Musical Notation and Sight Reading: important or not?

[exin]

side pt, classical pianists have my respect, and granted they read more tau gey an an hour that my fave zhu chao stall can fry up in a week... but sometimes they might be lacking in the improv side of things.. playing pop covers might be a whole new ball game to them if u take away their scores

agreed ...

i played with keyboardists who have been classically trained .. like grade 8 and stuff .. and they sound SUPER RIGID ... it's like cannot move together with them like that ...

BUT ..

when classical people learn how to play pop/rock and stuff .. goodness .. everything changes .. hahaha ..

 

[warwickw]

The biggest advantage of reading dao gay to me is that when u're lost in a song, and the keyboardist or guitarist starts playing the melody to guide you, you have that few seconds to find your way back into the song. It's quite disasterous when the bassist throws the band off ie u're 2 bars behind the rest. (not that bad if the keyboardist or guitarist gets lost, all they have to do is stop playing for a while and find their way back)

Dao gay also gives a rough idea of how the song or bassline will go, like where the hits are, when to break and how to end a song etc

Wonder how the number system goes...

 

[Guest]

its like..so useful.

i wish i cud read music.

 

[benjso28]

its like..so useful.

i wish i cud read music.

Never too late to start
Reading notation can get the rhythm and notes when practicing but tabs only notes.
Timing is important

 

[Cheez]

In a band setting, sometimes we need to write notation to:

1. As a cue for all band members to know certain melody coming in (eg introduction).
2. When we want specific notes to be played by different instruments: these can either be:
(a) Unison - so everybody plays the same notes
(b) Different parts - but fixed parts so harmony doesn't get into rojak if everybody just "improvises".

During the parts when each one can improvise, chord charts are sufficient. So it's better to know both. Even though during most times, players often memorized their parts so that they know when they play in unison etc and which notes to play. But sometimes, you may need to dig up some piece you played eons ago and perform without practicing. You may forget what to play or may not be familiar with the piece after not touching it for a while. There may even be situations when you need to sight-read.

I remembered a few years ago after playing for a church service, the song leader came up to me and told me how she appreciated me able to improvise and sight-read notations. She said most people she worked with can only do one or the other. Because on that day, things had to be changed last minute. The band had to play different songs they had not practiced. And the band was not the band I played with often so I don't know their playing styles well. Then they need me to play something from the hymn book without telling me beforehand - like 30 seconds before time. At least I could pull everything off. It's then I realised the importance of having both skills and to keep both skills honed at all times.

 

[cold_static544]

it sorts of formalizes everything, easier to see if you're doing more complicated stuff. and of course lets you communicate better. i still suck though lol.

 

[niyyo]

Bros, keep doing it and finding new things to sight-read, like maybe a song a day, don't be disheartened if u can't complete a simple song in a day, everyone has to start somewhere. Before u know it ur speed-reading oredi.

Remember a simple fact to keep ur determination up - "There are only 7 alphabets in music" =P

Cheers to all bass bros in singapore \m/

 

[GUYrenCE]

hey people...remember...

as a Bassits is important to able to read notes is beacause..

it makes you different from other people...


well, it have to be hard...if not ..you can see musicians anywhere and are good...hahha

so yeah...just keep pushing yourself..

 

[shinobi]

i... see... dead threads

 

[bassics]

i think its very important. Its always good to be able to sight read at a basic level. You don't have to be pro at it. Its all about practicality, same as music theory. Application > Knowledge. You can know 1 million different scales but if you cant apply them its no use.