Saturday, February 07, 2009
To Read or Not To Read - Music, that is
Many of the guitar greats couldn't read a note.
I read somewhere that Stevie Ray Vaughan had to learn to read music when he recorded guitar parts for David Bowie's album Let's Dance, but never had a need for it afterward.
I personally read (elementary and highschool band), but have not found reading necessary in pursuit of my musical ambitions. The basics may come in handy for reading chord charts (at least what time signatures and bars are for). I promote the fact, on my web site, that reading music is unnecessary for learning and enjoying guitar.
So I guess my opinion is - "Nah, you don't need to be able to read music to enjoy playing guitar."
I read somewhere that Stevie Ray Vaughan had to learn to read music when he recorded guitar parts for David Bowie's album Let's Dance, but never had a need for it afterward.
I personally read (elementary and highschool band), but have not found reading necessary in pursuit of my musical ambitions. The basics may come in handy for reading chord charts (at least what time signatures and bars are for). I promote the fact, on my web site, that reading music is unnecessary for learning and enjoying guitar.
So I guess my opinion is - "Nah, you don't need to be able to read music to enjoy playing guitar."
Labels: easier guitar, guitar, learn guitar, open-D guitar, play guitar
