Sight Reading

[Randy Stein]

Last week I had the opportunity to be in a recording studio for some jingle work. It was an overdub and lasted about an hour. The music that they gave me was not complicated. Lots of eighth note runs but at a very fast tempo. Sight reading was never a great strength of mine. I always need time to play through the music slowly, work on fingering and phrasing. The arranger/conductor was a bit impatient but when all said and done it ended up fine.

I need to start working again on my sight reading and back to basics of scales and arpeggios. Pull out the etudes studies etc.

rss

[Gary Chapin]

I'm exactly the same way. I learn fine from sheet music, but can't play from the dots cold. Especially under pressure. Although, thinking about it, I can do it with wind instruments, but not squeeze. Impatient conductor/arranger ... well, in the studio he's presumably paying for time, but that just means he should get you the music sooner.

[Kurt Braun]

I'm exactly the same way. I learn fine from sheet music, but can't play from the dots cold. Especially under pressure. Although, thinking about it, I can do it with wind instruments, but not squeeze. Impatient conductor/arranger ... well, in the studio he's presumably paying for time, but that just means he should get you the music sooner.

 

It has been a long time ago since I did studio work (and never on concertina) but I don't recall getting the music ahead of time. It was more like one time without the mic and with record button pushed down the next. Fortunately, there were others who screwed up more obviously than I most of the time. So there was some cushion with the retakes, but you had to read. Otherwise, they got someone who could. On the up side, you were done hours and hours before you got bored

 

And... Screw ups involved phrasing, balance, articulation, style, tempo etc. Not wrong notes.

Edited May 17, 2011 by Kurt Braun