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Hewitt Huntwork · Post by **Hewitt Huntwork** » Sat Dec 23, 2006 4:38 am

I was browsing the threads in this forum and thought a poll might be interesting on the subject of reading.

Mmmmm, Fudge!

foosnark · Post by **foosnark** » Sat Dec 23, 2006 6:14 am

I could sight read on violin (so I picked that one). Very painstakingly I could pick out notation for piano. Anything else, I'm lost and it's like translating a foreign language.

james0tucson · Post by **james0tucson** » Sat Dec 23, 2006 6:34 am

I sight read, e.g., Bach counterpoint. Not up to tempo, or even at a regular tempo usually, but all voices -- only problems involve fingering, accidentals, or notes that I anticipate but are not what is written. I have a much harder time sight reading romantic music, anything with big chords, or stuff where I don't comprehend the techniques required just by looking at the music. There have been many times that I thought I understood something (that is I did understand harmonically), but needed a teacher to show me techniques that made things playable, or expressible; counting, movement, dynamics, pedal work, you name it.

I don't think there is anything in contemporary notation that I would not comprehend at sight, but piano technique is so often implied beyond anything that is actually written down, I don't want to be without a teacher, ever.

herodotus · Post by **herodotus** » Sat Dec 23, 2006 7:05 am

I can easily sight read drum music.

In most other cases I can't play very fast on the instrument anyway, so....

Mostly notation is a creative tool for me. It is still the best way (for me) to work out complex polyphonic parts and see the interaction. Piano rolls don't have enough different shapes for me, everything looks the same.

Xnah · Post by **Xnah** » Sat Dec 23, 2006 7:21 am

Good poll.

Krakatau · Post by **Krakatau** » Sat Dec 23, 2006 9:33 am

Well. to be honest it's the pianoroll used as composer tool by my side, the few courses i had in the pass may allow me to laboriously read monophonic lines at much...

Amberience · Post by **Amberience** » Sat Dec 23, 2006 11:33 am

I can read tabs and get through them, but most of the time I just use my ears. I don't get any fun out of trying to read sheet music, that's probably why I never stuck to it. I just end up getting frustrated.

Toxikator · Post by **Toxikator** » Sat Dec 23, 2006 12:53 pm

Bah, sight reading? I chose "I can pick notes out", because I can (I'm familiar with the language, I'm just not fluent in it) but I think that "I know that EGBDF and I don't care" would probably have been just as accurate.

Sheet music sucks.

VicDiesel · Post by **VicDiesel** » Sat Dec 23, 2006 1:13 pm

How do you measure that? Put notes in front of me and I know what they are, what the chord is, and all that. Single lines, piano music, organ music, in orchestral scores I have a hard time with the horn lines (F parts) and cello/bassoon (tenor clef).

If you measure it by "can I then immediately play them" the answer is more subtle. On recorder and flute I can read and play pretty much anything at speed. I do decent on bass. On viol I'm getting pretty good at reading alto clef. On piano I know what the notes say, but I can't immediately play them at performance speed.

Victor.

Caleb · Post by **Caleb** » Sat Dec 23, 2006 4:56 pm

I existed in some bygone era when it was "Every Good Boy Deserves Fruit", but maybe that just became too risqué as time passed.

I can read notation OK and guitar tablature. I would say my sight reading on piano is pretty poor, but I can do it somewhat.

I was much better at sight reading on an organ mainly because I really only read the right hand and the chord names and everything else was kind of improvised.

Regards
Caleb

druid · Post by **druid** » Sat Dec 23, 2006 5:14 pm

Well I'm not sure what the difference between being able to read notation and being able to pick out notes on a staff is, so I picked the latter. I haven't needed to do it for many years. I could never sight read, I always laboriously memorised what I wanted to play, and tried to close my eyes when playing (this was the piano I should say). Drums aren't as hard but I can't remember that at all now.

Caleb wrote:I existed in some bygone era when it was "Every Good Boy Deserves Fruit", but maybe that just became too risqué as time passed.

I learned that way. "Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge" is just as risqué these days, you'll find. I think the key problem is the "good boy". With some of the outbreaks of child pornography and unfortunate incidents involving some Christian (I think) church workers (priests? parishes? I'm not sure of the terms), at least here in Australia, "good boys" or just "boys" carry some connotations now, I think.

Well they do in the circles I've been involved in. That was possibly my fault in some cases, but you get that. :P

VicDiesel · Post by **VicDiesel** » Sat Dec 23, 2006 5:23 pm

druid wrote:Well I'm not sure what the difference between being able to read notation and being able to pick out notes on a staff is,

Reading: I show you four notes for a split second and you see that it's a D+ 7. Picking out: you go "D, F#, A#, C, so that's a D+ 7".

Victor.

Hovmod · Post by **Hovmod** » Sat Dec 23, 2006 5:49 pm

I can stumble through on my flute, but not on guitar or keyboard.
What I CAN do is sit down with sheet music and make out what it might sound like, and I can do simple analyses.
I enjoy reading music while listening.

sonicfire · Post by **sonicfire** » Sat Dec 23, 2006 5:50 pm

Didn't read that.

Debutante · Post by **Debutante** » Sat Dec 23, 2006 5:53 pm

I read nothing. Maybe for the mighty and versatile recorder.

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Poll: Can You Read?

Can You Read?