Who here can read music, and how does that effect you're skills on the guitar? How important is it that you can read music in one form or another? I grew up learning guitar from a Mel Bay book, and a couple of friends that played guitar and showed me some chords. The rest of what I know I've picked up on my own. I can usually hear something a couple of times and have a pretty good idea how to play it. I can read some tab, slowly. I know that most songbooks always seem to have it written out in a wierd key, so I tend to stay away from those. I'm not to proud to ask another guitarist to show me something he does, and I'll gladly show someone else my lics. I just find it frustrating not to know the names of some of the jazzier chords I use when talking to a schooled musician. I wish I could write down the music I hear in my head, too. How many of the pro players out there read music?

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Life is like a sh*t sandwich. The more bread you have, the less sh*t you have to eat.

I think if you know your intervals and your basic chord structure, your probably sweet.Couldn't hurt to learn how to read music.

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Rated "M" for meaty.

i play by ear and i'm pretty good at it. as far as leads i just shoot from the hip and sometimes it's decent.
i'd give anything to have a better understanding of the fretboard. i purchased "fretboard logic" the other day and i'm obsessed with understanding this method. so far it's flying over my head like all the other books i have. i guess i'm just stupid, lazy or both. it's very frustrating sometimes.
maybe someday it will click.

Gotta go with Jeebus

A good ear is way more important than any of that stuff.

I can sorta read music but it takes me a while. I dont think it matters if you can or not. Playing by ear and picking stuff up on your own is more useful in my opinion. After Jimi Hendrix couldnt read music.

i learn by ear. dont read tab, or music for that matter. music's for listening, not reading

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riley

20 years ago I set out to learn to read music but abandoned the plan very quickly. I didn't want to be the only guy around who could read it!
(I can still get the key from written music, and figure out what is being played but why would I now?)
I can read tab very quickly now, which is nice.
The one thing I will say about learning to read music is that it goes hand in hand with learning the theory behind it. Learning Tab and chords is a visual/ memorization thing.
I have found that the theory is very helpful, you can gain theory knowledge from studying scales. Most books or videos on scales (for soloing) will give at least an introduction to theory. Yes the theory can be, well... boring, but eventually you start to see music a little differently.
If you gain a little theory here and there it adds up and you start to see how it applies to all those songs you memorized and why they played this here and that there.

It is all important. The more you know and understand the better you can communicate and formulate your ideas. It is not a choice you make between having a good ear or reading and understanding music. You need both. You have your whole life to do this. So, what is important now is up to you.

ok jeebus,
i bought the same book as well. take your time. it will hit you like a ton of bricks when it finally clicks. i bought another book to go with it,
guitar fretboard workbook. its a hal leonard book by barrett tagliarino.
its a very cool book and will help you with fretboard logic but its not related to FB logic.
its a workbook for guitarists and will teach you a lot.
answers are in the back. its very basic.
i like workbooks because they help keep your mind sharp.
often times we are off working on other things and some of the basics slip our minds. it happens and its natural. workbooks help keep you in
check and well rounded.
just take your time and work 1 page at a time. it will click i promise you.
what i do is when i buy a book i will go through it and read it page by page.
of course i wont understand it all, but when i start over and start to actually work the book, my mind has at this time heard this stuff before
so its like i kind of already know a little bit about what the author is talking about. its a mind game. jeebus, if you feel comfortable enough, post me your email, i do have another suggestion fot you that we can go over
that i know will work but i wont take up space on this post to go over it.

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63supro
"The good thing is in a club situation, most of the patrons are trashed and really can't tell the difference."

masterhacker

theory and reading music is very important.
one can learn to play w/o it of course.
thing is, its better in my opinion to know what your doing.
theory and reading music can only help make you a better player.
wen is the last time you heard a guy/gal say
"damn, i wish i never learned this theory stuff, its holding me back". lol
beside, i dont think you will ever read where a respectable player
puts down knowing how to read music or theory.
all these two are are usful tool to help you better understand and use your guitar, piano, flute, or whatever you choose to play.

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63supro
"The good thing is in a club situation, most of the patrons are trashed and really can't tell the difference."

What's the name of the computer program that instantly composes onscreen as you play? That has to be the best way to learn to sight read and write sheet music. I want it even though I've never been asked to do so.

Hopefully a guy won't get on here saying it takes away from "the feel".

thats a neat program but you still need to know what your reading.
i think i have a link to the free version on here somewhere.

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63supro
"The good thing is in a club situation, most of the patrons are trashed and really can't tell the difference."

I learned how to read music from Mel Bay Book One. It's not that hard if you take it step by step and practice. If you can read music, it opens up a whole lot of enjoyment. You can play songs you've never heard. Experiment with different styles. Play through "The Beatles Complete Scores," (which also has tab). I found I can play notes a whole lot faster than I can play tab. Some guys have a militant pride about playing by ear. I never really understood that. Lots of options mean lots of fun.

Didn't know there was a free version. Thanks for the link.

yeah its on my computer somewhere. (needle in a hay stack)
im sure i posted a link on here somewhere for it. i think it writes in notation and tab.

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63supro
"The good thing is in a club situation, most of the patrons are trashed and really can't tell the difference."