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I've been working w/William Leavitt's Modern Method for Guitar for about a
month now and want to thank those of you who recommended this book to me;
I'm learning a lot. I'm just wondering if I'm doing it right, the sight
reading parts I mean. Should I
always practice w/a metronome? And if I do and come to a hard part, do I
just slow down for that part and then go back up to speed once I get thru
it? I ask bc when I come to a hard part I usually get tripped up for a
beat or two while I figure it out before I get back on tempo.

Also, can anyone recommend a book w/more reading studies in it? I
think I'd benefit from more practice in certain keys.

Many thanks,
Lynn

Lynn,

The way the book was intended, you really want to work through the exercises, scale studies, etc., repeatedly and get them down well, but the sightreading examples you want to use a metronome(at a slow tempo) and try to get all the way through the piece, mistakes or not. I found it to be an art in itself to not get tripped up on parts that were more difficult and not get lost. You're practicing performance, so you want to realize that when you're performing, your accompanist is not going to stop and start over. It took me a while with a teacher (at Berklee, in fact) to get used to just jumping ahead a measure or two if I made a mistake so as to keep up with where I'm supposed to be in the tune. The more you do this, the more you'll find that the gap you're jumping ahead at mistakes will be smaller and smaller.


Mike Crutcher
Guitarist/Vocalist/Arranger/Instructor
Available for sessions/fill-ins/performances/private lessons.

"You've Got To Funkifize"
-Tower Of Power

Lorraine: the best book for learning to read, in my
view, is an old book called _Rhythyms Complete_ by
Bugs ?. I'll get the last name. It is what I learned
on. It is very systematic and by the end you can read
almost anything. Randy Groves
--- Lorraine Goods <lg96@...> wrote:

I've been working w/William Leavitt's Modern Method
for Guitar for about a
month now and want to thank those of you who
recommended this book to me;
I'm learning a lot. I'm just wondering if I'm doing
it right, the sight
reading parts I mean. Should I
always practice w/a metronome? And if I do and come
to a hard part, do I
just slow down for that part and then go back up to
speed once I get thru
it? I ask bc when I come to a hard part I usually
get tripped up for a
beat or two while I figure it out before I get back
on tempo.

Also, can anyone recommend a book w/more reading
studies in it? I
think I'd benefit from more practice in certain
keys.

Many thanks,
Lynn

=====
J. Randall Groves, Ph.D. ("Rando")
Professor of Humanities
Ferris State University
groves@...
bebopguitar@...

Also, can anyone recommend a book w/more reading studies in it? I
think I'd benefit from more practice in certain keys.

Many thanks,
Lynn

William Leavitt also has a book out called "Reading Studies for
Guitar" (Berklee press) which is pretty good. The book goes through
all keys, and in specific positions, so it forces you to do stuff you
otherwise may not.

I have also been doing a lot of reading practice. I find that the
best things to use initially are Violin and Flute (and any other
instrument for that matter that is in concert key) duet books. If
you get the duet books for beginners/intermediate, they are perfect
for reading practice... Plus, since they are duet books, there's a
lot of material to read.

Other violin/flute books often come with piano accompaniment which
you wouldn't try to read on the guitar, so there is a lot less
material to practice on.

Basically, the best thing to do is to go to an old/used bookstore,
and browse the music section and check out any book with 'readable'
material... Often you'll pick up stuff for a couple of bucks!

Also, when doing reading practice, you should NEVER hesitate, or
stop. If things get difficult, stop playing BUT KEEP YOUR PLACE IN
THE MUSIC going forward (i.e., eyes should be moving constantly
through the music in tempo whether you are playing or not) and start
playing where you can (count out a couple of measures and start where
a new phrase or section starts....). This is the whole point in
practicing sight-reading... Otherwise, you will develop a very bad
habit that will be hard to fix when you are reading material in a
band situation!

Another important point is that when reading, your eyes should be
looking ahead a measure or two (or more), not what you are
playing. Some piano teachers will cover up the music you are sight-
reading to check if you are reading ahead. This is kind of like the
Anti-shock memory system on your portable CD player. It helps you to
read smoothly, and be prepared for position changes or whatever ahead
of time...

Anyway, happy reading!

Ken
(As you can guess, I'm also obsessed with being able to read well
now..)

Just a note on reading... Next month I'm going to try and finish and upload
a free online course on sight reading to my site, . It
combines graphics and MIDI files and other things. I'll send another message
when it's available.

Ted Vieira
--
Listen to my CDs for free:


--
Or visit my website:

Bio Information, Sound Files,
Free Online Guitar Instruction, Books, CDs and more...

--- In jazz_guitar@y..., Lorraine Goods <lg96@c...> wrote:

I've been working w/William Leavitt's Modern Method for Guitar for

about a

month now and want to thank those of you who recommended this book

to me;

I'm learning a lot. I'm just wondering if I'm doing it right, the

sight

reading parts I mean. Should I
always practice w/a metronome? And if I do and come to a hard part,

do I

just slow down for that part and then go back up to speed once I

get thru

it? I ask bc when I come to a hard part I usually get tripped up

for a

beat or two while I figure it out before I get back on tempo.

Also, can anyone recommend a book w/more reading studies in it? I
think I'd benefit from more practice in certain keys.

Many thanks,
Lynn

hey,lynn
I think that if you use a metronome,while you play you should be able
to play the entire piece all the way through in a certain
tempo,before speeding it up.It will help you to improve the parts
that you can play faster too.Anyway I hope I could help.
-Justin

That's a good one, too. That's by Bugs Bower. However, there's a more organized method that's pretty much the same methodology called "Melodic Rhythms For Guitar" by Leavitt. It organizes all the 8th note rhythms that can be played, in a systematic way. I've used both. It's probably worth owning both books. But if I were to choose, I'd get Melodic Rhythms.

Mike Crutcher
Guitarist/Vocalist/Arranger/Instructor
Available for sessions/fill-ins/performances/private lessons.



"You've Got To Funkifize"
-Tower Of Power

Melodic Rhythms for Guitar is a great book - I taught out of it for
years. If you happen to be a Band In A Box user surf on over to the
Yahoo BIAB group and there is a Zip file there with all of the
exercises from the Melodic Rhythms book. [Moderators Note: The zip
file is also in this group under Files/BIAB] If it is not there feel free
to e-mail me at broetker@...

Bob
www.bobroetker.com

--- In jazz_guitar@y..., "Michael Crutcher" <Funkifized@h...> wrote:

That's a good one, too. That's by Bugs Bower. However, there's a

more

organized method that's pretty much the same methodology

called "Melodic

Rhythms For Guitar" by Leavitt. It organizes all the 8th note

rhythms that

can be played, in a systematic way. I've used both. It's probably

worth

owning both books. But if I were to choose, I'd get Melodic Rhythms.

Mike Crutcher
Guitarist/Vocalist/Arranger/Instructor
Available for sessions/fill-ins/performances/private lessons.



"You've Got To Funkifize"
-Tower Of Power

From: Randy Groves <bebopguitar@y...>
Reply-To: jazz_guitar@y...
To: jazz_guitar@y...
Subject: Re: [jazz_guitar] reading
Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2001 12:49:00 -0700 (PDT)

Lorraine: the best book for learning to read, in my
view, is an old book called _Rhythyms Complete_ by
Bugs ?. I'll get the last name. It is what I learned
on. It is very systematic and by the end you can read
almost anything. Randy Groves
--- Lorraine Goods <lg96@c...> wrote:

I've been working w/William Leavitt's Modern Method
for Guitar for about a
month now and want to thank those of you who
recommended this book to me;
I'm learning a lot. I'm just wondering if I'm doing
it right, the sight
reading parts I mean. Should I
always practice w/a metronome? And if I do and come
to a hard part, do I
just slow down for that part and then go back up to
speed once I get thru
it? I ask bc when I come to a hard part I usually
get tripped up for a
beat or two while I figure it out before I get back
on tempo.

Also, can anyone recommend a book w/more reading
studies in it? I
think I'd benefit from more practice in certain
keys.

Many thanks,
Lynn

=====
J. Randall Groves, Ph.D. ("Rando")
Professor of Humanities
Ferris State University
groves@f...
bebopguitar@y...

Hi,

I have a slightly different perspective on reading. I was taught by a
perfectionist classica/jazz piano player. He stressed reading a piece
perfectly. His feeling was that if you play it almost right and you keep
playing it that way you are practicing how to play wrong! For me it was
true, I played most of the song right and sort of fudged the hard parts. So,
using logic we would go over one measure even a part of a measure and get it
right. He emphasized the pulse, and I would put markings on the one and
three beat. I got drum rhythm books and would work through them.

Certainly, if you slow down and play a small part you can get it right. And
interestingly, the "slower you go the faster you get there" with reading.

We shouldn't mistake reading for playing. Lots of people can play great,
know scales, have great ears and all and don't read. They are two different
skills. I just like the idea of picking up a book and playing through it
like a "real musician." My teacher also had ulterior motives! He wrote a
ton of original songs that were quite complicated. He liked the way I played
and all, but it was a big drag to teach me all the songs by ear. I am still
learning. I would say that it is really a discipline to learn how to read
well. And like most disciplines it is worth the effort.

Good luck and have big fun

David Rudick

Once again on reading. When I was a kid I studied with Dennis Sandole. He
told me to read from Wolfhart scales for violin.

I would have to say that my favorite reading is reading from all of the Real
Books. After all, its what I like to play so why not read stuff that is
musical and is in the genre you like? And its fun and you get to learn some
new songs.

David

I downloaded the file and opened the first example, and I have a question.
How are you supposed to play the low D? Drop D tuning? Or are you supposed
to play an octave up?
Or is there an error in the file (01.mg1)

Thanks,
Dave

Thanks to everyone who responded to my question about reading. You all are
very, very helpful.

I'm a little freaked out today bc I went to the doctor yesterday about
this pain I've been having in my left hand on and off for the past few
months and he told me it's arthritis, yuch. I'm only 36! This is also the
same hand where I had some very mild carpal tunnel back when I used to
write for a living. Physical therapy cleared that up, and adjusting my
posture etc. I have noticed that in the last few days I've been feeling
some twinges in my hand when I play for a while...I do tend to hunch
over the guitar. I'm gonna start private
lessons in two weeks (yeah!) so I hope the teacher will be able to look at
my technique and tell me how I might be tensing up etc. which may be
contributing to the problem.

I know some of y'all out there have been playing for a long time and are
older than I am...anyone have similar or related problems? Maybe looking
into classical technique?

Best,
Lynn