Or it's easier to hit the right ones. It's a matter of perspective. I recently went through about 8 years of school where I couldn't do much practicing on guitar or piano. To keep the creative flow, I would hum melodies in my head. Not being a singer, I couldn't hit any particular note by memory, but eventually I could get the intervals close enough to an equal-tempered instrument that I could conform my melodies later. The important part is that I was able to preserve the gist of my melody to be notated "correctly" later. It's arguable that by shoehorning my melodic idea into the "right notes" actually destroyed my original intention, but the fact remains that it was a creative outlet and that I was able to build from it. So, "right notes" and "wrong notes" depend on what you do with them.

I had a period where I didn't have access to instruments in any very useful way. I had developed a type of solfege to jot down what I heard in my head and a way of notating rhythm. that presupposes certain abilities tho.

frankly I don't know how qualified I am to say what to do for a beginner as per learning reading. I learned to read in fifth grade band class and shortly after switched from trumpet to a drum kit and had lessons for a year or more. So I think a teacher of some kind is the quickest path but I might be wrong for someone else.

I got my ear together copping things off records and always sang the line then found it on a guitar. Simply reading and spitting out notes thru the trumpet did not serve that purpose for me.

Singing is very useful for creative flow. But for the specific goal of learning to read music, it is problematic. OK this note is on the second line from bottom of staff in treble clef, so I think that makes it the G above middle C. So now I should sing a G above middle C. Well I am a bass, but even if I had the range I wouldn't have a clue what that note sounded like without a cue note or years of choir. So what good is singing going to be? Good for interval training yes, but then you need to have a tuned instrument as a point of reference. Even world champion barbershop quartets start song with a pitch pipe. That said, a virtual instrument could be your point of reference. Especially it that is what you are going to be working with anyway. But it would be better if you are working off a keyboard just for the immediacy of being able to play the rhythm in time.

Basically there is two basic elements that you have to learn straight off. One is understanding the basic note values and having a feel for rhythm. Whole note, half note, quarter note, eighth note. What they look like and how to count and perform basic rhythms off the sheet. Clapping and counting would help there.

The other is learning the pitches on the staff. Well, the notes go in alphabetical order, so it isn't rocket science. Notes can be on the lines or the spaces between the lines. Kids learn mnemonic devices to recognize pitch class faster. For example, the spaces on the treble clef, from bottom to top, spell face, FACE. That's pretty easy to remember. With the lines of treble clef (EGBDF) I learned something like Every Good Boy Does Fine, or Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge. When you are first trying to learn these notes, it may not even matter to play them or recognize the sound. Make flash cards for each note or maybe There Is An App For That and just get the letter names to where you instantly know it.

When you have the basics of rhythm and the basics of pitch, you try to put them together and sightread simple melodies. But at that point it seems like you need to be working with an instrument so you have that feed back of what it actually sounds like.

Ok. Good point.

fwiw if all you want to do is learn to produce a physical expression of the notes you read on a piece of paper, you can do that by playing on your laptop keyboard if you use something like Ableton's keyboard input.

It sounds silly but it can get you started. I'd be curious to see what sort of music a self-taught QWERTY-keyboardist might make.

I think if a digital musician doesn't have a particular drive to learn a traditional instrument, he should still go through some form of traditional piano training. The piano is unavoidable, western music as we know it today has been formed mostly by pianists.

There are three major reasons why going for traditional piano training is a good idea:
#1. It will be easier to be acknowledged by fellow musicians.
#2. You will go through a bunch of score in the right gradient of difficulty. This is not to be underestimated. Notation itself is quite simple actually, but you need to train your brain to recognize it with the speed you read text. If you start off steep, it can be really frustrating.
#3. You'll become at least moderately versed in musical literature.

+1: The piano is awesome.

im Just curious ...can I still practice writing sheet music using just my piano roll ? I appreciate any recommendations

http://www.amazon.com/Modern-Reading-Text-For-Instruments/dp /0769233775/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1340239550&sr=8-1&keyword s=modern+reading+text+in+4%2F4


This book is very good for a beginner learning to read. There's only one note in the whole book - C. It's for teaching how to read syncopation, and you can practice with it anywhere, reading along just under your breath at whatever tempo you feel comfortable with.

why not?

There are some great ipad apps to assist sight reading, piano notes pro is cool.

Advantages of reading, there's a lot of cool books to study. most of which use notation.

This is the one thing in music that there is absolutely no short path to your goal.

My tip; read and attempt to play everything you can get your hands on. Don't spend too much time on any one piece.