[Harp-L] RE: Reading Music

["Hellerman, Steven" <shellerman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Well, obviously this thread has evoked a lot of opinions and emotions. As I'm seeing posts from some who teach music to, presumably, young people, I need to put in my two cents. 
 
I took guitar lessons when I was fifteen. The instructor insisted on teaching me to read music, to site read as I played (in retrospect, the very first thing the schmuck should have done was teach me a three chords and then to strum a tune). I didn't enjoy it at all, and after a few months asked him why I couldn't just learn how to play without reading music. "You know, by ear. Like the Beatles. They don't know how to read music."
 
"Well, the Beatles are geniuses, and they're especially talented. But you really need to learn to read music in order to play guitar. Most people really do." 
 
What I took from this, at fifteen years old, was that some people had natural musical talent, and some (or most) people don't. I was one of the ones that didn't, since, according to this instructor (who played a really mean guitar, btw, repeatedly impressing the hell out of one fifteen year old kid) I needed to learn to read music to play. And all those rock and roll stars who didn't read music and had "just picked it up? Well, they had that talent. But I couldn't just pick it up myself, so........ Hell, I even knew a few guys who played guitar and didn't read music, guess they too must have had that natural talent that I didn't have......) So, since I figured I didn't have natural musical ability, and since I wasn't enjoying these lessons -- and the practice that went w/ them -- one bit, I figured: Why bother? Meantime, I loved music, particularly rock and roll and the blues, bought my records, went to tons of shows (Grateful Dead, anyone?), but never thought to try to play anything myself. After all, I wasn't one of those who had been so blessed w/ the talent......
 
It wasn't until many years later, at the age of 43, looking for a substitute for smoking while hanging out on the couch watching the tube, I picked up the harmonica and learned how to play it. First I just fooled around w/ it, but realized that if I could play along to something in the same key as the harp, I could actually make it sound like something. Then I bought "How to Play the Country and Blues Harmonica" by  Jon Gindick (Thank you, sir!) and the rest is..... yeah, history. 
 
I know there are lots of better harp players out there (can't help but wonder how I'd sound if I'd been playing 30 years or more like so many....) but I can hold my own since I am somewhat in demand as a sideman here in the IE, often asked to sit-in w/ lots of extremely talented folks (and occasionally they even let me sing!), and sometimes I even get paid for playing the thing. I play completely by ear, usually I couldn't even tell you what holes I'm playing on the harp (well, guess I could, but I'd have to stop to think about it.....), let alone what the notes are. I'm still not sure what a scale is, though I think that's what I'm playing a lot of. It gave me a headache when I tried to take a music theory class at the community college where I teach (no I don't teach music, ha ha), though I do know some of what I presume to be theory (there are twelve major keys; count up four keys to get to the 2nd position; four more for 3rd position; four more for 4th position- the relative major, i.e., straight harp for the minor key........) Eventually got someone to explain what 1-4-5 means (for a long time I used to just nod and say "okay" when onstage at shows and jams they would say to me stuff like "it starts on the one" or "on the five", actually wasn't that much of a handicap, I'd just always "come in".....). Couple of years after learning harp, I did manage to learn a little guitar, at least some first position chords. Don't play it very well, but I've figured out a hundred tunes or so on it. (There's that theory thing again, at least whereby understanding harp made figuring out tunes on guitar much easier, e.g.: Since D is the cross from A, and A is the cross from E.... if you're playing in the key of A, the root chords are A-D-E! And isn't that the 1-4-5?). 
 
The point of all this: There are a lot of kids out there who are totally put off by learning to read music, but are told that if they ever want to play an instrument, reading music is the very first step. So they either quit right there (maybe they figure they don't have the natural talent......) or they do indeed learn to read music, but at some point they quit and never go back (it can be so tedious.....). Think of all those little girls out there who take piano lessons, learn to site read, but never ever develop an ear. And most of them quit playing as soon as Mom says "okay, now you can quit if you want" (my cousin's three daughters can all be so described). Must be millions of 'em!
 
So, for all you musicians who can read notation and know your theory and all that: Good for you! I have to say I am indeed envious, because I never will and, yes, it may indeed define the ceiling on my progress as a harp player. But if you're teaching someone to play, don't presume they have to learn formally. Get them to actually play something on the instrument first. Otherwise, you just might be taking all of the fun out of it. Permanently!  
 
 
 
Date: Fri, 4 Feb 2011 17:09:35 -0500 (EST)
From: The Iceman <icemanle@xxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Reading Music
To: peloquinharp@xxxxxxxxxxx, harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Message-ID: <8CD92CF5786D449-1AC4-1E140@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Interesting. As a teacher constantly working with students w/no knowledge of music on harmonica, I was fascinated by the idea that you don't need notation to teach theory, as I just couldn't wrap my head around this, as I will use notation (simplified) with these students. Any new easy way to teach theory will help me in my evolution as a teacher. More complete approaches to teaching, say, harmonies and voicings without using notation would be welcome to me and my students.





-----Original Message-----
From: Michael Peloquin <peloquinharp@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: Harp -l <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Fri, Feb 4, 2011 11:49 am
Subject: RE: [Harp-L] Reading Music



Michael Rubin posted:
> <<I also do not think you need to read to understand and use theory.>>

Larry E. posted:
> am curious.how may this be accomplished?

I am with Mr. Rubin on this. I could "read" music at a 1st grade level for over
10 years but understood a fair amount of theory (street educated/functional
type.)
Theory is used by me in conjunction with my ear (theory trained ear) to
improvise and "play by ear."  It was only after deciding to learn to "read"
music and actually doing it constantly in ensemble situations where it was
necessary, that I would actually come to call myself a reader. I could imagine
that theory for some is totally tied to amental picture of staff notation but my
mental picture is of note layout on the instrument that I am playing.
Reading is a skill for many of us that is independent of playing and only a
tool. Real music comes from within IMO, everything plays and sounds better after
the charts are gone  if you ask me- and I love to write and have people play my
arrangements! Blind people tend to make some great music.


Michael Peloquin
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