Do you play by ear, read music, or both??

[EBMM7181]

I am a self tought bass player. My dad showed me the basic EADG open strings, and showed me the G , C, and D, and then from there, everything I've learnt has been by listening and watching others. Most of the bass licks, runs, and riffs I have learnt by sitting down with a CD of a band with a good bass player, and trying to figure out the bass line. For example, Red Hot Chili Peppers, SRV, and others....

I am a decent bass player, but the kind of person I am, I am NEVER satisfied. I always want to be better. I only play by ear, so I am intrested in learning to read music. I know It cant hurt to learn to read music, but what do you guys think, can I become a better bassist by learning to read music, or is it just a plus to have on my resume, so to speak.

 

[bassmonkey]

I do both.

Reading music will open up a world of material to you. It can only be a good thing.

 

[DKWilkins]

I'm a self-taught, play by ear guy too. Since the mid 80's. The bandleader of one of my gigs has taken the time to show me some theory, but at this point it still sounds like Greek to me.

I'd like to learn to read and understand more about the instrument and music in general through the theory. I figure it can't hurt anything

 

[armybass]

Both and lately I find that it is a real pleasure to have someone provide me with a written out bass part. It is easier IMHO.

 

[EBMM7181]

Anyone know of any good websites that I can teach me to read music. I really dont have time to go somewhere for lessons, hehe.

 

[adouglas]

Online Bass Lessons at StudyBass.com

I also recently picked up this:

...and it's really excellent.

I'm an ear player, working hard to learn how to read. Getting there....

 

[Ole Man Blues]

I learned the fretboard, then some scales, major, minor, blues and such.

Our church worship team works off lyric sheets with the written chord in change position and I develope and play my basslines off of that.

I love the freedom to experiment........ OMB

 

[adouglas]

To respond to the original question: I may be totally wrong, but I don't think it's actually possible to ONLY read music, in the same sense that it's possible to just read a book.

By that I mean that I don't think a person skilled in sight reading can get handed an unfamiliar piece of sheet music and be expected to play it through fluidly the first time.

I think it's more that you look at it, "hear" it in your head, visualize playing it...then you play it, largely by ear.

Like a TV actor getting prompts from cue cards...the cue cards help guide them and remind them of what comes next, but they've already gone through the part and at least partly memorized it so they can perform it well.

Is there anyone out there who reads music really well? Is this off-base?

 

[AnthonyD]

I can do both, but mostly play by ear.

I am no "site-reader" - but do appreciate having the basslines notated to learn parts when they're available. When we do have music it's usually just chord charts.

Most of what I learn for the band is from recorded music, so it's just me and the CD player.

 

[phatduckk]

i wish i knew how to read. my attempts to teach myself have been pretty "bleh". its mostly been in the context of buying a good theory book which doesnt include tabs... so its like having 2 challenges to face at once.

so far its been a slow process. but i put in a little time here n there.

there's no way reading music can be a bad thing. hopefully some day ill have less on my plate so i can spend more time on theory and reading

 

[EBMM7181]

I learned the fretboard, then some scales, major, minor, blues and such.

Our church worship team works off lyric sheets with the written chord in change position and I develope and play my basslines off of that.

I love the freedom to experiment........ OMB

OMB , My church worship team does the exact same thing. And I always take those lyric sheets and listen to the artist/band that originally did the song, and I listen to how the bass player plays the song, and I go from there.

SR7181

 

[Kirby]

Both, but more situations by ear now. Seems like many have gotten lazy or do not know how to or care to write down parts anymore.

 

[Caca de Kick]

I can still read music okay, I was trained from 8yrs old til 19yrs old, but I haven't had to read anything since then (I'm 33 now) except for a short stint in a praise gig. I guess it'd be different in a cover band type of situation, but since I only do original projects where I 'write' my own parts, I haven't needed it anymore.

 

[strummer]

To respond to the original question: I may be totally wrong, but I don't think it's actually possible to ONLY read music, in the same sense that it's possible to just read a book.

I heard a totally deaf guy playing the piano quite well, and that was obviously not by ear at all. He could improvise well enough too, which was kind of scary. Looked real stiff playing, but still...

 

[MingusBASS]

Is there anyone out there who reads music really well? Is this off-base?

I can read music very well. If I'm sight reading a piece, I may not get 100% of it the first go but I'd say easily 95% depending on the difficulty of the piece. How did I gain this skill? I've read tons of music in a million different styles. It's very similar to reading literature. As you read you pick up new words and the more you see these words, the more you understand them. Likewise, in music, when you read you'll pick up new patterns and rhythms. The more rhythms you read and understand the more fluid you're sight reading will be. There's no magic formula, you have to practice you're reading to get good at it. I practice by reading music every day, some new some old.

 

[Aussie Mark]

I'm self taught and play mainly by ear, however over the 30 years I've been playing I've acquired a little theory knowledge and can read enough to get by (as long as the notation is single notes and not chords). I wish I had learned the theory stuff right at the beginning rather than on an ad hoc basic over the years.

 

[Fuzzy Dustmite]

I practice by reading along in the church hymn book. tap out the rhythm on my leg, try and get the intervals in the chords, etc. I'm obviously not singing along

Other than that, when I'm reading a tab with standard notation (say Guitar World, or Bass Guitar), I use the standard notation to check out the rhythm, but I should use it for note location, too, but I usually don't. I'll try and play it without playing with the song first, just so I can get some of it down and see how close I am once i'm playing along with the song.

 

[Baird]

I took regular guitar lessons for a few years, then played by ear for another few years and forgot most of what I was taught initially.

I can still read music, but not very well.

I generally play by ear. If I am feeling lazy and need to learn a new song, I usually download TAB from the web.

 

[Psycho Ward]

I play by the sense of smell...

 

[thedude]

To respond to the original question: I may be totally wrong, but I don't think it's actually possible to ONLY read music, in the same sense that it's possible to just read a book.

By that I mean that I don't think a person skilled in sight reading can get handed an unfamiliar piece of sheet music and be expected to play it through fluidly the first time.

I think it's more that you look at it, "hear" it in your head, visualize playing it...then you play it, largely by ear.

Like a TV actor getting prompts from cue cards...the cue cards help guide them and remind them of what comes next, but they've already gone through the part and at least partly memorized it so they can perform it well.

Is there anyone out there who reads music really well? Is this off-base?

In my jazz band in college, once or twice a year we played classic jazz tunes for a dance, and I basically had to site read 15-20 jazz tunes for a performance. It was a little strenous, but really fun if you know what you're doing. The hardest part was understanding the music, because a lot of it was handwritten, with badly written repeats and codas and such.
I also play a lot by ear, which I learned to develop by learning to play bass lines of bassists I admired. I think both ways have there benefits and will make you a better player in the end.