Re: Reading Music

["IronMan Mike Curtis" <ironman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hmmm ... I thought my felt my ears a'burnin'....

From: "Ron/datadigr" <rdg@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>

> I don't know who said it on this thread but someone made a reference
> to some line about "reading music kills the soul of music" or
> something vaguely to that effect, and the person posting wondered
> where that came from.

I said that some claim this.  It's patently false, BTW.  Learning to read
music (just one of the things they teach at conservatory) will not affect
your ability to play by ear.  Too many of the worlds best improvisors read.

You mention conservatory trained musicians who can read the spots off a
leopard but can't play a note by ear.  Yes, I've met 'em, too.  Lots of 'em.
But that's not the fault of reading music.  It's the faulty curriculum - a
course of study that focuses *solely* on reading.  Mindlessly playing the
notes as interpreted by the conductor is a special job that requires someone
with not much likelihood of wantering off in interpretations.  They need to
play together as a team, and this usually means flawless sightreading skills
and very little tendency toward self.

The ultimate forms of musical expression involve smaller groups.

My most expressive moments musically are when I'm performing solo.  While
it's fun and satisfying performing with a band, it's also limiting, because
I can only go as far as the band is capable of going at the moment.  When
I'm working by myself, the only limit is - myself.

Going back to our TC trained musicians, one must ask if the ability to
improvise was ever present in these players.  I submit that it wasn't,
and/or it was minimal *and* most likely purposely stifled.

I know classically trained musicians who are superb improvisors, even
playing in genres such as jazz, blues, and yes even rock  (Neil Sedaka and
Manfred Mann both are Juilliard graduates).  All these that I know had
learned to improvise and play by ear before their training.

Of course, some schools include ear training in their curricula.  I just
don't personally know anyone with such circumstances.  But I won't rule
these out.

I mentioned an entire class of excellent readers who improvise fluently,
jazz musicians.  Jamey Aebersold studies in jazz improvisation are in chart
form.  Students are expected to read fluently, and learn how to better
improvise via reading music.

I find it most interesting, though, that a fair number of Aebersold students
actually play the scores of famous jazz perfornamces right out of the
Aebersold book.  For example, I might call Cantaloupe Island in A minor, and
they freak.  (Hey - Cantaloupe Island is in F minor!!!)  (Not when *I* play
it ;-)  But still, most Aebersold students get the point of the lessons, to
study WHY these solos were like this, and NOT to just learn them by rote.

Reading won't kill your soul.  It's when you DEPEND on reading INSTEAD of
playing creatively that the problem occurs.

http://www.billhouse.com/songs/StormyMonday.mp3
- -IronMan Mike Curtis Band  http://www.ironmancurtis.com *Southland Blues
Magazine http://www.SouthlandBlues.com TU 8pm Starboard Attitude/Redondo