Hi Matt,

My experience with sight reading for guitar is very limited. For one thing, sight reading for guitar is pretty difficult to begin with. Actually, I can only do it if I have both the sheet music and the Tab.

We have always had fake books for pop and other forms which as you say are often wrong. Many songbooks of the Beatles I have owned were often inaccurate.

I use to own a song book of the 29 Robert Johnson songs that were transcribed note for note. I placed them on Nocols piano ( a concert pianist with a major orchestra in Germany) and she played it note for note. It was almost scary to hear Robert Johnson come to life in that moment on the piano.

There is a band of young guys here I like a lot. I go play with them sometimes. I know many of the cover tunes they play. But...I often have a hard time to keep up with arrangements they play that are not like the originals.

That is one reason setting in with someone else band is often not a good idea.

I guess some folks may think it is sort of arrogant but the better you get as a musician the fewer people there are to play with and have it be a lot of fun.

I often wonder if I had a formal musical education how things would have been different.

Billy

Last edited by Planobilly; 12/02/21 05:25 PM.
“Amazing! I’ll be working with Jaco Pastorius, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, and Buddy Rich, and you’re telling me it’s not that great of a gig?
“Well…” Saint Peter, hesitated, “God’s got this girlfriend who thinks she can sing…”