Good Sight reading book/tutorials
Had a good long hard think over the weekend about my playing.
For far too long I have been working on improv, CAGED theory, general music theory,
but have not really developed as a player. Yes I can widdle over the blues, becoming quite
proficient in following chords, even throwing in the odd modal idea, but I can only really play
a handfull of songs. I find following tab quite hard. Not so much from a where to stick your fingers
point of view but the rhythum parts.
So I was thinking maybe I should go back to basics and actually learn how to read music which
will help in actually learning songs. I'd love to get to the point where you can stick a chart in front of
me and with a couple of hours of commiting to memory I could play it.
Now I was thinking of one or two different approaches.
Learn to read on a different instrument (Piano)
or Stick to guitar.
I also have a yearning to play the drums (have both in the house)
So can anybody recomment any good books that include a CD (so I can hear what I'm aiming for) with a rock
focus. Funnily enough I find classical alot easier to play. Sometimes I pick up the Classical Gas section in Guitar techniques
and can usually without too much effort get a good sounding tune together, then again classical does seem to be a little less
challenging, with fewer off/mid beat rests. Or maybe standard notation does not lend itself to rock music.
No CD but Sight-reading Jazz by Bob Taylor is good.
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Just a suggestion but in my experience I have found that reading music is about the worst way to learn songs.
It's good to be able to read but doesn't sound like it's what your playing needs.
I'd suggest getting a program like Transcribe and sitting down with the first few Beatles albums and don't stop till you've worked it all out yourself, no tab or chord charts for help.
Is it?Originally Posted by Koss59
My daughter (14) is a grade 8 violinist, grade 5 Pianist and has learnt how to sight read.
She recently picked up bass and has joined a band (all of similar qualifications).
They pick up tab/music scores, etc and get songs down in less that an hour without any pre-learning.
Do they need the music in front of them to play the song back?
Your daughter may be gifted and learn the songs after only reading it a couple of times, however most people that "read" are doing exactly that. To truly play and understand a song it should be worked out yourself.
The two aren't mutually exclusive btw.. what do you mean by 'understanding' the song?
anyway back to the OP' s point. Yes I think its a good thing to do, and I'm currently doing pretty much the same thing as you. put it this way, it will give you a different angle on your playing, and you'll learn to look at music and songs differently.
I just mean from experience teaching and playing myself, if you have the music in front of you it becomes a crutch and you will often become reliant on having it there. It's often seen with singers who insist on having the lyrics in front of them.
I think reading is a great thing to be able to do and if the OP has the time to do both then great but there is no substitute IMO for working out a song for yourself to develop your listening/ transcribing skills which personally I think is more valuable to the modern guitarist.
Book wise I recommend music reading for guitar by David Oaks
Yehudi Menuhin says that's bollocks.
The Reverend Lord Henry was not one of those new-fangled parsons who carry the principles of their vocation uncomfortably into private life.
One of the greatest concert violinists in the world is a bit different to a guitar hobbyist learning a few songs
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