-
Hi,
After playing for over 16 years last month I bought all three volumes of the Leavitt Modern Method of Guitar Playing books to learn to sight read properly once and for all.
Things are coming along very nicely, however Id be interested to know how others used these books.
I dont have a teacher anymore (as pennies are a bit tight recently) and am currently trawling my way through them page by page. I review all the material regularly but was under the impression that I wasnt supposed to play it so much that i remember how to play it rather than read it.
Has anyone else used these books to learn to sight read? What rate should i be progressing through them? Perhaps i should semi-learn the solo arrangements so Id get used to recognizing notated chords on the staff?
I'm so determined to learn to read properly and it takes up 90% of my learning/practice time so I'd just like to know that I'm going about it correctly.
Cheers,
Andy
-
06-06-2009 09:00 AM
-
That's....disproportionate! I am trying to do the same thing, but for me it make more sense to treat it as a separate exercise, at least from the beginning.
Go back to kindergarden...I've posted this before....buy or print some blank manuscript paper, write your own little things and then play them whilst reading. Simple.
This will give you a belief that the goal is possible. Mr Leavitt's books? Pardon the pun, but I'd just leave it. The web is full of more interesting resources IMHO. I think the Leavitt material is old, but that's just my opinion. I got bored after two minutes.
How can you be from Sheffield and Newcastle? I'm from Manchester, in the middle. Taxi driver? Beer delivery? Fair-weather football fan?
-
I dont mind the leavitt books...a little bit boring but theyre tried and tested. I suppose transcribing would help too so i'll do that. I just want to be able to read so much I dont mind spending lots of time on it.
Im mid move from Sheffield to Newcastle. I curse every local team I choose to live nearest to. Perhaps I should move to Manchester.
-
I'm working out of the sight-reading and melodic rhythm books now actually. He gives a pretty good instruction at the beginning which I've found very helpful. Basically you pick a tempo where you're just barely hanging on and go as far as you can before it all falls apart - repeat ad nauseum. I'm still very far away from being a really good sight-reader but those books have helped a lot. Another thing that has helped my sight-reading (and playing in general) has been in getting together with a friend of mine - an excellent jazz guitar player - to sight-read through tunes. We basically just flip open the real book on a random page and we play that tune. Great practice!
Evan
-
Though not using Leavitt's book, I too am working on sight reading, and I spend about 15 minutes on it. However, I do get extra work reading heads of tunes, learning licks, etc.
-
I've just been getting back into these books. I haven't been using a teacher for a number or years (something I'm about to remedy) and it's interesting to look back at all the pencil written notations my teacher made in the first volume of the series.
As far as I can gather the 'Modern method for guitar' series is the Berkley text that students use at that College. It does seem very old school in comparison to more recent texts, but I guess it is tried and tested.
I made the point about my teachers pencil notations all through the first volume because the author seems to show concepts etc and you wonder "what the heck is all this for?" - As an example the chord etudes after the scale lessons.
In more modern texts an author would spell out that the following chords are part of the harmonised major scale - yet there's none of that in William Leavitt's books! I have pencil notes that I recall my teacher scribing on mid lesson.
I like using the metronome especially with these books, you can learn to sight read and get your timing down at the same time. It might sound funny but I got used to using the 'Modern method' series as a base text in lessons that I'll be a little gutted if my new teacher tells me to throw it all away!
..that's my little insight folks
Last edited by philmayo; 06-06-2009 at 11:24 PM.
-
Get a Real Book and work from A to Z. Try to play each tune without tab and don't worry too much if you come across one that is just too hard. Skip over it.
Originally Posted by Andy Logan
By the time you get to the end of the book you should be able to sight read reasonably well.
This is what I have been doing and I see good results so far.
As in everything here practice makes perfect.Last edited by Paul J Edwards; 06-06-2009 at 11:55 PM.
-
I do go through the real books to practice occasionally although (as i think Leavitt says in his books) if you already know the music then its not as productive in terms of sight reading practice. I suppose as long as you dont know the tune then any material is good to practice with.
I think I should scrabble together a few pennies for a couple of sessions with my old teacher, as he recommended the books. It does seem that they're written to be used in conjunction with a good instructor.
-
Hi,
You've been playing guitar over 16 years and still searching for knowledge. I think you have very good habit of learning and have high ability to learn. Sight reading always consumes time and looks boring at the beginning. The books that you said (the Leavitt Modern Method of Guitar Playing) are called the Bible of guitarists. I 've also used these books to learn. These books do not only give you to sight read but also instruct you a lot of knowledge and experience in music. Sight read is just like you learn to read text. It looks hard at the beginning when you start to know the alphabet A B C and it is a process of accumalative learning. I think you should learn both solo and chord arrangement in the books. You may write down the solo and chord notation that you have learned in the books (but in your own arrangement, not follow all the notations in the books) into any music notation software that you have and play along it. For example; the vol 1, exercise 1 to 5, you learn note C to C and chord C F ...... You write down what note and chord you have learned from ex.1 to 5 and rearrange your own exercise that you need and emphasize on the notes and chords that you often miss. This way you can get rid of the fear of remember rather than read. It is only my idea that I have used. Try other ways and find other additional sources to learn if you 'd like. Believe me, no perfect book course or perfect teacher can solve any problem. But I think these books are the great guideline. For more information of Leavitt: visit a student of Leavitt website:
http://www.jonfinn.com/guitar/lesson...xsatindoll.php
Cheers,
Furse
-
Hello....
To Andy Logan who has been playing the guitar for 16+ years. It's a wonderful thing that you have the gift to play and be able to read music.
I had the chance to have lessons from the greatest teacher by the name of "William G Leavitt" himself (Hence my log-in is WGL-RL). Time was always a factor with us. As much as we got to see each other in our private family lives I never took full advantage of it. I could kick myself now. Might I suggest that you or anyone else who has in their posession of The Modern Method volumes 1,2 & 3. It might be a possibility to contact one of the teachers at the Berklee College of Music where my father-in-law was the 1st chairman of the guitar department. If you could contact Larry Bione or Mike Ide who were once co-chairs of the dept. after my father-in-law died. I'm sure they would respond in an e-mail to give you advice on how to follow thru the books with ease. Larry did a DVD-ROM for PCs that could be followed on your computer as well. If you couldn't get either one of them you might get lucky enough to have someone else on the faculty from the guitar dept. help you also. My wife Melodee(Bills daughter) and I have the pleasure of knowing a number of her fathers students( Pat Metheny, George Benson, John Scofield, Thom Rotella and Karl Arango just to name a few) and co-workers who were once his students as well.
Hopefully this has been of some help to you. I think the DVD-ROM will be of great value for you to use. Good luck to you.
Sincerely,
Richard L. Hill
-
They're not for sight-reading. Get the Sight Reading Studies Vol. 1 & 2 which are meant for that purpose. Also get the Melodic Rhythms book. Those 3 books are designed for concurrent study along with Method 123. Originally Posted by Andy Logan
-
I think the term "sight reading" gets used in a lot of different ways. Sight reading is reading something you've never heard or played. You just play it "at sight". True sight reading in this way is only part of learning to read. There's also the stuff you play over and over as you learn to read, kind of like kids in junior high band clapping rhythms and flipping to the back of the book to look up fingerings.
You have to work on basic general reading skills at whatever level needs work. That means that sometimes you have to stop and really work things out. Sight reading should mostly be done with music that is at a lower and easier level than that. You can't read "at sight" something which you can barely comprehend at even a basic level.
The modern method books are for basic skills and learning to read. You stop and work things out until you can play them. Review often. The reading study books are for sight reading. Don't review. Don't practice. Play through the books until you get to a point where you just can't go any further and start over (or work on some more basic reading skills in the modern method books).
-
I'm (slowly) working through Leavitt. I'm not doing it completely in order. I've covered most of the first 2 books but need to fill in some gaps and review some other bits to get more solid. I'm not sure if I want to move to the 3rd book (although I own it). Even though I've done a lot of work on them, I have reservations about the fingering stretches in books 1 and 2 and have decided to focus on CAGED fingerings instead, so I'm not likely to try to master the even more pronounced stretching in book 3, although I may work on other material in the book.
My reading is coming along reasonably well and I'm pleased with my progress, but I've supplemented the Modern Method books with "Melodic Rhythms for Guitar". I've been stricter about doing that in order and am now in the middle of the 3/4 section maybe 75% of the way through. I think to be a competent reader you need this book or something similar, focussing on rhythmic patterns rather than just note recognition.
I haven't really attempted to sight read yet. I own the reading studies books but haven't used them so far. My goal is to be able to pick up sheet music and read through pieces without needing to hear them first, not necessarily at first sight. It's not easy - I know very few (if any) good readers who started learning as adults - but I feel I'm getting there.
-
I'm working my way through as well. One thing I suggest is looping the duets -- it adds a little pressure to get cleanly through a part
-
That's what you're supposed to do. True, it ain't easy--if it was everyone would be doing it Originally Posted by frankiemachine
Open up your reading studies book and do one page. See what happens... Melodic Rhythms used with the 2 vol reading studies are worth their weight in gold. Keep it up and you'll be reading just fine. If I can do it, anyone can...
-
Yes, my intention is to get to the end of Melodic Rhythms (hopefully in the not too distant future) and then start to work on the reading studies books. Originally Posted by whatswisdom
That's what you're supposed to do. True, it ain't easy--if it was everyone would be doing it Open up your reading studies book and do one page. See what happens... Melodic Rhythms used with the 2 vol reading studies are worth their weight in gold. Keep it up and you'll be reading just fine. If I can do it, anyone can...
-
Your intention is good but won't help you. It's easier to do them together, which is the way they are designed for study: the rhythms in Reading Studies are very easy and are designed get you reading lots of notes without the added pressure of difficult rhythms. You'll be using your time wisely and studying correctly if you do a couple of pages from each book every day--even one page from each book in a practice session is time well spent. Originally Posted by frankiemachine
Last edited by whatswisdom; 09-26-2011 at 11:01 AM.
Reply With Quote
Monk's Mood
Today, 04:25 PM in The Songs