Similar to Glenn, I could read pretty well for flute (playing in ensembles much of my life), could slowly learn piano pieces from sheet music, and hardly use it much for Stick playing. Two pieces in particular I needed to learn from the music- a Steve Hackett classical guitar piece (The Sleeping Sea) and the Gentle Giant tune A Reunion, since they were too difficult to figure out by ear. I had every intention of learning baroque keyboard music (Scarlatti sonatas like the one Akin so successfully accomplished), but since it's so time consuming for me to learn pieces that way I've tended to travel the path of least resistance for composing and arranging tunes, and approach things more by feel, chord frameworks and visual fret/string patterns. Most "covers" I try to learn by ear with some help from guitar tab or chord charts to speed up the process. Nothing I've composed on the Stick has been written down, I tend to record snippets of ideas and gradually develop them in a high-level, abstract enough way that I can remember it all later.

One of my more interesting experiences with music reading was a score analysis class I took in grad school in which you develop the ability to visually scan through say a Bach or Beethoven piano piece and identify basic harmonic structure - chords, modulations, etc., and practiced to the point it could be done quickly- the tests were timed. Very challenging class for me but rewarding, I wonder if I can actually still do any of it.

I was a fluent sight reader in treble clef as a child, "lost" most of the ability by the time I was in my teens, and gradually became quite good at bass clef in my 20's. One thing we did A LOT of at MI was read rhythms, so I tend to be fine with most rhythmic notation. It's a lot easier to concentrate on finding the right notes that way...

Outside of classical music, the ability to read really well has become somewhat redundant. Being able to interpret chord charts and pick up melodies by ear is generally far more useful if you're a working musician. I've only done one "play as written" session in the last decade, and even then I had some leeway.

When I do have some spare time and feel like challenging myself I'll sometimes tackle piano or guitar pieces. While my ears are good, I couldn't quite figure out exactly what was going on in the fast parts of Chopin's Fantasie Impromptu without getting into the sheet music. I have no desire to perform this music on the Stick (it's perfect on piano, so why bother?) ...but I certainly enjoy dabbling with it. Most of the time it takes me longer to learn a piece of music by reading it, but not always. It's good to have the options.

Guys like Paco de Lucia and Tommy Emmanuel reached the top of their field without reading or studying "proper" theory. Interestingly, both of them learned how to read in order to perform particular pieces later in their careers. So in conclusion, it's probably better to have the skill than not, and preferably use it from time to time...

Cheers,
Andy

I'm not a great reader on any instrument, but I'm getting better all the time. Here are a few strategies I've come up with.

Look the piece over and see where the minimum and maximum notes are in the melody. This can help you decide which octave to place it in, as it may or may not be written out of the instrument's range. Don't be afraid to play it at higher frets if you need to, this can open a lot of doors for fingering possibilities, and you might like the sound better.

Once you have decided what the lowest note of the melody is, that can help you place the melody as well.

If the lowest note is on the lowest melody string below the 11th fret, then you will want to "read up" toward the bridge. If it is higher than that and you prefer the tone of the lower stings, you can "read back" toward the nut.

Look at the key and see which scale fits it based on the position. Within a position each interval can only be played one way, so sometimes the fingering might be easier if you allow yourself to get out of position for a moment then come back, especially if repeated notes or movement along the fret are happening rapidly.

Except where accidentals occur here are some things you can use to guide your had as it moves from note to note:

2nds are always on adjacent lines and spaces,
3rds are always one line or one space apart,
5ths are two lines or spaces apart.
7ths are three lines or space apart.

4ths, 6ths, octaves and larger intervals are harder to see on the staff, so it's good to practice reading them.

If you have The Stick Book, Volume 1, page 2-3 will show you what all of these intervals and their augmented and diminished brethren look like, pages 6-5, 6-6 and 6-7 will show you what the intervals relative to root look like on the fretboard in relation to changing keys.

3-finger melody bonus:
Accidentals are very easy to adjust to in 3-finger melody, you just shift the finger up or down one fret from it's normal position in the scale. No need to change fingers just because the key changes...

That was the easy part. Now you need to decide whether to play an accompaniment part as written or interpret it in your own way. If it's piano music, much of the left hand will not be voiceable as written if simultaneous chords are involved. Otherwise, except for the octave placement it usually is playable as written. You may have to move around to do it, but remember, hand movement is good, not bad. On the Stick there's no desirability to "economy of motion" the energy and the control of it are greatly enhanced by hand movement. It's tapping, not typing.

If it's popular music I try to first find the bass notes I want and then build the arrangement up from there, with a combination of lines and chords.

Be open to the fact that you might be able to find a better way to play the piece once you know where the notes are. Don't be a slave to your "first instinct" position or fingerings.

I always try to make choices for sonic and musical reasons, not just fingering expediency.

Yes!!!!!!!!! - a great bonus of studying classical piano. Reading requires practice like anything else. Anyone capable of learning to play an instrument is capable of learning to read music. It just requires the motivation (and time) to work on it. Having said that, I can understand where Stick players might not be too motivated to do this, considering there's not much written repertoire specific to it.


I saw a presentation from someone who studied music cognition and perception where they described the mental processes that happen when sight-reading. It's actually a fairly complicated process that involves many parts of the brain and various bio-feedback mechanisms.


Agree with this. Being able to read makes things much simpler. I can certainly learn a tune by ear, but I can learn it more quickly if I see it notated than by transcribing it. Yes, music is about what you hear, but notated music is a form of communication. It's a way of sharing your music or learning the music of others. I would think being able to read lead sheets/charts is a minimum requirement for playing in ensembles.

I recently started incorporating sight-reading practice into my Stick practicing. I'm starting with extremely simple exercises, as I'm not yet able to read and play it on Stick. I'm doing this mostly to become more familiar with the instrument, I don't have any particular interest in playing piano music on Stick. For me, it's helpful to correlate the notes on the staff to where they are on the fretboard.

It's already helped me figure out some things to work on. I noticed I tend to think more intervallically in my right hand and look more for reference points (specific notes) in my left hand. So I know I need to work intervals in my left hand and learn the fretboard better in my right. It also brings up questions for me of how to approach Stick playing in terms of hand position and movement, moving around on the bass vs melody side, how to deal with unison lines between the melody/bass, where to start so I can actually get through the line, etc - all things that I can apply generally to my playing, not just when trying to sight-read.

I can read it - but way too slowly! I've never had any plans to become a professional ensamble musician so I really don't need to practice reading as fast as the music goes (avista). On some occasions I have written scores though, for additional musician's lines in a recording studio or when I'm composing alone with a DAW software (a score gives a a nice harmonic overview when constructing textures of complementary melody lines). I sometimes teach at camps where professional musicians and students come to have fun and "try out some something new" and some of these players are fluent readers. I can't help feeling a bit "out of the game" when a group of seven guys can nail a jazz standard on the first take right out of ReallBook scores, but for me and the music I am into the work needed to reach that degree would eat up too much of the resources I want to put into learning other skills as staying with a good performance flow, structured harmonic improvisation, free improvisation and "instant composition" (where you make up both harmonic structure and melodic lines on the spot).

I have just begun to learn to read and notate music in the last year or so. I would say the hardest part for me in reading the grand staff is getting the rhythm right. whole notes, up through 16th notes, an their equivelant rests, evenly spaced are about my speed. Start dotting 16ths, 32nds and beyond, I have to slow way down or stop and figure it out. That and tying notes across measure lines.
Often, to practice, I take a real book or some other kind of music collection(especially Greg Howard's songbook) and just read them like I would a magazine or something while I am using a treadmill or eliptical trainer. First going through the bass clef, next the treble clef identifying the key and time of the song. Also i try to name each note while also trying to follow the arrangement cues throughout the piece. Lastly I attempt to tap the rhythm out with my hands of each staff separately. My workouts dont usually last long enough to tap both parts at the same time!!!

Mike

I play at church a lot, and most of that stuff is lead sheets. From those I derive a bass part over which I'll add chords (usually close position triads, arppegiated or block), harmonies, inner-voice lines often using 6ths, counter-melodies, reinforce the melody, and often, nothing else besides bass.

I've also played in musicals a lot, usually the guitar book. I do it on my Stick because I've become much more comfortable on Stick than guitar. One standout score for me is Les Miserables which I've done 6 times (productions), with another coming up in Jan 2013, if my real job doesn't send me off to Florida for a couple of months, which they probably will.

Les Miz is interesting because there's lots of intricate classical guitarish parts.

Unlike most stickists I came to the stick from a long history of classical bassoon.

It has taken me 2 years with the marvelous Steve Adelson to learn to get away from reading when I play. I still like to pick up sheet music (from Beatles to Broadway, jazz, rock and anything else I can find) and read the melody while applying bass line chords.

Stick is the most intuitive, flexible instrument ever invented!

Thank you Emmett.

Jeff Nogee

Wow some great and interesting answers. A musical?? that's awesome.

I really encourage further stick reading. Someday we need a "reading method" book created.

just an idea. It would be great to have that as an additional resource.

Brett

I'm currently using a beginner piano reading book, so far it's working fine for Stick.