How do you learn to play music?

[nik0tine]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqMbbWwtVIw

Do you learn by ear? Do you sight read? Or, do you work the entire thing out and memorize it note for note like this guy?

I have both an under developed ear and poor sight reading skills, so I usually memorize whole songs. I cannot, however, memorize any winterwind preludes. That guy is a freak.

[The New Kid]

By ear. :cool:

[arms]

I pick up the guitar.
Playing commences.

[El Bandito]

I wouldn't say note by note per se, but I definitely sit down and study a complicated piece of sheet music for a bit. Work out the desired rhythms and note progressions.

After that, I play and record what I have so far and listen to it. That way I can decide what tweaks to style I want to put in.

[Samuraid]

I play both by ear (my preferred choice) and also read music.

Often times, I just listen to a recording a few times and pick up the music by ear. Other times, I listen while having the music in front of me and pseudo-read as I play.

Playing purely by the music works as well, but often takes me a lot longer to learn a piece. This method is also the least fun.

Overall, I prefer improvisation to reading note-for-note.

One of the most important things (I cannot stress enough) is how much of a difference a good background in theory makes. Knowing the underlying chord structure for a song allows you to memorize a lot more quickly, play a lot of stuff on the fly, and improvise some pretty cool stuff.

[Pure Strife]

Tab, ear and/or noodling in the suspected key/scale til I figure it out. I try not to stick too much to one method.

[Venom]

Tab and ear is what I usually try and learn by.

[Bloodline666]

Usually through guitar tabs, but sometimes by ear.

[Mythra]

Since I can't read sheet music (believe me I've tried lol) I have to use tab. Usually I'll have the song on my computer so I can try to work out the rhythm. But I've personally found that having someone who knows the song or piece in question, teach it to you is the most helpful to me. They can point out mistakes and such things, at least for me this works pretty good.

[Pete for President]

Easy stuff by ear, harder stuff by tab.

[Slothy]

When drumming I learn by ear, reading, and also tend to memorize pieces in relatively short order. When I play Piano, I can still read it, but not as quickly yet as with drumming music, and learning by ear is difficult since I haven't really developed an ear for piano yet (I haven't even been playing that for a year yet though, so I'm not that surprised). Generally I'll read a piece, work it out a few bars at a time and memorize it from that. If there's one thing I'm apparently really good at, it's memorizing musical pieces.

[Kryton87]

I play by midi

[Samuraid]

I play by midi
So instead of reading notes, you read MTHd and MTrk and binary? :D I would give a lot to be able to do that.:greenie:

[Araciel]

practice

ba dump bump

i have a guitar...read a bit of tab and still suck...don't play enough to know how.

[blackmage_nuke]

I find the backgrounds by reading and the main stuff by ear. But i dont know alot of complicated songs.

[Kryton87]

I play by midi
So instead of reading notes, you read MTHd and MTrk and binary? :D I would give a lot to be able to do that.:greenie:

No... I use a program to input the MTHd and MTrk and binary to a computer, and have the computer play it for me. :D

call me lazy... but elsewise I'd play by ear. I never could read music fast enough.

[Fuego]

Ear and tab .... tried to learn sheet music but i really wasn't into it ...

I'd rather make my own music than learn someone elses >.<

[GenjiEnkil]

i do tab ear and sheet music, but lately i've just been writting things.

[Avarice-ness]

For Saxophone and Flute: Sightread and ear. If I can't get all the rythyms by sightreading then normally I put it through a midi maker (the music) and listen to it.

For Vocal: Sightread it by humming but normally I have to hear it once or twice on the piano, but then I have no problems what so ever.

I was in Band from 6th-12th grade and choir from 7th-12th grade, Choirs my high point 'cause I was varsity every year in highschool. I was only first chair in the second band through out highschool. :)

[Reles]

I play by ear mostly, but I'm not bad at sightreading either.

[snacks]

I found myself more and more able to do it by ear as I get older.
I'm also able to tune a guitar with little help anymore, thanks to the horrendous year I spent with the psycho/awesome roommate I had.

Mostly tabs for me, but sometimes I can pick out songs and play them.

[I Am Stoner]

I just pick it up by ear.:)