Current Events > why do guitarists never know how to read music ffs

(+) Yeah! (+)

is EVERY bedroom guitarist just some douche who learns off tabs and knows literally nothing about the instrument beyond sometimes having the finger dexterity necessary to play their favorite songs

guitar isnt an instrument that people tend to get lessons on and trained properly.

lol? Some of the greatest guitarists and musicians who've ever lived couldn't read music. Maybe you should hop off of your high horse and avoid calling people douches just because they like to do things differently than you.

And I read music. I generally just learn things by ear, though
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EnragedSlith posted...

lol? Some of the greatest guitarists and musicians who've ever lived couldn't read music. Maybe you should hop off of your high horse and avoid calling people douches just because they like to do things differently than you.

And I read music. I generally just learn things by ear, though

lol? get good

Guitar is easier to pick up than violin and piano, so it stands to reason there would be alternates to classical musical training
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Engineer_Gamer posted...

EnragedSlith posted...

lol? Some of the greatest guitarists and musicians who've ever lived couldn't read music. Maybe you should hop off of your high horse and avoid calling people douches just because they like to do things differently than you.

And I read music. I generally just learn things by ear, though

lol? get good

Shave your neck
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I took a classical guitar class in college. I had been playing guitar all throughout high school. My teacher said I was the opposite of every student he's had. Most of them knew how to read sheet music but never picked up a guitar.

Learning the sheet music and what it meant was the majority of my focus during that entire class. At the beginning, I'd just transcribe the sheet music into tabs and learn the parts that way but that only took me so far. Eventually had to really learn the sheet music. Unfortunately, I never kept it up and now I don't remember how to read it at all.
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Eddie Van Halen doesn't know a damn thing about sheet music.
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People don't pick up guitar to become classically-trained perfectionists. They don't sit down and chart out solos before playing them. It's harder to create when you're constantly trying to translate notes and stick to conventions.

How fucking dare people just want learn guitar in the fastest/easiest way possible and play their favourite songs! If only someone had tought them how to be pretentious snobs who bitch about shit that doesn't matter, so they could look down on others as I Do!
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Vertania posted...

It's harder to create when you're constantly trying to translate notes and stick to conventions.

This is common thing among self taught musicians. "I don't want to learn the rules cause I don't want to be boxed in." Whatever music you create will have some sort of tonality and theory behind it whether you know it or not.
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It's because of its strong folk roots. Folk music like blues and such isn't as formalized as classical music and that tradition is carried on through the people that many who picked up guitars idolized
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BlazinBlue88 posted...

This is common thing among self taught musicians. "I don't want to learn the rules cause I don't want to be boxed in." Whatever music you create will have some sort of tonality and theory behind it whether you know it or not.

True. There's timing structures and verse/chorus structures that are common across pretty much any genre. It also becomes obvious how much your influences affect what you write.

I've also found that not knowing notes/chords/scales/etc. makes it significantly harder to play with other people. Didn't stop me from making my own songs or playing with others who can't read music though.

When it comes to "translating" music from notes onto the guitar, though, I think it really can be detrimental for some people (myself included). It's faster for me to just play something and see if I like it.

if you want to play wanky music like Dream Theater you learn to read music. If you want to have a unique style you teach yourself, though it does take longer.
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PrettyBoyFloyd posted...

Eddie Van Halen doesn't know a damn thing about sheet music.

Same with Slash.
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this guy summarizes why tabs are bad:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4X7qgBVnMfY
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If you're a hobbyist then by all means, experience music in whatever form you enjoy the most.

What I don't understand are professional musicians who take pride in not knowing how to read... and conversely (but more rarely), classically trained musicians who completely neglect their ear training. If you're serious about having a career in music yet stubbornly refuse to practice certain facets of your craft, you're only hurting yourself, imho.
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Ultimately it comes down to a matter of priority. Musical notation is mainly for learning other people's music. If you're more concerned with writing your own stuff there's not much reason to bother with it. Tabs get the job done the few times you might want to do that.

Accordingly it's no surprise most of the all-time greats were self-taught and many never bothered to learn to read music.
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TC, when you are a better musician than everybody who doesnt read music, make this topic. Until then...
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YourDrunkFather posted...

How fucking dare people just want learn guitar in the fastest/easiest way possible and play their favourite songs! If only someone had tought them how to be pretentious snobs who bitch about shit that doesn't matter, so they could look down on others as I Do!

Maximum Butthurt.
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I read sheet music , but damn tabs are so much easier. Why complain about a system that is so easy.
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Guitar Pro tabs are pretty great.
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Next we can argue about people who play fingerstyle vs using a pick.
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Why would I need sheet music if all I'm playing is GDCD GDCD EmDCD GDCD
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It is a hassle once you are in bands and someone is like "I like this bit we've come up with, but can we try it in A Flat rather than C?" and there's one person that has no ability to transpose because they don't really know the theory of their instrument.

But equally, the vast majority of people play an instrument as a fun, relaxing, hobby, so who cares if they use tabs or whatever as long as they enjoy it.

Guitar is easy for a lot of people to just pick up by ear.
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ArchiePeck posted...

It is a hassle once you are in bands and someone is like "I like this bit we've come up with, but can we try it in A Flat rather than C?" and there's one person that has no ability to transpose because they don't really know the theory of their instrument.

"Start on this fret instead."

It's not a big deal. At most it takes a few seconds longer.
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Can you even sweep pick a 6 string diminished arpeggios tc


lmfao
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ImAMarvel posted...

back when i used to practice guitar in high school, i couldn't read sheet music for shit and would just look up tabs. lol

i really regret not learning how to read music and not picking up an instrument when i was a kid though, considering how much i love music and how i've always wanted to start up a musical project or something. i still kinda plan on learning how to play guitar and learning how to read sheet music.

It also would help if instruments were cheaper.

I mean how many have $3,000 to spare for a guitar ?
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SpiralDrift posted...

ArchiePeck posted...

It is a hassle once you are in bands and someone is like "I like this bit we've come up with, but can we try it in A Flat rather than C?" and there's one person that has no ability to transpose because they don't really know the theory of their instrument.

"Start on this fret instead."

It's not a big deal. At most it takes a few seconds longer.

What if you don't wanna transpose by just changing frets? :O
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ImAMarvel posted...

PrettyBoyFloyd posted...

I mean how many have $3,000 to spare for a guitar ?

doesn't a decent guitar only cost maybe $150-$200 dollars or so? maybe even less than that

You can get an electric guitar starter kit with an amp, bag, cords, etc. for <$150. Hell, if you're just trying to get your kid started early, you can buy a First Act acoustic one for like $20-$30 brand new.

Yeah, they're shitty in the long run, but you can just upgrade if you decide to stick with it.

Neckbeard
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But I want a Gibson ES 355.
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iron jojo posted...

TC, when you are a better musician than everybody who doesnt read music, make this topic. Until then...

Personally, I would argue that anyone who can't read sheet music at all is a piss-poor musician. There's plenty of guys out there who are great guitarists, but shit musicians, guys who can play better than EVH but have no clue what they're playing or how it all works together. Music theory is super helpful for writing music, once you understand it you'll know what you're doing and what you're looking for when you write music.

With that much said, sometimes sheet music is a pain in the ass for guitar because there's multiple places to play the same note, it's especially frustrating for unfamiliar chords.
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Hahahaha I think i'd settle for ONLY being as good as Eddie Van Halen.
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what if I told you that you can learn music theory without wasting your time reading sheet music
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Turtlebread posted...

what if I told you that you can learn music theory without wasting your time reading sheet music

I'd say you could speak but not write to read.
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synth_real posted...

With that much said, sometimes sheet music is a pain in the ass for guitar because there's multiple places to play the same note

That's one of the benefits of guitar imo. If playing a series of notes is too hard one way, you can rearrange how you're playing them to make it more comfortable.

EffectAndCause posted...

Hahahaha I think i'd settle for ONLY being as good as Eddie Van Halen.

Turtlebread posted...

what if I told you that you can learn music theory without wasting your time reading sheet music

two posts that completely and utterly miss the point
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SiO4 posted...

Turtlebread posted...

what if I told you that you can learn music theory without wasting your time reading sheet music

I'd say you could speak but not write to read.

I don't think that many guitarists care if their songs can be "read."

The need to write and/or read sheet music seems more like a relic of classical music. In the past, you couldn't just record your music and play it over the radio/YouTube, so the only way to spread it around was to have other people play your songs.

SiO4 posted...

Turtlebread posted...

what if I told you that you can learn music theory without wasting your time reading sheet music

I'd say you could speak but not write to read.

Which isn't a problem 99% of the time because I don't play classical guitar

averagejoel posted...

EffectAndCause posted...

Hahahaha I think i'd settle for ONLY being as good as Eddie Van Halen.

Turtlebread posted...

what if I told you that you can learn music theory without wasting your time reading sheet music

two posts that completely and utterly miss the point

what's the point then?
I didn't watch the video and I don't use tabs anwyay
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Vertania posted...

SiO4 posted...

Turtlebread posted...

what if I told you that you can learn music theory without wasting your time reading sheet music

I'd say you could speak but not write to read.

I don't think that many guitarists care if their songs can be "read."

The need to write out sheet music seems more like a relic of classical music. In the past, you couldn't just record your music and play it over the radio/YouTube, so the only way to spread it around was to have other people play your songs.

lol
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Turtlebread posted...

what's the point then?
I didn't watch the video and I don't use tabs anwyay

generally musicians want to diversify their skill set as much as possible. be able to take any gig. yes, some musicians can become famous and successful by doing a couple things really well, but they are outliers. the exception rather than the rule.

I've had gigs where I was reading from sheet music that I had never seen before. that's a skill I had to learn, and it was not a waste of time to do that.
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Vertania posted...

SiO4 posted...

Turtlebread posted...

what if I told you that you can learn music theory without wasting your time reading sheet music

I'd say you could speak but not write to read.

I don't think that many guitarists care if their songs can be "read."

The need to write and/or read sheet music seems more like a relic of classical music. In the past, you couldn't just record your music and play it over the radio/YouTube, so the only way to spread it around was to have other people play your songs.

It's more about understanding why one fret up or down makes a difference.
There is a reason music theory exists.
Just because 'the sound goes up, and down' doesn't mean it's doing it properly.
And a good ear can hear that.
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I'm still not seeing why this matters. Eddie Van Halen and Slash are considered to be among the greatest guitarists ever, they don't need to learn how to read music.
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EffectAndCause posted...

I'm still not seeing why this matters. Eddie Van Halen and Slash are considered to be among the greatest guitarists ever, they don't need to learn how to read music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDAseJvCpvk
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tl;dw
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