TOPIC IS CLOSED!

edited due to the delayed reaction of noticing spam. woops.

ohhh snap TIMIDI, I dont see the link to spam

I think it may have been down to the dodgy link in your sig that doesn't point to the text in it that might have put people off.

That and that your profile isn't visible.

I see you guys are nailing him for spam?

Define 'you guys' here...

I was in a band with a guy who was tone deaf, but the guy was a walking encyclopedia of 60's & 70's rock and Christian music.

You rattle off the title of a song and he'd start jamming away. He had every note, verse, bridge, word, everything memorized.

You try to do a spontaneous blues jam with him, he was lost. It was the strangest damn thing. He could do the basic 1-4-5 chops and keep rhythm, but pass off a lead to him and he'd go in to some kind of weird dive, tremolo, indefinable lead that sounded like crap.

Jonbouy

I see you guys are nailing him for spam?

Define 'you guys' here...

Well ... to be honest, after last night, I'm not sure anymore ...

Click here to see what I mean.

bapu


"Have Fun" ~Alex

You too Ed :)

I dont think the OP knows that philosophy just yet, Mod Bod ... thus his question???

What are these "notes" thingies I hear so much about?

@ JONBOUY, SPACEY, Mod BOB and SHARKE
BRAVO very good arguments. not brainless talk 
but i am sorry
i have to say i am out
Thanks for sharing your personal opinions.

PEACE!!!

sharke


Being able to read music opens so many doors. Not just job-wise, but also in terms of exposing you to a much wider musical influence. It's pretty straightforward to pick out a Jimmy Page solo by ear if you're competent enough, but try working out a Bach fugue or some George Van Eps the same way. You're not only faced with some very complex harmony and counterpoint, but also endlessly different ways of fingering it, only some of which make practical sense. Whereas, if you can read music, you're straight in there and getting the benefit of the music without having to worry about the hows and the whys. 

Guitarists are the absolute worst for sight reading, of course. Many of them wear their musical illiteracy like a badge of honor. That, and the fact that the fingering complexities make sight reading on guitar a bit harder than most instruments. 

I learned to read a little over 10 years ago and it was the best thing I ever did. I started off with an old book of John Renbourn fingerstyle pieces. At the beginning I was literally working out every note on the stave and counting out rhythms one bar at a time. It was painfully slow. By the end of the book, I was very almost sight reading them. From there I progressed to simple classical pieces and within a year sight reading Bach fugues and complex lute pieces. It's amazing how quickly you can progress, if you already have the manual dexterity. Some people say you can't reach a high standard of reading unless you start when you're a kid, but I was in my late 20's. I don't think it's too late for anyone to learn. 

Great post sharke.
 
I can imagine there are many that will not understand some of the details you mentioned
that make reading music such a challenge for a guitarist.
 
Unlike many other instruments with a guitar a written note representing a specific pitch (a guitar
is a transposed instrument) that pitch can be played in numberous positions on the fretboard.
An example:
An "E" note on the staff representing the same pitch as the little, first string of the guitar played open....can also be on the 2nd string 5th fret, 3rd string 9th fret, 4th string 14th fret, 5th string 19th fret and 6th string 24th fret if ya have one.
 
That mechanical aspect alone should give a clear understanding that a guitarist is constantly making
decisions on where to execute. It has a direct bearing on the fingering and could easily determine
if the passage may be just to difficult to play in that position.
 
I can see, not being a pianist, that it must be much easier reading music as a written note is
played with one specific key.
 
I started learning to read when I started learning to play. One major difference is when people
that don't read start talking about reading music and what effects it may or may not have really
don't know what they're talking about. They're just stating an opinion much like explaining the color blue. Yeah...tell me all about what blue is.
 
The real problem and issue in my opinion is the program teaching.
I really don't know how to warn parents but a teacher can teach a student much like
a monkey. They see that dot and do that. Horrible way to teach and/or learn.
 
If there is anything at all bad about learning to read...that would be the only thing I can think of. 
  
  
 

lol

Heh. 

We know there are many types of people with many attitudes.
I can understand how one can be bothered by anothers words or actions
but in truth I've always been more concerned with understanding how
I felt and what I knew so I listen to determine if any information is worth
retaining for my benefit.
Whether or not another can or can't read is of no matter to me. Their attitude
is of no matter to me personally.

When those traits do matter is when I have to work, study or perform with another musician.
Before committing to working with them these type of things are good to know for the
sake of compatibility.
In the past I can say I had no problem with musicians that couldn't read but I did have
problems with the ones that had "different" attitudes.

One big attitude issue is when a musician is more concerned about others performance
more than they are of their own.