Re: [Harp-L] Reading Music

[gonz1@xxxxxxxxxxx]

Dear Aongus, 


Because reading music is a hand/eye skill, your years of typing will help. To what degree I don't know. I had the pleasure of taking lessons from lessons from harmonica master Eddie Gordon for almost 19 years. From the very beginning he encouraged me to learn to read music. I have never regretted a day of sitting in front of a music stand and practicing. Scale after scale, song after song. It has paid off in abundance. You will never regret a day of learning to read music or understanding melody and harmony better. Even as a diatonic player I found it useful. To play chromatic, to really play chromatic, reading music is essential. Just as your "goldarn" fingers developed a mind of their own, so will your skills on your chromatic. Playing by ear is only half of the equation. It is necessary but there is so much more. 



Roger Gonzales 
Lecturer in Music 
Jazz/Pop/Rock 
CSU Fresno 

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Aongus Mac Cana" <amaccana@xxxxxxxxxx> 
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx 
Sent: Wednesday, February 2, 2011 5:19:15 AM 
Subject: [Harp-L] Reading Music 

Sorry to keep banging on about this, but while the physicists and engineers 
are otherwise occupied on formulating equations for free reed vibration are 
there any brain function guys on the list who can throw light and/or useful 
tips on a learning phenomenon I encountered while learning to touch type 
twenty years ago. 
I learned with the aid of a computer programme that started you on the two 
index fingers and only let you progress to using the next pair of fingers 
after you had achieved the target speed with the current fingers. 
While I was engaged on the learning process I found that I could do mental 
'off keyboard' practice by typing memos to myself while visualising my 
fingers going to the appropriate keys. God forgive me, but I even used to do 
this while driving the car - hopefully not to the danger of other road 
users. The mental practice seemed to be almost as effective as physical 
keyboard time. 
However when I eventually graduated to all eight fingers and two thumbs, I 
was surprised to find that I was unable to do mental practice anymore. The 
'goldarn' fingers seem to have a mind of their own and find the appropriate 
keys without any conscious intervention on my part. I even have to look at 
the keyboard nowadays to find out where the keys are, having forgotten the 
keyboard layout. 
In trying to learn how to read music, I have been kind of disappointed that 
my typing experience has not transferred as easily or as usefully as I 
expected to learning music. I am now however "practicing" playing first and 
second position scales on the chromatic when I go for my "constitutional", 
visualising the notes on the staff and visualising my breath direction and 
moving the harmonica accordingly. Time will tell whether this imaginary 
practice achieves any results and no doubt the awareness enthusiasts among 
you will say "tut! tut! when he goes for a walk he should enjoy the bird 
song and the sound of the sea - live in the now!" 
Beannachtai 
Aongus Mac Cana