Reading skills

[Krose]

I was in a big band once. The drummer turned to me and said.

" You know how you can tell the guitar player in a big band "

No ! how ?

" He's the guy that can't read music.

It would be interesting to see how many of you can read music and at what level.

For me: I can read well enough to learn a Jazz chart in the key of C,F or G. but very slowly.

I asked Dan Balmer ( Local Jazz guitarist around Portland and about the best player we got ) I asked him about learning to read music.

He told me that it was the most important aspect of playing music.
without it you are dead. You'll get there faster by no other means.

I force myself to read as often as I can.

[Malcolm]

I agree, being able to read standard notation will open doors you did not ever realize existed.

Keyboard, single note lead sheet music I'm OK, not great. Will take several times through the piece to be comfortable with it. I use lead sheet music so I do not have to read the bass clif, rely upon the chord name and then play chord patterns, arpeggios, etc with the left hand.

Guitar, single note lead sheet music, not as well as on the keyboard will take me a bunch of times, and some pencil notes to be comfortable with it.

Example of lead sheet music:
http://www.wikifonia.org/node/614

Sooner or later standard notation must walk into your life.

[GuitarMonky55]

ive spent the last few years getting my sightreading skills up to the most ridiculous level possible. at this point i can pretty much sightread anything with very little mistakes or uncertainty. alto clef is a weakness though.

i recommend the berklee books 1-3 as a great foundation in note reading.

[gagibson]

I'm in the process of learning to read music but I always find that I lose interest each time. I know that it's a great skill to have but I find it really hard to keep the motivation to master it.

[Malcolm]

It's like any skill, once you have it no one can take it away, except yourself -from not using it.

[bonsy]

While i find it really difficult to read music both mentally and physically (it always seems to be really small print.) I dont recall seeing any mention of modes! it may say something like swing etc at the beginning of the staff but i dont think i have seen any modal names written on sheet music to suggest a modal feel to the tune? are they replaced with staccato,allegro etc? just out of curiosity really. cheers.

[Malcolm]

Originally Posted by bonsy

I dont recall seeing any mention of modes! it may say something like swing etc at the beginning of the staff but i dont think i have seen any modal names written on sheet music to suggest a modal feel to the tune? are they replaced with staccato,allegro etc? just out of curiosity really. cheers.

What are modes? Modes of the Major (or whatever) scale are just moods of that scale. We are given the key signature which gives us the scale and key if there are any "modal notes" #4 for Lydian, b7 for Mixolydian or b2 for Phrygian, the notes in the staff would indicate the need to sharp or flat that specific note.

Again IMO modes are used for improvising, standard notation is used to play THE Established Tune. If there is to be a modal passage that is taken care of in the sheet music by sharping or flatting the necessary notes - nothing else need be said.

Ionian 1, 2, 3,... 4, 5, 6, 7.
Lydian 1, 2, 3, #4, 5, 6, 7,

My quess as to why you don't see modal names on the sheet music.

[Millertime]

Originally Posted by bonsy

While i find it really difficult to read music both mentally and physically (it always seems to be really small print.) I dont recall seeing any mention of modes! it may say something like swing etc at the beginning of the staff but i dont think i have seen any modal names written on sheet music to suggest a modal feel to the tune? are they replaced with staccato,allegro etc? just out of curiosity really. cheers.

Musical notation isn't really designed to give you an analysis of the music automatically- it just gives you the notes and any useful information regarding how to play it. Mode names were essentially invented to be applied to music after the fact to describe the scale(s) used. There is lots to be determined about a piece of music that isn't on the page. For example, the key signature on the page isn't necessarily the key you're playing in, because music can modulate through written in accidentals rather than explicit key changes. This is the norm in classical music, maybe less so in pop.

Things like 'staccato' and 'allegro' are there to tell you the 'feel' of the piece, but in a different way than the mode or key. They refer to articulation and tempo, rather than pitches. If the piece is in Dorian, then playing the notes on the page will already give you Dorian, you don't need to be told that. If you want to improvise over it or something, you can hopefully tell for yourself what mode you're in by the presence of, say, a sharp 6th scale degree that is always present, or just by the recognizing by ear the general Dorian feel. Some modes are easier to pick out than others, as you probably know. But most music isn't written in modes per se; the vast majority of pieces are in major or minor keys.

[bonsy]

Thanks, I just found it a bit confusing to have 7 modes from the one scale ie in Cmajor all the same notes in the 7 modes. I wondered how to pin point the mode being used. thanks again.

[Malcolm]

Originally Posted by bonsy

Thanks, I just found it a bit confusing to have 7 modes from the one scale ie in Cmajor all the same notes in the 7 modes. I wondered how to pin point the mode being used. thanks again.

You may already know this ---- from the above, not sure. Just in case......

I think that relative modes confuse a lot of us. When I first got into modes I could see no need for them as I could not hear anything more than an octave "thing" being different between Ionian or Phrygian. Course I did not understand the difference came from the chord tones playing under the modal notes. No one was in my room playing chords while I played modal notes so I only heard 1/2 the story.

Then I found paralell modes. The key stays the same and the notes change. Now that makes since - to me - and I do hear the difference and find it quite easy to incorporate into my playing.

The major modes - using the paralell concept:
Ionian has these notes of the major scale: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Lydian has these notes of the major scale: 1, 2, 3, #4, 5, 6, 7 - one different
Mixolydian has these notes...................... 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, b7 - one different

The minor modes - using the paralell concept:
Aeolian has these notes of the major scale 1, 2, b3, 4, 5, b6, b7
Dorian has these notes of the major scale 1, 2, b3, 4, 5, 6, b7 - one different
Phrygian has these notes of the major scale 1, b2, b3, 4, 5, b6, b7 - one different
Locrian has these notes of the major scale 1, b2, b3, 4, b5, b6, b7. - one different

Back to our answers earlier; the song is not going to change keys for the mode it stays in the key the song is written in and if it (the song) needs a modal feel the standard notation just tells you to flat the 7th or sharp the 4th what ever. Relative modes are easy to teach - just start on a new note - and you too have learned modes, but, very confusing when you try to incorporate (use) relative modes into an actual songs. Easy to run up and down the fretboard, but, hard to work into a piece of sheet music.

Two home bases Ionian for major modes and Aeolian for minor modes. From that change one note. If you want the Lydian feel; sharp the 4th. If you want the mixolydian feel; flat the 7th. That's easy and can flow right into my improvisation with out a lot of hoopla.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Relative modes
C Ionian C D E G G A B C
D Dorian...D E F G A B C D
E Phrygian.. E F G A B C D E

D scale is D E F# G A B C# D
In the above Dorian would be 1, 2, b3, 4, 5, 6, b7 so....
Flat the 3rd and the 7th what do you get?
.............D E F G A B C D -- relative mode D Dorian.
E Scale is E F#, G# A B C# D# E
In the above Phrygian is 1, b2, b3, 4, 5, b6, b7 so....
flat the 2, 3, 6 and 7 what do you get?
.............E F G A B C D E -- relative mode E Phrygian.

So ..... relative modes walk the key and keep the same notes.
Paralell modes keep the key and change the notes. Both end up with the same thing. Use which ever one you like best

Reason for all this, I thought you still may be thinking relative modes, our answers dealt more with paralell modes. I thought you might find this useful.

As Millertime said standard notation is not going to outline what mode is being used, however, you can determine this by the notes and chords used.

Hope this was not redundant, i.e. you can use it.

[bonsy]

Thank you Malcolm. Would it be correct if i were to take a chord progression in C major for example, and while vamping between C and G or C and f for example I could just sharpen the 4th to get a Lydian mode. IF playing between C and Dm then i can choose any of the minor mode formulas and apply it to C to get that Mode eg Phrygian b2 b3 b6 b7 but continue to play a basic C major to Dm underneath? I hope that is what you mean! THANK YOU.

[Malcolm]

Yes, just stay with the C major scale and then over the Dm chord bring in the b3 and b7 but leave the 6 a natural note and you are playing C Dorian over the Dm chord.

Now let me introduce something simpler into the mix. How about over the Dm chord play the D minor pentatonic. Five notes three of which are chord tones and harmonize nicely and the other two notes are safe passing notes. Over the C chord use the C Major pentatonic, here again you have three chord tones and two safe passing notes.

So your choices widen if we combine modes and pentatonics.
C Ionian or the C Major scale over the entire song.
C Major pentatonic over the entire song.
What the heck C Blues over the entire song. See what you think of that?
F Major pentatonic over the F chord.
G Major pentatonic over the G chord -- or go back to the C scale and flat the 7th for a mixolydian feel.
If there was a Dm chord use the D minor pentatonic or C Dorian like we spoke of above.
Yes Em chord use the E minor pentatonic or over the Am chord use the A minor pentatonic.

Don't think just modes. Course the real challenge is to abandon patterns or scale/modes and play their notes in melodic phrases helping yourself to blue notes, #4's, b3's, etc. as you think best. It's OK to go out if you know you are out and you have a plan to get back in.

http://www.ibreathemusic.com/article/36
At the end of this one hit the button to go to the next section.

[bonsy]

Thank you Malcolm, I have saved that lesson on my favourites list and will study it all! cheers! and a Happy new year.