Which Choice Describes You?

[KRZ4TELE]

How do you play?

[eryque]

Originally Posted by KRZ4TELE

How do you play?

badly, most of the time. but the drunker you get, the better i sound!

[lenny]

i am a combo. i started by ear, then learned "formally", now i'm very .. informal :)

[e-merlin]

As far as guitar goes, I play by ear. I do read music for some instruments but it doesn't translate to guitar for me.

[Donnie Skaggs]

I read music--just never translated to guitar????

[Anonymous]

Formal? Well, I studied music in college (Berklee in Boston), but they didn't make us wear tuxes or anything.... arf. ;-) CS

[Mur]

By ear, of course! :) ..musicians I like play by ear. Clarence White didn't read (didn't need to) and was self-tought. Another top player, Jimmy day (steel), same thing, didn't read music (didn't need to) and there's nothing quite like his solo albums. Another, Lennon, McCartney & Harrison ..excellent example of great writing, singing, performing/recording (all sans formal training). And I wonder how Little Richard would sound if he had formal training ..just wouldn't happen.

[Scotland]

I don't even read tab, I listen then play what I hear if I want to duplicate something. In solos, I mainly improvise and play what I feel at the time unless it calls for a classic solo then of course I have to play it as it was.

[Telemaniac]

I think you need a third option - both.

Like a lot of people I've had formal music training, but mostly I forget it to play guitar badly!

I do use it some times to work out keys, relative minors, some chords, but mostly by ear! Maybe I'd be a better player if I applied my music training to guitar - but then I wouldn't enjoy it so much!

[David Barnett]

Originally Posted by lenny

i am a combo. i started by ear, then learned "formally", now i'm very .. informal :)

I'm the opposite. I started with lessons, but was a poor student and progressed better by just f***ing around on the instrument until I figured things out.

Having a couple of years of piano in my gradeschool years, and seven years on woodwinds in Jr. High and High School helped a lot with developing a conceptual understanding for how music works, but for the past 30 years it's just been by ear, for fun.

[Bill Ashton]

(and also like my hero, Lennie... ) "formal" on brass instruments (cornet/trumpet, baritone and finally tuba) from elementary school through college (hey, it got me to tour Europe with the college band)...informal on guitar starting in about seventh grade or so...sorta stopped in the early 70's...started up with lessons in 1990 and still take 'em, a nice diversion after a long day in the salt mines.

[SteveY]

I took some lessons as a kid, then did college music classes.

It took YEARS to get all that "stuff" outa my playin'! :evil:

[Joe-Bob]

I do both depending on the situation.

[Caper]

I can't do either YET!!!

[mcfm2n]

I started playing by ear but as i got older i started learning music. Now i am doing the Guitar College course.

[Bonneville Bruce]

I started when I was 50 years old and I'd be totally lost without lessons. Can't say that I play anything well, but without the lessons I wouldn't have a clue.

Bonneville Bruce

[Togman]

I was taught to read music while learning to play the Trombone. I taught myself to play Guitar by applying the music theory I had gained to the fretboard.

The plus side to this is that I can play (almost) anything if I have the music in front of me.

The down side is that I find it very difficult to improvise when required or jam with people.

[SugarJ]

Both.

I started out pluckin' around as a kid, took some lessons with a local teacher, got pretty good, went to music college for 4 years, then spent 10 more years trying to apply all the stuff I learned in music school. Finally just said "screw it all" and bought myself a Tele...

Seriously, lessons are only as good as the teacher who gives them. Unfortunately, there are more bad teachers out there than good ones, but if you can find a good teacher, it is well worth it.

A good teacher will, first and foremost, teach you how to use your ears.

People who claim to be "self-taught" when they've actually spent the last seven years stealing riffs from their favorite players just aren't giving credit where credit is due.

Players who have taught me a thing or two:

Albert Collins
Roy Buchanan
Danny Gatton
Johnny Winter
James Burton
Jimmy Page
Greg Koch
Lucky Peterson
Monte Montgomery
Duke Robillard

Just to name a few...

[reverbbb]

When I play by ear in front of people, it's a show stopper. They can't beleive that I get all those tones from just my ear lobe.

Many folks that play single noted instruments, read music. But some of them have admitted to me that reading piano music (up to six notes at a time) is over-whelming for them.

Additionally, I would say the majority of music reading musicians that I have encountered, do not know how to improvisate. They are chained to reading music and lack the passion of expression. But there are the exceptions to the rules of coarse.

But one should realize that music is a basic expression of the human heart. There is a lot of value in knowing how to read music and the theory behind it. But music did not start out that way.

[WireLine]

Originally Posted by Telemaniac

I think you need a third option - both.

Like a lot of people I've had formal music training, but mostly I forget it to play guitar badly!

I do use it some times to work out keys, relative minors, some chords, but mostly by ear! Maybe I'd be a better player if I applied my music training to guitar - but then I wouldn't enjoy it so much!

I (sorta) agree with this...I've had (and taught) formal training at the theory levels...always good to know major/minor relationships, chord substitutions, etc...

Most gigs don't really call for reading anymore, as they all seem to follow chord charts, Nashville system, etc...at least the ones I've been getting the past few years.

[yegbert]

I learned to read in piano lessons as a kid, but my knack for remembering what my teacher played hampered my learning the time signature elements well. When I picked up guitar I taught myself, and realized I could play guitar and piano by ear.

However, I've found it impossible to fret the notes with my ears. I guess I could build up the callouses over time, but my ears just don't have the stiffness I need. On the other hand, they are limber enough to work for soft strumming.

[Tele295]

I was classically trained in piano, guitar, double bass, and cello. My electric guitar teacher was a Berklee jazz guy, so my theory is ALL screwed up!

[Joel Terry]

I took formal piano lessons from age 8 to 13; at the same time, I was learing bass and guitar on my own by playing along to KISS records and a lot of spiritual/gospel records. (Don't ask me to explain that combination--it'd take a while! :P)

I appreciate being able to play by ear and by sightreading. I must admit I'm much more proficient at playing by ear; unfortunately, I rarely have an opportunity to call upon my sightreading skills these days, so they're somewhat weak. :?

Joel

[Endr'u]

I started taking lessons when I was eight years old. I continued learning from a classically trained teacher for a few years, then I studied on my own. Later, I returned to a more formal type of tuition. Now, I learn from everyone and everything I can; from other players, from books, music, and even some of the chidren who come to me for lessons.

[Marshall Thinline]

I think the old 80 - 20 rule fits for me on this question.

I know some theory, but I try not to think about it when playing for enjoyment or when playing live.

I just like to play from the gut not my head.