I can read treble clef, one note at a time. I took violin in 4th grade, but they wrote the letters above the notes for us, so we didn’t really learn it. I took piano in 5th grade, and my teacher eventually got fed up with my learning songs by ear that she wouldn’t teach me anymore. So I joined her song-and-dance group.
In high school and college, I taught myself how to read the treble clef, for vocal purposes. Now, I can pick things out on the piano, and I sing in my church choir and string band, and I play in the handbell choir (more one-note-at-a-time reading).
In answer to Cougarfang’s question: I am definitely a “by ear” music person. I can pick out harmonies on the fly, and even though I don’t know much (if any) music theory, I can hear when something is sharp or flat, or if a note doesn’t belong in a chord. I’m going to learn the hammer dulcimer, and I think it’ll be a great instrument for me, since it can be done well by ear. Music is very instinctual for me – it’s the technique that I find difficult.
I can read music, but not very easily. I have a hard time hearing it in my head, on the other hand I can decipher it in order to know where my fingers should go.
I started out playing by ear, so it helps me greatly if I can hear someone else play the music first. I’d advise Reoch, if you are interested in playing any of the genres of guitar music which are written in standard musical notation, to learn to read standard notation. I found that, while tablature and chord charts seem easy at first, traditional notation is actually easier on the eyes, and the contour of the notes among the lines of the staff actually reflects the melody.
Took piano lessons as a kid for about 4 years, so yeah.
I started playing again a bit a few years ago, and the odd thing I found was that it was easier to “translate” the patterns on the sheet music directly to a pattern on the keyboard without having to go through that “intermediate” stage of “what notes are these?”
I was in choirs for most of my childhood and adolescence and learned how to sight read during all that time period. I’m not the most accurate, and my reading of rhythms could stand for improvement. But, I can read the alto line in the church hymnal with little difficulty.
Bassist checking in, I can read both treble and bass clef. I learned how to read when I was 41, I’m 45 now. Most things I can read in a performance enviroment, but there are things that require a lot more work for me.
I’m definitely like this as well. In fact, I find it easier to name a note after I’ve played it, based on its position on the keyboard. See note, press key; ah, that’s a G.
Yes, I can read sheet music. I began flute lessons when I was nine, and played in various bands and orchestras until I graduated from college. That was a couple years ago now, and I haven’t picked up my flute for a while, but I have no reason to believe that I have forgotten how to read music. I can read the common flute register with no problems, ie, a treble low C to a high G or so. A flute can play a few notes higher (to a high B), but it’s so rare that I would probably need to think about it and count the lines. I can also read bass clef, but not easily. I have to actually think about it…“Okay, move everything down two lines, and it’s the same as treble.”
Yup, I can. I also have a Bachelor of Music. When I was in school I could read orchestral scores, but I’m a bit rusty now. These days I usually only read choral music.
Technically speaking, yes, I can read music (just in bass clef, though). I am in my school band, after all, and it would be rather inconvenient not to be able to. I can follow the rhythms and I know that this note requires this fingering and is more or less in this range. But I can’t look at a sheet of music and hear it in my head. My sense of pitch is not very good, though I can match pitches with someone else. This problem seems to have gotten much worse lately. Not good.
I can only read bass clef. I play trombone. I’ve been trying to learn alto and tenor clef, which are useful for reading orchestral music, but my brain doesn’t seem to like learning new things anymore.
I can read bass clef (I played tuba) although it sometimes takes me a second to remember the names of the notes. (I can get the fingering and mouth position without thinking). If time wasn’t a factor (that is, if I were reading it just to read it, and not play) I could read treble clef, too, but only by counting up from bass clef notes I know.
When I have the patience I can read music and plonk out the tunes on piano until I remeber it and can play without sheet music, but much prefer to play be ear.
I usually sit down with a CD I want to play and learn small bits at a time until I can play the whole song. Much faster for me that way and a lot more fun! though I haven’t played in a while… lack of piano
You can’t be a former classmate of mine, 'cause I didn’t get it either. At all. Basically, I can tell a half note from a full note. That’s it. And I have no idea what they signify, anyway.
My problem was that most people in my school apparently started learning this stuff in their elementary school years. So when they started on it in sixth grade (a year after I moved into the school distinct) I was far behind and never figured it out.
It’s very similar to learning how to read english. First you have to know what the letters are, then you learn the words, then slowly you take those words and start forming sentences and paragraphs out of them. Just another language.
If you are struggling with it, keep working at it. It does get easier. And for the guitarists out there, learn to read real music, don’t rely on tablature. It works fine for some things but you still limit yourself.
I can read bass and treble clef pretty well, and probably tenor clef. I play bass trombone, I’ve played piano, and I play bass guitar. When I took up the bass last year, I was really glad I could read music- tablature sucks in so many ways, not the least of which being that bass is a rhythmic instrument, so notation without rhythms is silly.
Somebody mentioned that the melody on the page follows the contour of the actual melody. That’s so important. When teaching my piano students how to read, I stress that notation is NOT “abstract”, it’s a “real representation” of the melody’s contour. I wish I had a better way to express this.
In good notated music, even the way the rhythm is expressed is “actual”, not abstract. A half note should take up exactly twice the horizontal space of a quarter note, etc. Trouble is, things often get squished to fit on the page, and that horizontal measure doesn’t always hold exactly true.
Reading vocal music is far easier than any other type, I think, because the voice “knows” where the pitches are - you know what an “A” feels like in your throat before the sound even comes out.
I have absolute pitch and excellent relative pitch; I’ve worked to train both. But most people are better off than they think in this regard - ask someone to sing a bit of a popular tune, and most of the time they’ll sing it in the correct key without even knowing it. But good pitch can be a hindrance to reading; you cheat with your ears and rely less on the notation.
Someone else mentioned letters - words - paragraphs, analogy to reading English. Yes. This is how pianists read complex-looking chords at a glance - they are old friends. You don’t have to worry about the parts of the chord, you just play the chord which you already know. Simple example: (C - E - G) == C major chord; experienced readers don’t even “see” the individual notes, just the whole chord. Then they play that.
Simple reason why people read less than in earlier times: radio, tv, recorded music. When the parlor piano was virtually the only game in town, many more people played it.
Music is very instinctual for me – it’s the technique that I find difficult.