J. asked:


Do you think I could get decent enough to play piano/keyboards in the band I’m in. Right now I’m rhythm guitarist, but our drummer really wants to play guitar on some songs so I’d jut play piano on those. I had about 3 months lessons at a conservatory, can read music (not well, mostly just read to learn melodies and key signatures, can’t really sight read and forget bass clef.

Our style is rock/progressive rock/funk/ anything we feel like, so I’m not talking anything complex like jazz improv or classical recitations, just decent enough to play in a band. I know how to form some chords already and can play half of the major scales in the circle of 5ths. Do you think I could be decent enough by september, when we’re all gonna be rooming in the same house at college together? Thanks
Yes, I do know the fingerings and can play two octaves at a time hands together, understand how to form major chords, etc. Yes I do know the difference between major and minor. Don’t ask questions with assumptions built into them to feed your own musical ego
I’ve been playing guitar 10 years, obviously I would pick most of that up.

how to sight read music

Larry-Elliott asked:


Do you sing? Are you able to read music like you do a book? Can you hear music just from looking at the musical notation?
Did you know some people make their living by just singing new music that they have never seen before?

Learn How to Sight Read Music

Nessa asked:


I played the Violin for two years (8-9 yrs old). I am now 19 and I want to start playing it..FYI…I was forced to quit, and I am mad about it.
Also, I do have music experience (sight reading, notes, melody, etc.) because I have been singing since I was 8 years old.
since I have music experience, how long or how difficult would it be if I took up the Violin again.

How to Sight Read Music Video Lesson

J2Jibbi asked:


I’ve been playing piano since i was 6 (im 17 now) and i recently picked up the guitar. I know how to sight read with piano music, but should i become accustomed to reading tab for the guitar or sheet music? which is used more in the professional world?

How to Sight Read Music

Doctor Freckles asked:


*I have two electric guitars and a small amp that used to belong to my brother. Both of the guitars are missing strings, the black one it’s biggest string and the red(and black) one it’s smallest string (I don’t know the proper names of the strings). I don’t have any spare strings, I don’t know how to get new ones (yes, I have been to music store before when my brother used to play to buy strings, I just always got confused at all the different sizes and names and types, I would have no idea WHAT to buy) and I have no clue how to restring a guitar.

*I also don’t have a guitar tuner, so they are often out of tune. I do get the opportunity to retune them every once in a while, and do so every chance I get.

*I practice evey day, although for me that means listening to music as I practice to make sure I am playing the correct notes up to speed.

*I have a guitar pick, but I prefer to play without it. I mostly used it when I was just starting, and my fingers often got huge bubbly blister and hurt to much to play with. Now that my fingers are calloused I usually don’t use it.

*What I mainly want is to learn how to read music. My brother said I should learn tab, (what he started to learn), but I’d rather learn to read music properly.

My main problem is that I have no means of learning. I have pretty much infinite opportunity to play, having two electric guitars at my moms house and an electric and acoustic (missing a string) at my dads. I just am not able to be taught WHAT or HOW to play. No one in my family has any experience (except my brother) who stopped years ago and has now forgotten absolutely everything he learned.

I can’t afford lessons, and I don’t work well with books, (though I suppose I can use one when I have to). Also, I can’t take guitar at my school. I’ve tried to use YouTube videos (because people post lessons on there all the time) but they usually expect me to know certain things already, or don’t explain what I want to know.

I am a quick learner (when it comes to music), I have quick fingers (from playing piano), and I can play by ear (play a song just by listing to it once, usually), and I can sight read fairly well on the other instruments I play (perfectly on clarinet, fairly well on alto sax, and I’m improving on piano). So I am always getting better at guitar. My family doesn’t understand that even though I’m getting better, I’m only figuring out how to use the instrument really. Without a teacher, I can’t actually learn how to get good at it, or anything other than operating it. Like how to read music, among other things. The same thing happened when I learned piano, after I certain point I stopped making progress. I still practice and don’t degress, like my brother did with guitar, but I just can’t make progress anymore (with a half size keyboard without petals and absolutely ZERO touch sensitivity.

There is no way to convince my family I need lessons. Please just try to help me figure out what to do. I don’t want to learn how to play by ear at first without learning to read music. I did that with piano and screwed myself from th start. I had to unteach myself everything (a hard enough thing to do as is) and then reteach myself from square one. I want to learn properly this time!!!

SORRY MY QUESTION IS SO DARNED LONG. PLEASE READ IT OVER AND ANSWER.

(To make it a bit shorter for you, I put *’s beside the more important paragraphs. Also most of the stuff in brackets is unimportant. It’s just me going on about myself.)

Learning to Sight Read Music

Pojo asked:


Today I visited the music store cause my brother needed to buy a metronome…and I started to read a guitar chord book. Then I looked at their selection of guitars, which were at a pretty fair price..so now I’m interested in playing the guitar.

My Musical Background:
1. Been playing the piano for 7+ years (I’m going to turn 14 in a month)
2. I’m really good at sight reading
3. Never had any other instrument experience besides piano + a bit of percussion

I’m too lazy to take private/group lessons, so is it possible to teach myself how to strum the guitar correctly using the Internet (YouTube!) and a beginning guitar book? Because I don’t want to continue down the wrong path…

Sight Reading Secrets Revealed

Gary asked:


I desperately want to play in my College’s concert band. They require you to audition and such, I -think- I could do all they require but I’m not totally sure. To exacerbate the situation my clarinet is broken and needs repairing, meaning I haven’t practiced for a while (about a week or so) and auditioning takes place next week.
I would have my clarinet fixed but that’d cost at the least, 200 bucks. Now its not 100% sure I’d get in so I’m somewhat hesitant on spending 200$ on my clarinet(which I got for 300$ on ebay, it’s a yamaha ycl-34).

I can play level 4 songs (medium-medium advanced{with a bit practice}). I could play all my scales… the ones they require (up to 3 scaled flats and sharps) I could do 16th notes @ 80 bpm.
My sight reading is ok I think. Usually takes me less than 20 minutes to play high school concert music without any noticeable mistakes. The piece I want to play is the first portion of Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto.

http://music.ucdavis.edu/concertband/Auditions

So my question is, should I audition or not?

Sight Reading Secrets Revealed

Dr. Murphy asked:


Ok, let me start with a little background info:
I am a freshman in hich school and I’m looking to pursue a degree in music after I graduate. I play Guitar, Bass, Clarinet and some Piano. I really want to get a degree in Music Performance for Guitar, and I’d like it to be from Berklee cause it looks like the best suite for me (I researched several music programs around the U.S.). I play a lot of Blues and Metal on my guitar and I’m also profecient in Jazz. My soloing is my strong suite but I also know a great deal about rhythms and chords. I can read music decently (pretty bad at sight reading), but my strength is playing by ear which according to my band teacher I am extremely good at. I know quite a bit about music theory in general, and I am a very fast learner. Finally, my GPA is a 4.0, which I know isn’t overly important in applying for a music college, but I figured it couldn’t hurt.

Now my question:
What should I work on to improve my chances of getting into Berklee? I’d like to know what I should do to 1. Get accepted to Berklee? 2. Get a scholarship? 3. Get a presidential scholarship? (Only 7 musicians in the applying class get this so I am not putting a lot of hopes into getting one)

For specifics:
What Skills should I have?
What Scales should I know?
What Songs should I work on?

I thank you for your time and your help!

How to Sight Read Music

Joshua Walsh Tierney asked:


I want to learn how to be able to sing the right pitch reading music, so that I can sing any song as long as I have the sheet music. How can I train myself to do this? What I want to do is to be able to sing the individual parts of Mozart and Beethoven’s string quartets. I also just think that being able to sing scores accurately (if not very well) will help me to eventually be able to play an instrument, possibly violin. Thanks

How to Sight Read Music Video Lesson

Emily asked:


I have an audition and interview tomorrow at Berklee College of Music in Boston, and I’m soooo nervous!
This is my top, favorite school, but my very first interview and audition. I don’t want to mess up or make a fool of myself! I’ve prepared my piece, but am still very nervous about the sight reading, ear training, ‘blues progression’ and stuff.

Any words of wisdom, advice, tips, and suggestions would be appreciated!!

SpeedyMusicReading.com