See Joe.
See Joe's bass!
See Joe play his bass.
See Joe playing all alone.
Joe can't get a gig because Joe can't read.
Don't be a Joe. Prevent this tragedy. And get your reading on!
Yea, I know you keep meaning to get around to it, but those Xbox achievement points don't earn themselves do they? Maybe you are a great ear player, maybe you "used to" read a lot but...it has been a while, or maybe you just never sat down and did it.
It is just like regular reading. We all had to start slow and repeatedly practice regular old word reading when we attended St. Ignatius Reform School or the nuns came with their rulers and the screaming and the...I mean, we didn't just have the words pop into our heads and suddenly we were able to read words like "Stearoyl Lactylate" or any of the other ingredients on the back of our Twinkie bag.
We had to start with the little words like "ow" and "stop" and "yes, Sister Agnes" before we were able to read the more difficult, longer, and complex words like "arraignment" and "supervised probation".
So, to help get your reading kickstarted, and to make sure there are no big scary long words to worry about, I give you the following PDF. It just has quarter notes (4 to a measure) of random pitches on the good ol' bass clef for about, ohhh, 750 measures or so. This is so you can finally sit down and get at least the pitch part of your reading more fluid. You don't have to worry about rhythms on this, it is just to get the note names and to be able to recognize their friendly smiling blobbyness on the staff.
Remember the notes fore each line, starting from the lowest one are:
Generally (lowest line on the staff)And the notes for the spaces are: (also from the bottom up)
Black
Dudes
Frighten
Anglos
Atheists
Can't
Enjoy
God
Take that Sister Agnes.
If you have to, print it out, and write the note names in on say, just first page. Then try the second page on your own.
This PDF is not full of musical phrases, it is just to get the notes recognized as second nature by looking at a bunch of them. Having them not be in some of the usual patterns we play will help.
Remember there is no secret to this, it just takes repetition, it just takes doing it.
Until next time, Ciao.
3 comments:
If you want a more politically correct one, I teach my students
Good Boys Deserve Fine Apples
All Cows Eat Grass
Every Good Boy Deserves Football
F A C E
Sure, but which one are they gonna remember? :)
Okay...point made.
Hello Bassist! I was hoping to download your random notes PDF. I cannot find it here and wonder if you can redo the link? I am Richie Hardinge HardingeR - at - gmaildotcom. Thanks so much. Happy grooving to you. :)
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