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I know the William Leavitt Berklee books are the usual recommendation. I have started the first of that series on multiple occasions, and man - that book is boring and tedious.
Maybe that is just the nature of the beast. I was actually planning on giving it another go.
But before I did I wanted to see if there are better recommendations out there.
I'm an "advanced intermediate" player and am fairly advanced at some areas ... but my poor reading is a weakness I want to address.
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12-11-2024 03:19 AM
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I do not know method books...
Reading is mostly about two things: fretboard knowledge (related to notation convention of course) + technical abilities (that is maybe you can read but can you techincally play what you read immediately?)
On guitar I learnt to read as a kid so it was kind of natural... but on baroque lute had to learn over again as an adult and I really had to develop a systematic approach.
What do you want to read? Standard notation (like on classical -with voicings, chords, polyphony), charts, melodic lines?
To me the key is just to sight read real music... what kind of music do you like? So just read and read more and more...
Maybe it makes sense to have a special focus on sight reading things in high positions
I noticed that in lower positions it goes normally faster.
What I did is putting a capo on 7 th or 9th fret and tried to sight read everything like that (of course it is not possible with any music but in many cases with a bit of transposition it is ok, and it really helps it)Last edited by Jonah; 12-11-2024 at 06:41 AM.
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Doubt it but I think the Leavitt Berklee ones are the best I’ve seen for electric guitar.
Jim Snidero conceptions are good etudes for like … what you might see in a big band chart.
Im sure there are others.
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No so much a method but the Adam Levy Jazz Guitar sight-reading book is musically excellent.
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Bach solo violin partitas, inventions (one line at a time), etc. They lay well on guitar, as is. Play the same piece in different positions.
And bebop heads.
I'm a strong advocate for always playing repertoire, and playing stuff that sounds just like you want to sound.
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I never looked into Leavitt. I did Mel Bay Book 1, now I’m slowly working on Bugs Bower Rhythms Complete. Along side this I’ll learn tunes by reading them. Parker heads usually.
What are your goals? If you’re like me, grown adult with a career job and family, focused on gigs. If you can read good enough to get into jazz method books or tunes, I would jump ship. It’s why I only did Mel Bay 1. I just wanted to learn the note places and what all the symbols meant.
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I've never done the Bugs Bower, but on that and the Snidero thing ... if you want to read in a jazz context, the rhythms are really important, so you have to figure that bit out. You're not really going to find jazz rhythms in anything but jazz. The Leavitt (and probably Mel Bay, not sure) definitely have some of that too.
Originally Posted by AllanAllen
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Mel Bay is square as hell man. At least book one, but it showed me where the nuts and bolts. I had already forced my way though the Mickey Baker book with GREAT effort before I did Mel Bay. Originally Posted by pamosmusic
enalnitram is also right you can work on reading Parker heads. Ultimately, you have to read a lot to get better at reading.
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Ah well scratch that, then. Never used the Mel Bay one, just imagined it like the Leavitt because I usually put that stuff in the same bucket. Leavitt isn't bad for the rhythms, but it's also not a jazz book. More like pop reading. So there are some syncopations in there and it's useful, but it's not the same as reading a jazz melody. Originally Posted by AllanAllen
Tricky bit with the parker heads is that most folks are going to grab the Omnibook and the concert version is written suuuuuper low in guitar's range.
Good practice for sight transposing up the octave, though. Which is also standard fare big band skill set.
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If you are brand new to reading a book of nursery rhymes, Beatle tunes or Christmas tunes might be helpful. You get immediate feedback because you already know the melody. They are often in easier keys. Reading in Eb not so much
And why not just read from the Real Book…. tunes you know at first. Then tunes you don’t know. As someone mentioned you just gotta do it to get better.
The Bach Sonatas and Partitas is fun stuff to hack away at….currently on my music stand.
p.s. somewhat obvious but worth mentioning….don’t use books that show both standard and TAB…too easy to cheat!Last edited by alltunes; 12-11-2024 at 10:47 AM.
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I completed that book probably 15 years ago when I started playing Jazz. No question it's a solid foundation. The problem with Book I is that it's all in the first position, whereas many of us prefer to play in and around the fifth position. Later, a teacher I had at the time gave me David Oakes' book, Music Reading for Guitar. It introduces reading in the fifth position and then extends the range below and above that. It also covers rhythm, and chart-reading. Originally Posted by gavinashun
I am joining a big band at my local community college so I decided to refresh on all of that and I pulled the Oakes book out again. I start my practice every day with it for 10-15 minutes. I am finding it interesting reading and the practice enjoyable. It's already improved my ability to transcribe with more accuracy.
All the best with your studies.
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I learned to sight read using the Frederick Noad "Solo Guitar Playing" books. These are not jazz, tho; they're for classic guitar (aka "classical" guitar). I also read Bach inventions and really anything I could get my hands on. As others have said, the way to learn to read is to read
+1 on Bugs Bower for rhythms
Once you get some functional reading chops, just going through the Real Book is a great approach. For each tune, do a cold reading of the head once, then play it a second time to touch up spots that you struggled with, then move on to the next tune. Practice reading, not playing. You can get through 2-3 tunes in a half-hour a day like this.
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If you are learning how to read music, I recommend Bach's Chorales. They are short, easy pieces that are excellent for reading practice and are also masterpieces of harmony. The rhythms are simple, with almost exclusively eighth notes, quarter notes, and half notes.
You can start by playing just one voice and gradually combine them as you get more comfortable. Additionally, they bass clef too.
I don’t recommend spending time on exercises that don’t sound good—Bach’s Chorales are a much more musical and rewarding.
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You might also consider getting yourself into situations where you won't be going it alone: get a teacher who can help you, or a similarly (un)skilled guitarist to partner with for reading support.
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The closest to a consensus afaik is maybe the Levitt books. A lot of people recommend them.
I learned with Belwin I, Mel Bay 2, Colin/Bower Rhythms Complete, then a clarinet book, Paganini's Moto Perpetuo, then Pasquale Bona (first half -- the second half seems to require that alien advanced energy brain thing). Then reading tunes out of the cardex fake book. Later, the Real Book. And, various books of licks and things like that along the way.
None of which made me as good a reader as even a mediocre big band horn player. Playing in horn bands and sight reading lines that are voiced with horns is the cutting edge now.
Of all of it, the most important was Colin/Bower. You only need to know where the notes are in the first position and the most basic of the basics (like how to identify a quarter note and what it means) to get started. For an adult interested in jazz, probably Mel Bay 1 for the basics and then Colin/Bower.
Practicing with a metronome is probably a good idea. I wish I'd done it. Also, working with a fellow traveler -- Colin/Bower has chord symbols and maybe some duets.
You play the parts in first position. Then in the same octave somewhere up the neck. Then an octave higher in as many positions as you can play those notes. When you're done with the book, you'll know how to read and you'll know the fingerboard.
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I'll chime in to say you get good reading at what you read...so be sure to spend plenty of time reading the stuff you're going to want/need to read!
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Here's Howard Roberts sight reading book (out of print) that I posted in another thread:
What is the best Scale System to use when reading music?
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My recommendation is How to Play Bebop vol 2 by David Baker. It's a compendium of turnarounds in the key of C. So you build vocabulary while you develop some basic reading skills. After working my way through it I was able to read some Real Book heads, which was all I really wanted to do in the first place. As for the Leavitt book, I found it very boring. My two cents FWIW. Originally Posted by gavinashun
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Oh dang. I didn’t think about that. Not a bad idea. Originally Posted by buduranus2
Read them in third position. Go through again in fifth, etc.
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Thanks everyone! A lot of great ideas in this thread!
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Yeah I'm a grown adult with job / kids ... have a group of friends since HS that I play music with but obviously don't have as much time as I used to. Originally Posted by AllanAllen
Regarding reading ... my main goals is that there is a ton of great content out there that I'd love to play that isn't written in tab. Just for example right now, I'm in a big Joe Pass phase and have heard a ton of great things about the Joe Pass Guitar Style book ... but it isn't in tab and would take me a really long time to read through. Many many other examples of this. Omnibook, Ted Greene Single Note Soloing ... so many books I'd like to give a playthrough but can't.
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All great stuff and very challenging reading. Originally Posted by gavinashun
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V. much agree with that. Really good book for position playing. Over too soon though so you need other stuff.David Oakes' book, Music Reading for Guitar. It introduces reading in the fifth position and then extends the range below and above that. It also covers rhythm, and chart-reading.
Never really thought of the David Baker/Jerry Coker books as reading, more lick learning/familiarisation - but it could be useful to recognise patterns (I've got rid of mine so can't check).
I presume you mean sight reading rather than preparatory reading? i.e. no stopping or starting, just 'get it right first time, and if not keep up!' stuff?
You are most likely to have to be good at reading when you are with others whom you will think, probably correctly, are better readers than you. You have to maintain your position in the music, i.e. counting under stress, following the baton. You will need to be able to read the same charts (not parts...) they are playing too so you must do lots of idiomatic reading, i.e. guitar bits plus the occasional non-guitarry melody lines which will happen in unison with the other instruments, often a trombone. Join or dep in a jazz big band.
I think there's an issue with reading books in that they can only be tasters. That's why there is no jazz 'bible' for readers. No jazz Kreutzer. I think the conclusion is that books are not enough, you need bulk study and application.
Otherwise, why are trumpet players, and violinists such great readers? Because that's all they do. They pick up an instrument, and open some music (pace Gypsy jazzers/folkies). So, do lots, lots more of it. I read lots of flute charts. Anything but Leavitt though
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Is there a particular book you like for the Bach Chorales? I would prefer treble clef only (no TAB) and something clean, legible and with somewhat larger notation like the Urtext versions. Originally Posted by rodolfoguitarra
Also let’s not forget Rob’s book of the cello suites arranged for plectrum guitar.
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