Riaan wrote
As an added bonus, if people ever hire you to session, they'll probably not send you any music (though it does happen from time to time with exceptionally diligent/professional freaks)
I never realised it worked like that. I thought all pro muso's and session players read standard notation and tabs like we read written text, at a glance...and that if you can't do the same, you won't ever make it in the pro world. I imagined that they would send you a full musical score, no tabs or chords, and you'd be expected to play the guitar part note for note at the first rehearsal..."next week, if you can't we'll get someone else!"
I think to some extent a good ear can also be somewhat of a disadvantage at times. I know I've got a reasonably good ear and can figure things out most of the time. I've learned to rely on that so much that I'm too damn lazy to put more effort into trying to read music, and at some point that becomes necessary. It takes some self discipline for me to even work my way through tabs, and I usually end up with some cheats and modifications to suit me. Not always with good results though.
But yes, I've also realised that anyone can put tabs on the net and the quality varies.
well working as a pro , i must say that i regularly do sessions or play with musicians .... with little or no rehearsal.... but we use sheets.... not tabs..... i recently played a recital at pretoria botanical gardens with a violinist...we had one rehearsal to settle on keys.... and choose a repetoire and then each had a copy ofthe sheets and 30 min before the show (2 sets) we ironed out any probs either of us had with tricky sections .... this is a pretty standard way to go.... and by the way the performance was a hit....
none of my jazz bands rehearse.... thats just improv and again playing from charts... we have something called the real books in jazz...and ussually just photocopy out of that .... so everyone has the same version ..... and then just play it on the night .....
so yeah i have truthfully never read a tab in my life...... but sheet music yes.....
and any pop/rock songs i ever played in my career i worked out by ear.... and you find after a few songs practise at working out you'll start hearing familiar patterns and just recognise the changes on 1st listen.....
i do suggest that even if you don't sight read music you do learn how to understand the charts..... cos they tell you everything you need to know about the piece.... the key the time signature the tempo where to play louder and where to hold back, how the structure works , and any endings or intro's .... so even if you don't read the dots understand the other instructions....they invaluable
most sessions unless you doing film do not require sight reading..... but they might require you reading a specific phrase the composer wants in the piece... then they ussually let you do your own thing with the rest .... but under direction hehehehh ....so no sneaking a flash solo into a tyre commercial...heheheh
peace and light
keira
