Can you read notation?

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Can you read notation

Yes, fluently

7
24%

Somewhat, slowly and painfully

17
59%

No, not at all

5
17%
 
Total votes: 29

tavasti
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Can you read notation?

Post by tavasti »

I started yesterday course 'Studio production 2' and looks like it is something else than I expected. Whole session was about how to write chords to bass threble cleff, with traditional notation. And sounded like it will be same stuff also following sessions. Rationale was 'when you write new music, you can pass notation to musicians who will play it'. I started to suspect that nearly none of my friends who are potential to participate to my productions could not read notation properly. I can read it if have to, but it is really slow.

So wanted to ask here also, how you fellow musicians, can you read notation?

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Loki Harfagr
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Re: Can you read notation?

Post by Loki Harfagr »

Well, your poll is missing at least one choice
"Used to fluently read orchestral 8 parts but somehow eons later I'm slowly and painfully reading slow paced parts but only those rare days I can find where the reading glasses where lost last time" ;)

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Re: Can you read notation?

Post by tavasti »

Loki Harfagr wrote: Fri Jan 20, 2023 2:36 pm

Well, your poll is missing at least one choice
"Used to fluently read orchestral 8 parts but somehow eons later I'm slowly and painfully reading slow paced parts but only those rare days I can find where the reading glasses where lost last time" ;)

That sounds like perfect explanation for that 'Somewhat' option. Or maybe that still is that fluent, because if you are really slow, pace of music does not matter. On any tempo, 2 notes/minute, 2 minutes for 7-chord is not ok.

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Re: Can you read notation?

Post by tseaver »

Reminds me of an old joke: "How do you get a guitar player to turn down the volume from his amp? Put notes in front of him!"

FWIW, I read fairly fluently, in terms of understanding, but don't transfer sight-read melody to the guitar on the fly all that well: there are too many arrangement choices, including whether I'm supposed to play in the octave as written or down an octave, plus which of two or three choices on strings and fingerings to use. I can play sight-read melody on the piano with some effort, but can't play written out chords or left-hand bass parts while doing so (versus playing chords from a lead chart).

I'm by no means a studio session player, but a lot of what I've observed delivered to them in pop / rock / country sessions is "charts" (sometimes with melody and chords, like a fakebook lead sheet, sometimes with just chord symbols or numbers) rather than scored-out "parts;" -- the expertise they bring in interpreting such charts to serve the song is why they get paid the big bucks. Orchestral players, on the other hand, are demons for sight reading, but tend not to contribute as much to the on-the-fly arranging.

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Re: Can you read notation?

Post by Gps »

Let me put it like this.

With a cheat sheet present it takes me around 30 sec per note to get a note into LMMS.

I have to, with every note over and over again go like:
K, this is c then that must be ..... counting the steps.

Because of this though, I am proud I did this in LMMS from sheetmusic. (I had a mate print it out)
With help from the LMMS forum.

Now if this is your first track from sheet music, then don't pick this one. Listen to other people (unlike me) warning you about this not being a simple track to put in a daw,

https://soundcloud.com/user586365033/biscaya

(Original, James Last Biscaya)

This makes me appreciate modern dance music even more. :wink: only need 1 A4.

One of my biggest issues , is were to put a note from sheet music in LMMS, timing wise.
Once tried, the cure A forest. This bloody piece starts with only 1 note, before the second bar. (bass guitar)
After failing for about an hour to understand the sheet music, I hooked up my midi controller.
With my sense of rhythm I hit a note on the controller. This was my face, when looking at the piano roll: :shock:
Owww, that was what the sheetmusic was trying to tell me. The position of that first note.
That piece of sheet music also had 3 notes at the end. (can't recall the name for this)

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Re: Can you read notation?

Post by merlyn »

I think there are a lot of steps between 'painful' and 'fluent'. Reading is not painful for me, but I know guys that are fluent. Stick anything in front of them at pretty much any tempo and it comes out right. I'm not there, but I think I'm nearer fluent than painful.

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Re: Can you read notation?

Post by GMaq »

Hi,

I don't sight read, and since I play guitars in alternate tunings much of the time I often don't even know what actual chords I'm playing, I recognize them by pitch, position and pattern but not by the actual notes. I'm neither proud or ashamed of it, I get by OK but it's probably not ideal..

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Re: Can you read notation?

Post by tavasti »

GMaq wrote: Wed Feb 01, 2023 3:34 pm

... and since I play guitars in alternate tunings much of the time ...

What kind of tunings? I have one guitar tuned to AEAEAE, another in DADADD, rest having something more normal :-)

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Re: Can you read notation?

Post by j_e_f_f_g »

I much prefer working with musicians who read music. I played in a band where everyone read competently, and it was a breeze to learn new material. I just wrote out everyone's parts, and after a couple times through, the song was pretty much there. No need to memorize parts, (which is what takes the longest when working with musicians who can't read notation).

I was once visiting a musician friend during his band's practice. They had 2 guitarists, and one of them couldn't read music. At one point in the song, the two guitarists had to play this descending line in unison. I watched the one guitarist go over and over each note of an 8 bar passage until the second guitarist had finally memorized the entire section. It literally took an hour for something that should have taken 5 minutes to learn if that other guitarist read notation.

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Re: Can you read notation?

Post by tavasti »

j_e_f_f_g wrote: Thu Feb 02, 2023 12:49 am

I much prefer working with musicians who read music. I played in a band where everyone read competently, and it was a breeze to learn new material. I just wrote out everyone's parts, and after a couple times through, the song was pretty much there. No need to memorize parts, (which is what takes the longest when working with musicians who can't read notation).

I was once visiting a musician friend during his band's practice. They had 2 guitarists, and one of them couldn't read music. At one point in the song, the two guitarists had to play this descending line in unison. I watched the one guitarist go over and over each note of an 8 bar passage until the second guitarist had finally memorized the entire section. It literally took an hour for something that should have taken 5 minutes to learn if that other guitarist read notation.

Yeah, no problems understanding benefits on such setup. I personally read tabs ok, but notation is hard. Sure, if I would have some use for it, I definitely would learn to do it better. And that is also good point that for guitar, tabs are correct format. Notation gives hint but still leaves much stuff open.

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Re: Can you read notation?

Post by merlyn »

tseaver wrote: Sat Jan 21, 2023 1:14 am

... FWIW, I read fairly fluently, in terms of understanding, but don't transfer sight-read melody to the guitar on the fly all that well: there are too many arrangement choices, including whether I'm supposed to play in the octave as written or down an octave, plus which of two or three choices on strings and fingerings to use.

There are ways around those issues. First of all there is no ambiguity about which pitch notation represents. The guitar is a transposing instrument. Music written for guitar sounds an octave lower than written. Transposing instruments are a bit nuts. Like a tenor saxophone. Notation for a tenor saxophone that shows middle C is actually a Bb concert. Why? If you've ever been given a sax sheet and had to transpose it -- ouch. But ... it makes a tenor saxophone easier to learn. Trumpets and alto saxophones are also transposing instruments.

If you learn to read guitar music then middle C on the staff is C on the third fret of the A string. That is actually an octave lower than concert middle C. This means if you're reading notation at concert pitch (like piano music, or a lead sheet), everything has to be transposed up an octave. Be thankful it's an octave. :D

For fingerings -- look at the key, then scan through the sheet and find the highest note. This will determine the position, and use the fingering for the appropriate scale in that position.

Last edited by merlyn on Thu Feb 09, 2023 1:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Can you read notation?

Post by tavasti »

merlyn wrote: Thu Feb 09, 2023 1:18 pm

If you learn to read guitar music then middle C on the staff is C on the third fret of the A string. That is actually an octave lower than concert middle C. This means if you're reading notation at concert pitch (like piano music, or a lead sheet), everything has to transposed up an octave.

So if writing notes for guitar, there should be bass clef also? With single clef, highest notes (going beond 12th fret) go ridiculous high.

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Re: Can you read notation?

Post by merlyn »

tavasti wrote: Thu Feb 09, 2023 1:29 pm
merlyn wrote: Thu Feb 09, 2023 1:18 pm

If you learn to read guitar music then middle C on the staff is C on the third fret of the A string. That is actually an octave lower than concert middle C. This means if you're reading notation at concert pitch (like piano music, or a lead sheet), everything has to transposed up an octave.

So if writing notes for guitar, there should be bass clef also? With single clef, highest notes (going beond 12th fret) go ridiculous high.

OK, so here we go into the brain fry of transposing instruments. No, in guitar music there is no bass clef. Transposing guitar music means it can all (just about) fit on the treble clef with leger lines. If you were to write guitar music at concert pitch, yes, there would be a bass clef. For notes above the 12th fret use 8va above the staff, meaning up an octave.

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Re: Can you read notation?

Post by tavasti »

merlyn wrote: Thu Feb 09, 2023 1:38 pm
tavasti wrote: Thu Feb 09, 2023 1:29 pm

So if writing notes for guitar, there should be bass clef also? With single clef, highest notes (going beond 12th fret) go ridiculous high.

OK, so here we go into the brain fry of transposing instruments. No, in guitar music there is no bass clef. Transposing guitar music means it can all (just about) fit on the treble clef with leger lines. If you were to write guitar music at concert pitch, yes, there would be a bass clef. For notes above the 12th fret use 8va above the staff, meaning up an octave.

Ok, for real, there should not be guitar music with notes, but with tabs!
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4ie1c7

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Re: Can you read notation?

Post by merlyn »

tavasti wrote: Thu Feb 09, 2023 1:44 pm
merlyn wrote: Thu Feb 09, 2023 1:38 pm
tavasti wrote: Thu Feb 09, 2023 1:29 pm

So if writing notes for guitar, there should be bass clef also? With single clef, highest notes (going beond 12th fret) go ridiculous high.

OK, so here we go into the brain fry of transposing instruments. No, in guitar music there is no bass clef. Transposing guitar music means it can all (just about) fit on the treble clef with leger lines. If you were to write guitar music at concert pitch, yes, there would be a bass clef. For notes above the 12th fret use 8va above the staff, meaning up an octave.

Ok, for real, there should not be guitar music with notes, but with tabs!
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4ie1c7

Tab is crap. The difficult bit about sight reading is the rhythms, and tab has no rhythms, unless it uses standard notational rhythms, in which case you might as well read standard notation. Where tab is OK is if you have a recording, and you can get the rhythms from the recording. But in that case I'd just work it out by ear. :D

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