OK I shouldn't hijack my own thread but as far as TV goes I watch very little myself but could never see giving it up. The only real "show" I watch is Big Bang Theory" anything else is either the Discovery Channel, Animal Plant or Smithsonian and some PTV, they all offer what I would call educational TV and they are worth watching you can actually learn something.
The other one is Palladia which is a music channel lately I have been watching the Live at Daryl's House series. Various musicians go up to Daryl's house in upstate NY and they do some of his songs and some of the artists. It's usually really good.
Okay I am going to take a second to plug an artist I really like - Patrick Stump was on that show - did you see that?
Song starts at 3.05 they're doing a motown tune though they do some of Stumps songs too on other videos.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rLpvWWDJQU
together we stand, divided we fall..........
Fleaa I did see that and I liked him too. I knew the voice was familiar but took me awhile to realize he was Fallout Boy's singer but he's got a very good voice and if I remember he played guitar too in the show.
"It's all about stickin it to the man!"
It's a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll!
OK I shouldn't hijack my own thread but as far as TV goes I watch very little myself but could never see giving it up.
Same here. Some weeks I watch none at all. But I'm still happy to have one in the house.
However, I can't pat myself on the back too hard as I've really just swapped a primitive non-interactive TV screen for a more up to date device. Computers, ipads, smart phones etc can be used for all sorts of useful work (some music related too) but I can still manage to blow away a chunk of time reading non-essential 'info-tainment' material. Or even posting on forums sometimes.... :wink:
<...>If I play my parts correctly and the band sounds good no one is going to care how I learned the songs at that point I am there to provide entertainment.
I can't argue with that.
I read a story about the great Organist, Jimmy Smith. There was a rumor out that Jimmy couldn't read music. The fact was that he was an excellent reader, but had such a 'big set of ears' and incredible musical memory that he didn't have to read music.
If all other things were equal (and the rarely, if ever are) and I had two people auditioning for a spot in my band, and one could read music and the other couldn't, I'd take the reader. But for a pop music band, a lot of things are more important than music reading to me, attitude (if you aren't having fun, don't apply), competence, looks, and work ethics to name a few.
Notes
Bob "Notes" Norton
Owner, Norton Music http://www.nortonmusic.com Add-on Styles for Band-in-a-Box and Microsoft SongSmith
The Sophisticats http://www.s-cats.com >^. .^< >^. .^<
If all other things were equal (and the rarely, if ever are ...
+1
...and I had two people auditioning for a spot in my band, and one could read music and the other couldn't, I'd take the reader. But for a pop music band, a lot of things are more important than music reading to me, attitude (if you aren't having fun, don't apply), competence, looks, and work ethics to name a few.
Excellent point. I'd rather work with a non-reader with good attitude and work ethics than a smug, lazy reader.
"You can't write a chord ugly enough to say what you want to say sometimes, so you have to rely on a giraffe filled with whipped cream." - Frank Zappa
I have been reading almost every day for the last six months and it did I improved a lot. When I am playing new songs or pieces I read but I also bought a book for reading (my flute teacher recommended it to me) and I read in the commuter. I also bought books with easy repertoire pieces that I use for sight reading.
No TV either.
Just a real life story of the value of reading. My teacher is very similar to Noteboat he has his own business teaching but also does gigs, writes out tab, records, etc.
Last week he had a really busy week since he has been playing in a musical for the past couple months and also got a last minte gig to fill in for another one.
I asked him if that gig required reading and he said absolutely. He had to learn 80 pages of music 3 days before the gig. He's now on the very short ist of guitar players that are fluent readers and said he was actually able to get more than was offered for the skill pluis it being last minute.
"It's all about stickin it to the man!"
It's a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll!
That's exactly what I meant about the economics of reading. In the Chicago area there are probably about 120,000 people who play guitar at some level. Figure 5-10% are serious about it, gigging at least once in a while - that's 6000 to 12,000 people. If you have a gig that doesn't require reading, you can offer next to nothing and somebody's going to take it. But the Chicago area probably has only about 300 people who play guitar and read music well enough to play from a chart with three days of rehearsal time (and it's only that high because of the number of colleges offering music majors). Maybe half of them aren't available due to other gigs, teaching, etc. So the supply of capable people is 150 - in other words, for every 80 or so guitar players out there, there is ONE who can do the job.
Maybe the music director for a theater job knows a lot of people who can play guitar. Say the MD knows 300 - he'll have his choice of three or four who can get the job done.
Of course, the guitarist who gets the offer can probably do any other job available on those dates too... so the musical director has to make it worth his or her while. Simple supply and demand makes these jobs pay a whole lot better.
(In reality, the MD may know just a dozen guitarists, but they all read - because the MD won't keep in contact with people who don't have the skills they need)
Guitar teacher offering lessons in Plainfield IL
Note that's exactly what he told me the MD only has a very very short list of people and those are the only ones he will call. He had to learn the 80 pages and then play the gig no rehearsal but the guy liked him and he's in now.
Actually when I first asked him about the gig I asked if it required sight reading which I assumed it did he said yea and then said that there were very few guitarists that can read fluently and they'd never get the gig in the first place no matter how great they played.
"It's all about stickin it to the man!"
It's a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll!
Actually when I first asked him about the gig I asked if it required sight reading which I assumed it did he said yea and then said that there were very few guitarists that can read fluently and they'd never get the gig in the first place no matter how great they played.
There's probably another less obvious reason why good sight readers might be preferred for some jobs, and that's to do with discipline. I can read music but I'm a very poor sight reader, and the main reason is that I've never mustered the discipline to put the required number of hours in. Oh, I make the excuse that I've never had the time, but that's only partly true - I could have found the time if I really wanted to. A good sight reader is almost by definition, somebody who has shown more patience and discipline than many of us. Not only are they likely to have the chops but they're probably also likely to respond professionally when being told exactly what to do at a job - even when that might involve sitting quietly while some other aspect gets sorted, or playing something that might not necessarily have been their own first choice.
Fortunately, I'm not looking for that sort of work, because I probably wouldn't hire myself.... :wink:
