TGS

i dont think any of us started off with a teacher, very few if any.
thing is, even with a teacher you still be will be doing a lot of "playing by ear" type work, as well as teaching yourself. as you know, a teacher doesnt teach you everything, they just help you discover the tools to do for yourself.
no its not for everybody, but i agree, if your paying for the time and your there anyways.........
its kinda like going to six flags, paying to get in, standing in all the lines but not riding the rides. might as well ride'em youve already went through the motions ya know?
any time you have the opportunity to learn something go for it. you will be better off than you were before. its up to you as to what you do with the knowledge you gain right?
you should think about giving lessons through school TGS. your gonna be in the perfect spot to do it too. i have a few friends that give lessons. the all agree that thats where 90% of their income comes from. my one buddy has 20 or 25 students a week.
thats a lot i agree. but at the minium of $35 a week thats good money. a few of his students buddy up on their lessons, take them together at the same time.
if he has to travel to them its extra. he said a few will trickle off at the begining of school and do lessons biweekly because of school and homework. we were just talking about that today actually. he makes good money, sets his own hours, and takes cash.

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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."

About 15 years ago, I was enrolled in a music program that focused mainly on jazz. We had ear training classes, theory and guitar. Unfortunately I did not put the in effort required and I was a Christmas graduate. I did retain some of that information and I have kept all of the books and handouts I used, but I wish I would have worked harder and completed that program.

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My personal take on it is that it depends on how far you want to go with your playing. With that being said, I think about all the advantages for today's generation with iPads and clip-on tele-prompters that only make sight reading more important if you can learn it well.

It's not like riding a bike though (i.e. you never really forget how...) because you need to
keep doing it or else you forget some of the things that you learned.

If you have dreams of scoring films, studio or session work, cruise ship gigs, freelance pro guit for hire and more, then I'd say it's very important.

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Being able to play and enjoy music is a gift that's often taken for granted.

Don't leave home without it!

Is it important? If you're never going to use it then its not important.

For me, I enjoy learning. I wasn't fast enough for blues so I took a side trip with classical and a nylon string guitar, the book was entirely in standard notation. Now I can read music, play a little finger picking and blues seems so much more simple now.

Sandard notation isn't rocket science or ancient Greek. Its pretty simple to learn, but harder to be proficient at it and easy to get rusty. So if you're never going to use it, it's a waste of time.

If you ever want to learn something outside of blues, rock, metal, punk, country like clasical, jazz, flamico it'll come in handy.

If there's one thing that I regret it's never learning to sight read.Both of my parents and my sister could sight read but I learned everything by ear even keyboards.Sight reading is indispensable in a studio situation and most places won't look at you unless you can sight read or you're a big name star.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

I was taught to read and write music at an early age. It's such an instinctive thing for me I guess that I can't imagine not having that skill. Nothing hard about it - certainly a lot easier than learning a language.

Once I got my music exams however, I've had to use the ability on few occasions only. It's always usefull when you learning a piece of someone else's music, through a score or something like that. Traditional music notation is a lot more informative than the tab that many players use, but in truth most players could manage using just tab and their own ears.

I work with a regular collaborator who knows little theory and who certainly doesn't read music score. But it doesn't seem to have hampered him to any great degree. The best thing about learning to read and write music is the understanding of musical theory. Understanding the rules of harmony alone, really can do wonders for your playing and creativity. You'll certainly never need a chord chart!

A few years ago we wrote a musical. I have to say that I'd have been stuck without the traditional skills when it came to writing out the scores. But even then, there's some great software available to help you do that. You used to have to buy something like Sibelius which cost a fortune, but there's many cheap packages available now. Enter the details via midi guitar or keyboard, and the score appears on your computer screen. How cool is that?

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Fender Highway & Classic 60s Strats, Fender Toronado, Telecaster, Gretsch Projet, Charvel 3, PRS SE Soapbar II & Custom 24, Burns Batwing and many others!

All good points, well said.

I've been subbing for teachers at the guitar store where I work, which has been great for getting some experience teaching. Now it's really picking up for the summer, I'm going to be teaching four students for the entire month this month while their teacher is out of town. Someday I'll probably be able to move up the ranks from sales/repairs to teaching my own students fairly soon.

I may also teach for a week or two at a rock music camp this summer. Just five years ago I went as a student for the first time and I was one of the only self taught people there. They put the kids together into a band and the teacher helps them write an original song which they preform for the parents at the end of the week. It should be a lot of fun, and hopefully it'll help me pay my college tuition.

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wow how does if feel to come full circle at the music camp? lol
good job. pat yourself on the back real quick while nobody is watching lol.
getting experience at the store with teaching is gonna be good for you, but dont
wait to long to jump on in and get your own students at their house or yours.
the cash will be good for your pocket and the experience of giving back will be good for your soul. since school just let out and the kids want to book up their time, finding new students shouldnt be a problem for you. possible a lot of little girls might want to try their hand at lessons, and being that your female too will give them a boost in the
confidence dept i think. "my teacher is a girl and she rocks" type confidence too.
i think being so young and still pretty much new to guitar yourself as far as yrs go, it will be very rewarding for you to see other young folks walk the same foot steps you just did.
you ability to relate and encourage will work wonders for them and yourself since it wasnt that long ago you had to walk the same path. it will be still fresh in your thoughts and a good level of understanding will still be there from you to them.

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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."

Studio Musicians are usually required to sight read. I've been playing for 40+ years and wish I could sight read. Way back I missed out on a lot of session gigs because I don't. I'm another play by ear guy that wishes he wasn't. I've also worked in the music business and I feel my career was limited. There are many more than just Classical musicians who sight read. Sight reading doesn't limit the fun factor, I would see it as an enhancement. I did okay playing professionally, but I always feel like I missed something. YMMV

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Life...... It's sexually transmitted and always fatal

Strat0Blues, I think the answer to your question depends upon your musical goals.

Are you interested in becoming a classical guitarist or a studio musician? If so, then, yes, it's very important to learn how to sight read.

But if you're more concerned with just playing for fun or starting a band, then I think sight reading is of much less importance than learning chords, scales and technique.

I took guitar lessons back in high school, and spent a lot of time working on sight reading. I can honestly say I've used sight reading very little since then, and almost never within a band setting. But, then again, I'm not a professional.

I'd say it's a good idea to make sight reading a part of your practice regimen, but perhaps not the primary focus of your practice.

At the very least, try to learn the basics, such as quarter-notes vs. half notes, etc. Even players who use tab exclusively need to know this stuff to play rhythms properly.

When playing (usually guitar) for own pleasure / meditation / exploration / enjoyment, rarely is a book ever open, except to learn something new.

Playing bass weekly at church, you can bet we are all sight reading. With a half hour practice before Mass and likely ten-oid pieces to do for 500 to 1500 people, mostly different stuff each week, that sheet music WILL get you through the hour.

Ive been playing guitar for a little over half a year, and ive been learning on my own throughout. Usually I just go online to look for tabs of whatever song i wanna play, or if not, i just try to play it by ear. And learning a song by ear is very rewarding, im glad im not tone death. But recently, ive been thinking of learning music theory. Unfortunately i do not have the time and means to attend lessons, and i dont intend to actually. I just turned 20, and my whole life i have never had any interest in music until now. Its kinda strange actually, i suddenly felt the need to play guitar because music is very expressive. So maybe, it doesnt really matter whether or not i learn to sight read, because bottom line its all just for fun, i dont intend to start a career in music or anything like that. Hell, i dont even have a band to gig with.

As long as life continues to give me a reason to keep playing, my red strat will always be within reach.

I'm not totally clear on what you are saying he's getting you to do. Understanding notes/Tempo/timing in a bar is paramount. Sure you can do it buy ear but i wish i learned it when i started not decades later. Guitar Tab sure with all the information on the internet today you would be silly not to know how to read it it's simple you can learn the basics in minutes. Sight reading from Sheet music and transposing music to a guitar now this a bit heavy i cant quite see the need for that unless you are going down the heavy classical road. That would be overkill unless you want to be the next Tommy Emmanual. Hope this helps....

Ps be very weary of the old school play by ear types that start rubbishing you pursuing the theory in reading music and getting a better understanding of how the guitar can be used. I am so sick of hearing the same old $@!& off guys who sure they shred and have been playing in bands since day dot.
Trying to smash into anyone who will listen you only need to play by ear and modal system is bullshit and only for jazz players you dont need that crap and blah blah blah blah Blah Me me me me i I I I I...... Tossers, Don't listen to em. The more you learn, The better you'll sound. Undeniable fact!!!
Good Luck!!!

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It's essential if you're going to play jazz as well. Even when going to a jam you have to be ready for someone to throw sheet music or a chord chart at you.

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Fair call we usually just talk about the progression then play it but hey if you read from Scores and get the vibe from there sweet...

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