Re: [Harp-L] Reading Music

[sheltraw@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

IMO the question should not be whether the ability to read music is
useful or not. It is. But there are other aspects of musicianship that
are much more useful. So for me it's a matter of priority. If, like me,
your goal is to play jazz or bluegass then developing excellent reading
skill is not anywhere near as usefu as developing one's ear and ear-to-
instrument connection.

We learned to talk before we learned to read.


it is nowhere near> Thanks for this "Iceman"
> My problem is trying to get the motor skills to read music like I can read
> "the New York Times"
> As you say theory is just the 'icing on the cake' where you can get an
> intelectual buzz instead of or as well as an emotional one from the music.
> Beannachtai
> Aongus
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: The Iceman [mailto:icemanle@xxxxxxx]
> Sent: 31 January 2011 17:08
> To: amaccana@xxxxxxxxxx; harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Reading music
>
>
> Learning theory/reading music creates "mental block" in a lot of people.
> Sort of a frozen fear of the unknown.
>
>
> It helps to remember that music came first. The theory/reading came later
> to
> try to quantify the music. Theory is not set in stone, as so much of what
> you learn theory wise you also learn the exceptions to the rules.
>
>
> Don't approach it as a monumental task. There are music appreciation
> courses
> on CD and at community colleges that can introduce you to this arena
> (mostly
> through classical music) with a minimum of anxiety. It becomes big fun as
> you start to develop a sense of ability to hear "inside" the music and
> understand what is going on from an emotional/intellectual combination.
>
>
> To me, music is all about tension/release. I learned Shanker Layer
> Analysis
> of music in college. By backing up layer by layer, almost all great
> symphonies can be analyzed as a V-I progression, the ultimate simplified
> tension/release musical state. (V-I sounds like "A-men" - the religious
> musical endings many of us are familiar with. The tension is produced by
> singing the "A" part, which doesn't release the tension or resolve till
> you
> sing "men").
>
>
> This is a good place to start.
>
>
>
>