I agree, fully, with Donny. I have never been able to fully read the dots and transmit the information to my hands. However, I have always been able to merely listen to a song and determine the chord progression and after a couple practice shots, I was usually able to play and sing the song. Granted, there are likely lots of transition chords that I missed along the way, but they eventually came into play. Now, I freely admit that it is rare when I play a song in the written chords. However, that is only because those chords are often well out of my vocal range, and I depend heavily on my vocals for every performance. So, in my case, that library is already in my head and it's just a matter of extracting the information from my aging brain and transmitting that information to my fingers.

All the best,

Gary

Reading is a necessity if you work studio sessions. That being said, much work is based on uncharted (read "very fast") variations on the lead line.

A word of caution: I sometimes prepare a "cheat-sheet", either electronic or paper. If I don't throw the card away after the first couple of performances, that damn card will get yellow and fall apart many years later, without m ever learning it.

Reading is GREAT, but it's a tool, not a clutch.

The head of the jazz department at the University of Kentucky tried to get a job at the club where I did a duo with a drummer (on B-3).

He pulled out his charts. I called a tune he didn't have. IO sent him home.

R.

Russ, I agree with the studio sessions, however, I don't have worry about that part of the business - never did.

Most of the readers I know personally, many of whom are excellent readers, cannot play a note without having the dots in front of them. Additionally, they playing is often very stilted and regimented sounding - there was no emotion or feeling whatsoever in their performance. Audiences pick this up instantly, IMO.

The vast majority of the entertainers I've come across during the past 60 years never had a piece of sheet music in front of them while performing on stage. They never had to think twice about any song someone requested, and either they knew it, or they did not. If they knew the song, they fired right up and began playing and singing the song, and their audiences loved every note and word. Ironically, many of these folks were excellent readers and highly trained musicians, but you would never have known it when they were on stage.

All the best,

Gary

BUT....we're starting to conflate things. It's not one or the other; read or by ear. There is no reason they have to be mutually exclusive. I believe that every musician is better served by being able to read and read fluently. They should not only be able to read standard sheets but 'fake' sheets as well. Believe me, the guys and gals coming out of Juliard and yes, even Berkelee, can both read it and fake it, especially the jazz guys. When you IMPROVISE, you ARE playing 'by ear'. It may be within a structure but it's not what's written on the sheet.

There is nothing I'd like better than to be able to read better. I truly believe that all these great players that can play anything as long as the music is in front of them but can't play 'mary had a little lamb' by ear, are either talentless OR (and most likely) victims of the teachers that trained them. For those of you that were formally trained, how many of your teachers included ear training as part of your lessons? I'm guessing less than half. Heck, I even know of teachers that actively DISCOURAGE students from playing by ear, thinking that it detracts from the formal learning regimen.

There is no question in my mind that formal training is going to produce a much more technically proficient musician. Practicing those scales (in all the keys), understanding the relationship between chords, chord recognition, theory, etc., etc., and just the discipline required to prepare for all those inevitable kidde concerts, has GOT to have it's benefits. Sure, there are always going to be the Errol Garner's and Jimmy Smiths (neither could read music), but those guys are 1 in a million. So unless you think you're also 1 in a million, you probably are not going to reach that level without a little outside assistance. JMO.

chas

The recorder section of my E80 has a feature called Minus one.
This mutes the melody line of a midifile for you to play it using whatever instrument you like.This is like playing by ear because you have to memorise the melody before attempting to play it.I have tried it here with a song called One moment in time using a piano.It was an intersting challenge because I didn`t know the song but I liked it.