But, a big part of that is that if you don't put yourself out as a reader you won't get calls to do gigs that require it, and there are a lot more reading gigs than those mentioned in the video.

I also don't agree with the insinuation that readers can only read and can't come up with lines. In fact, I'd go the opposite way and say that all the best improvisers who I know either personally or via fame and reputation, are generally solid readers too.

It’s a really interesting topic. As a player / teacher / educator I’ve never known anyone who didn’t benefit from learning to read. Not just reading the actual dots on a gig but all the musical skills that come with it (understanding rhythms / time sigs / harmony / stylistic approaches etc). And I’ve never known anyone feel hard done by when working on their ability to play by ear. Developing both these skills to a high level is hard but really important and the division / dichotomy between them is false. They’re not in opposition but complimentary, it’s just that they’re not often taught (or developed) in conjunction with eachother.

I read really well. It’s opened so many doors for me as a player. But I’ve also worked on developing my ear because that also really helps as well with transcription and with creating original music. I also make all my pupils learn to read whether they intend to do reading gigs or not because it strengthens their general musicianship no end....and you never know when it might come in handy! My work as a player has moved from original work (no reading) to lots of reading work (theatre / orchestral / function gigs) now back into lots of original music with little reading....careers change and develop and having both skills is never going to be an impediment o your playing.  @ped makes a great point about big band charts where you might be expected to read notated figures, improvise bass lines on the spot and read / ignore written parts in favour of creating something yourself. Essentially using all these skills side by side. 

[Bilbo]

I have been working on my reading during lockdown and have also been working on reading guitar dots. The difference it has made to my playing is immeasurable. I know my way around a guitar neck much more now and my chops have tightened up. It has forced me to play things that would not have occurred to me had I relied solely upon my ears. As Dodge says, it's an enhancement not a alternative.