# Sheet music, or from your mind.



## TerranceJones (Jul 14, 2008)

I've been noting, that anyone that plays from one, has great difficulty with the other. I was wondering, if there's anyone, that can actually play from your mind, and read sheet music as well. I myself, can do mostly sheet music, but I hardwire some songs into my mind.


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## Fox Amoore (Jul 14, 2008)

I started off self taught, then learned sight reading when I was 10 or so. I can do both, but my mind/ears are normally more effective for me.


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## TerranceJones (Jul 14, 2008)

Fox Amoore said:


> I started off self taught, then learned sight reading when I was 10 or so. I can do both, but my mind/ears are normally more effective for me.



That's awesome... I've been meaning to discuss with you actually... ^-^ Learning primarily from sheet, seems to have left me tone deaf, but able to keep a steady beat without any help from a metronome, or the like... I put this up to see if there is a trend there. What you say though, brings hope to my ears...


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## VectorGato (Jul 14, 2008)

I read sheet music once, but now it's all by ear. Oddly enough, I found reading sheets harder than figuring it out with my brain goo.


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## Nocturne (Jul 14, 2008)

I'm a guitar player who learns songs and then remembers them.  I like its that way better because its better for improvisation.


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## Aden (Jul 14, 2008)

I don't write down a thing. I really should, because things fade if I'm ever forced to take a long break from guitar or piano, but I've never really been one for sitting down and transcribing over just playing.

/The stuff I write is none too simple, either...


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## Diego117 (Jul 14, 2008)

Over the years I've gotten to where I can make stuff up as I go. Heck I've made stuff up and wrote tabs for it without even touching an instrument. I can also read tabs very fluently. I piss my friend off so much because he can't do it. He can read tabs, but not as fluently as I can. I'll sit down with one piece of tab and be playing it pretty well within a few minutes. I can read music, but not like I can with tabs. I have to sit down and pick it apart, telling myself "Okay that's a F or that's an A."


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## TakeWalker (Jul 14, 2008)

I find myself incapable of reading music. Picking out songs by ear is frustrating and very time consuming, but it can be done.


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## Shade Koba (Jul 15, 2008)

My whole life I've had a naturally good ear for music, so it was always mental until about 2 years ago when I started reading music. Even still, I practice the hard parts of songs I'm playing for my school band mentally, then read the rest of it


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## Fox Amoore (Jul 15, 2008)

TerranceJones said:


> That's awesome... I've been meaning to discuss with you actually... ^-^ Learning primarily from sheet, seems to have left me tone deaf, but able to keep a steady beat without any help from a metronome, or the like... I put this up to see if there is a trend there. What you say though, brings hope to my ears...



Yeah, it all really depends on how you learn or were taught, it's probably slightly different for each individual. It's certainly possible to learn both. Each has it's own pros and cons


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## Shade Koba (Jul 15, 2008)

Well to be honest, although I went by ear for about 10 years, I think that sheet music dominates over going by ear, but more or less one cant go without the other


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## Magikian (Jul 21, 2008)

I generally don't aim to learn songs, I just jam out on my own or with my mate.

I really want to learn the bassline for "DDEVIL" by S.O.A.D though. xD


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## Grimfang (Jul 21, 2008)

I've always just played by ear on my keyboard. Several times, I've tried learning sheet music better. I can read it, but it takes about a whole second to translate a note on paper into a finger positioning, heh.


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## Canard (Jul 21, 2008)

I do both. Sight-reading is my strong point (I used to have to sightread up to eight-part choral songs when I was a professional accompanist) and I have ten years of music tucked away in my brain for when I don't have any sheet music on hand to play.

There's no particular trick to learning to sight-read or even read music. Just lots of practice with knowledgeable input or sources


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## xiath (Jul 29, 2008)

i can read sheet music and pickup music by ear (to a fairly limited amount because of inexperience [just about 2 years being involved in music at all]).  I normally have a hard time with making the song from sheet music sound right unless i also have heard it


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## virus (Jul 29, 2008)

Sheet music is initially boring. When my ear is focused I can play back a song note for note and improvise how I feel it should be done in just one or two tries.


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## Dyluck (Jul 29, 2008)

I mostly sing by ear, but I'm decent at reading sheet music. I can't really sight read and sing without back up, though. :\


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## PunkFurry (Jul 30, 2008)

I can match any rythm by ear and get it down perfectly to the last grace note, but I can't do tone for shit. I literally need everything to be written out for me when I play tenor drums. >.<


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## Tansunn (Aug 2, 2008)

I can't just look at sheet music and go "that note is this pitch," I have to spend a while to interpret it.  I'm definitely more of a by-ear guy.  Give me a MIDI sequencer and a song, and within a few hours I'll have at least the melody transcribed, if not more.  I still have a little trouble with chords, but if I can identify at least one note in the chord, I can usually figure out the pitch of the other notes in relation to that one.


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## greg-the-fox (Aug 3, 2008)

By ear definitely. I have a really strong ear. But I'm also capable of reading music, though my sight reading is REALLY slow XD


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## Canard (Aug 3, 2008)

David M. Awesome said:


> I mostly sing by ear, but I'm decent at reading sheet music. I can't really sight read and sing without back up, though. :\



Do you do what I do and end up horribly sharp and wonder how you got there? XD


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## Dyluck (Aug 4, 2008)

Canard said:


> Do you do what I do and end up horribly sharp and wonder how you got there? XD



No.


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## Rockario (Aug 5, 2008)

I learn a song with sheet music (I find that really easy) and then listen to the actual song to hear what it was meant to sound like and then make changes in how I play accordingly.
I also memorize the music, if I find the need to, by memorizing both the sheet music and what my fingers are doing.


this is on Piano (and guiatr but I haven't played that too long)


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## SeiferTheWolf (Aug 5, 2008)

I am Quite strange in this matter, As i Cant read piano sheet music but can work out the pitch easily.But i can read guitar tabs(thanks to a really good guess on how they work) and i am tone deaf  when it comes to playing the guitar by ear.
but i cant sightread so in  a way everything i play on guitar and piano (200 songs altogether) is from my mind.....that explains the headaches

Seifer:-D


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## Captain Howdy (Aug 5, 2008)

I can do both, I did sheet music for 6 years with a little freestyle, but now I'm doing free style with a little sheet reading.


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## Tiarhlu (Aug 10, 2008)

I was trained to read music from the start so it's what I do. I can play from the mind by myself, but find it very difficult with others if I don't know the song. I can't just randomly jam. Now give me the chords and let me hear it at least one time through and I'm fine.


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## Call-me-Folwer (Aug 10, 2008)

Learn to play an instrument that has no markings or separation of tones (Cello, Violin, Fretless guitar or bass.)  And while your learning to play, Read from sheet music.  I find that this has made me a stronger musician.


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## Nylak (Aug 10, 2008)

I can only play reading from music (or from having memorized sheet music); I can't improvise, if that's what you're asking.  >_>  But since I played in a quartet for competitions throughout high school, I wasn't able to read while playing on stage, so I can play from memory just fine...just can't make stuff up as I go.  e.e

But then, I just don't have a natural skill in music writing or improv.  *shrug.*  I'm pretty technical about it because that's how I learned.


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## Cyrsynik (Aug 20, 2008)

I personally lik eimproving more than Sheet Music, but nobody gets everything they want in life all the time do they


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## gust (Aug 20, 2008)

It kinda depends for me...

For an instrument like the trumpet, I can only use sheet music.  But something like the keyboard or guitar (neither of which I am particularly good at) I only play by ear.


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