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Reading Music: I just can't grasp it!

12 votes
? by rue_the_day

My worst subjects in school were Math and English which doesn't help me to understand music. I say an understanding of English because of all the little rules that magically change everything in English- music has those too. I have struggled for decades with basic music theory- I am desparate. Please share your tips or your "I once struggled with reading music but then had a breakthrough" stories.

rue_the_day | 20 Apr '08, 15:38 | Send note | Report this | Reply

circle of fifths

yeh

I used to tutor music theory a bit

ehwhat | 20 Apr '08, 15:43 | Send note | Report this | Reply

circle of fifths?

Oh, you must be referring to the imaginary geometrical space that depicts relationships amoung the 12 equal-tempered pitch classes comprising the familiar chromatic scale.

Sorry for the sarcasm but enigmatic concepts are exactly what keeps me from understanding this stuff.

rue_the_day | 20 Apr '08, 15:50 | Send note | Report this | Reply

i just call it the scale clock

and learning it was a breakthrough for me.

is it mainly notation you struggle with?

cat-g | 20 Apr '08, 16:58 | Send note | Report this | Reply

i once struggled with reading music

but now i dont bother as it has very little use to me. that said i can still slowly piece together scoresand pry them apart, but if i ever had to learn something from sheet music again, i'd get hold of a recording and use them together

alcxxk | 20 Apr '08, 15:45 | Send note | Report this | Reply

yeah the old hunt and peck method

but it is pathetic don't you think. I still want to breakthrough gosh darn it. Plus my bandmates read and I don't- I hate it.

rue_the_day | 20 Apr '08, 15:54 | Send note | Report this | Reply

This is why I dropped music

last year I just said to my teacher "can you just fail me because I can't do it". I did nothing every lesson.

livvyy | 20 Apr '08, 16:52 | Send note | Report this | Reply

I'm doing A level music,

I'm predicted a C, and I can't read music whatsoever.

calumlynn | 20 Apr '08, 16:57 | Send note | Report this | Reply

Oh man

I thought this was going to be a thread slagging off the music scene in Reading. Oh well.

calumlynn | 20 Apr '08, 16:53 | Send note | Report this | Reply

ha

.

rue_the_day | 20 Apr '08, 16:57 | Send note | Report this | Reply

Yeah

I'm pretty funny, no?

calumlynn | 20 Apr '08, 17:02 | Send note | Report this | Reply

The best musicians didn't read music.

Apart from me obviously. I'm alright at it.

wrightylew | 20 Apr '08, 17:10 | Send note | Report this | Reply

This is a myth!!

Seriously, who are the best musicians? Yes, perhaps some of the best/classic songwriters weren't classically trained, but you can't say "the best musicians", what, you mean the greatest viola player of all time probably didn't ready music?

calumlynn | 20 Apr '08, 17:17 | Send note | Report this | Reply

I could only read music with help from my teacher...

i COULD do it but i could never play on sight, or whatever the phrase is.

Most of the pieces i learnt were by ear, it used to be a very tuned-in talent of mine. However i don't know if i'd be able to do it now, haven't played in 4 years.

lealea | 20 Apr '08, 17:20 | Send note | Report this | Reply

...

wut?

poptimusgrime | 20 Apr '08, 17:26 | Send note | Report this | Reply

well

i learned treble clef at an early age, but had to learn bass and the inbetweenie one for theory exams and it was horrible.

to start out with, i just learned which note fell in the middle -- b for treble clef, d for bass clef ... and then you can count up or down from there.

it just takes practice. get a piece of music and see how quickly (and accurately) you can name each note. maybe try playing some stuff through on the piano too, and getting to associate the notes on the page with the notes on the keyboard. (well, or whichever instrument you like, really)

soon you'll start recognising notes from their position on the stave, and thats reading music...!

verity-may | 20 Apr '08, 18:00 | Send note | Report this | Reply

practice

yeah.

Don't confuse "basic music theory" with "being able to read music".

You'll need to have some knowledge of basic music theory in order to learn how to read music, but after that it is just practice.

You do not need to be able to read music to understand things like chord sequences, harmonies, scales etc.

Is there anything in particular you don't understand ?

s_p_g | 20 Apr '08, 22:54 | Send note | Report this | Reply

it's overated

i know that sounds childish but reading music really isn't fun.
i used to do it for my guitar teacher, and i used to learn it so he didn't tell me off but ultimately the minute you stop, you forget it.
either learn by ear or if you're writing songs just play what sounds good to you.

TimmyL | 20 Apr '08, 22:58 | Send note | Report this | Reply