Playing the saxophone Learn to play by ear or by reading music

[trimmy]

I see many idiots on the road doing stupid things even so called 'professionals' but that wasn't the point of the vid !!

 

[Alice]

I tried to watch it and was very quickly bored :/
I require a heck of a lot more than that for my entertainment. She tried to convince me that she was too cool to use a steering wheel with her actual hands and was instead using telekenesis but i'm used to better things than that i'm afraid.

 

[gladsaxisme]

I tried to watch it and was very quickly bored :/
I require a heck of a lot more than that for my entertainment. She tried to convince me that she was too cool to use a steering wheel with her actual hands and was instead using telekenesis but i'm used to better things than that i'm afraid.

Unfortunaly the recording whilst driving ruined the whole thing but it was in America or Canada perhaps where they seem to have a completely different mindset to driving than we do in Europe probably how they manage to have 100 car pile ups on eight lane highways when everybody is only doing 30 mph anyway ie all asleep or very nearly.
But the actual message was a good one about trying to play by ear which is great if you have the ears to do it

 

[Alice]

Unfortunaly the recording whilst driving ruined the whole thing but it was in America or Canada perhaps where they seem to have a completely different mindset to driving than we do in Europe probably how they manage to have 100 car pile ups on eight lane highways when everybody is only doing 30 mph anyway ie all asleep or very nearly.
But the actual message was a good one about trying to play by ear which is great if you have the ears to do it

I know. I'll watch it again for that reason. Trimmy wouldn't have bothered posting it if it had nothing to say.

 

[kevgermany]

I know. I'll watch it again for that reason. Trimmy wouldn't have bothered posting it if it had nothing to say.

What she's saying is that there's only one way to play jazz - by ear.

But don't treat this as universal or authoritative - it's merely a point of view she picked up on from a jazz player and teacher. She's benefitted from it. But I've seen serious jazzers, such as Al de Miola, Bobby McFerrin use/play from dots.

What annoys me is the obsession that some people have that their way is the best and only way. For them maybe, but it's not right to try and force others to go down the same route. Each to his own... And according to circumstances.

 

[trimmy]

I don't think she was forceful but get what you're saying, the message that came across for me was that she remembers tunes more easily once she's learnt it by ear !
It seems to stick in her brain more so than if she reads the dots (which she can also do proficiently)
I can relate to that after learning St Thomas by ear, i wouldn't place one way over the other, if anything i would try to give each method the same amount of time.
I've set myself a goal of trying to learn one tune a month by ear, see how it goes !
By the way i agree bad driving

 

[BigMartin]

I'm sure learning tunes by ear (including the chord sequences) is great if you have the ear to do it. I haven't (yet), so what am I supposed to do, give up? My (current) approach to learning songs is to memorise the chord sequence (from a lead sheet) and play the arpeggios until I can hear what's coming next. Takes forever and I don't know many songs properly, but it is helping to develop my ear. I'll find myself occasionally listening to the radio and thinking "oh, that's rhythm changes" or something. I would have been completely incapapable of that a few years ago.

 

[Jeanette]

I've set myself a goal of trying to learn one tune a month by ear, see how it goes !

First time 😉

Jx

 

[Veggie Dave]

W
What annoys me is the obsession that some people have that their way is the best and only way. For them maybe, but it's not right to try and force others to go down the same route. Each to his own... And according to circumstances.

Absolutely this.

Whatever works, whatever gets you to where you want to go and whatever way that makes you smile is the right way.

 

[Jeanette]

Absolutely this.

Whatever works, whatever gets you to where you want to go and whatever way that makes you smile is the right way.

Absolutely, but it's good to hear what works for others and always worth a consideration, just don't be afraid to throw it out or shelve it for a while if it doesn't work for you at that point in time 🙂

Keep it fun

Jx

 

[Jazzaferri]

What she's saying is that there's only one way to play jazz - by ear.

But don't treat this as universal or authoritative - it's merely a point of view she picked up on from a jazz player and teacher. She's benefitted from it. But I've seen serious jazzers, such as Al de Miola, Bobby McFerrin use/play from dots.

What annoys me is the obsession that some people have that their way is the best and only way. For them maybe, but it's not right to try and force others to go down the same route. Each to his own... And according to circumstances.

The best jazz/improvisational music/whatever other label is played with the eyes closed or at least in the same state as with the eyes closed. If one has total concentration on what others are playing and no thought to one's instrument or dots or other distractions then and only then can you be at one with the music.

The poll could well have one more answer ....both

 

[BigMartin]

The poll could well have one more answer ....both

You can select more than one, but it doesn't show up in the stats how many have done that.

 

[Veggie Dave]

The best jazz/improvisational music/whatever other label is played with the eyes closed or at least in the same state as with the eyes closed. If one has total concentration on what others are playing and no thought to one's instrument or dots or other distractions then and only then can you be at one with the music.

I find I almost always improvise with my eyes closed. I assumed it was because I'm crap and have the concentration span of a dead hedgehog. 😉

 

[nigeld]

. . . and have the concentration span of a dead hedgehog.

Is that longer, or shorter, than that of a live goldfish?

 

[Veggie Dave]

Much shorter. 😉

According to research at Plymouth University, goldfish have a memory span of up to three months - and can even tell the time. The fish were trained to nudge a lever to get food.

 

[Alice]

Much shorter. 😉

Well it does depend on the hedgehog. You could be like Sonic 😛

 

[Eoe]

As far as memorizing music I am just the opposite I have to read it to memorize it anything I learned by ear I will not remember.

 

[trimmy]

As far as memorizing music I am just the opposite I have to read it to memorize it anything I learned by ear I will not remember.

Just goes to show how different we all are, we just have to do what works best for us.

 

[spike]

On the subject of "If you can sing it you can play it" . . . 😉

 

[richardr]

At last BT have connected me to fibre broadband which has enabled me to watch @trimmy video for the first time. Thanks!
My new broadband has restored my access to the Cafe, which has been nigh-impossible since I got a new computer with Windows 10.
I'm still a lousy player (I wouldn't describe myself as "a musician", not yet) but I'm improving all the time and enjoying myself in the process. In particular, although it still leaves much to be desired, my timing has improved greatly. The key to this has been iReal Pro which is also helping me to learn and use chord structures.
Recently I was invited to rehearse with a band which plays pop standards, many of which I know. I had a go with them this week and did reasonably well by "ear" alone. The band uses sheet music for some tunes; for others it simply lists the notes by letters - GAGC... and so on. That doesn't work very well for me because, whether it's dots or letters, I can't read and play at the same time.
My daughter left a cornet at my place and of course I couldn't resist having a blow, picking out tunes with the aid of a fingering chart. I started with "Summertime" in concert G- (A- takes me into the next harmonic up and that's beyond me) but I couldn't remember the notes and had to pick up my sax to find out which they are. That's made me realise that I often don't know which notes I'm playing. Playing is becoming like singing - I have the tune in my head and I produce it on my sax without thinking what I'm doing. There's still an element of "hunt and peck" as @jbtsax calls it, but I'm needing to "hunt" much less than I used to.
Another thing at which I'm improving is using my "ear" to work out where to start a tune. For example, I had to play "Whiskey in the Jar" in concert C (ie D on my Bb tenor). My "ear" told me it starts on a 5th so I knew to start with A.
I'm having great fun with my saxophone and much of the credit for this must go to my teacher. Nowadays the main part of his teaching is theory. He seems to have the gift of knowing what's going to help me - and it does!