The struggle of Gps learning music and sheetmusic

[Gps]

I do not have a problem, but would like to share, I am now 100% sure, I can slowly read sheet music, while using a cheat sheet.

If I do exactly on certain parts what the sheet music tells me however, I need a bit more room then the 4 count. Interesting.
I think I totally understand why this happens. It seems that for this piece at least, the dot behind a lot of notes needs to be interpreted as a guide, and not as an exact value.

What really helps me, is drawing a ruler below the 4 beats. (1,2,3,4 )
Now if a note starts at two, but the two previous notes go beyond 2, the first two notes need fiddling.

To name this mathematically, the dot means add something between a 1/4 and 1/2 to the note.

You guys did it, and I like to thank you for your patience. You learned me how to read sheet music, and this reminds me of something, I was told in this topic. Sheet music is not as exact as I, as technician am used too. Or maybe it is, if you add a tolerance to it.

I hope this translates well, but when I make a technical drawing a measure has a tolerance to it.

If it says 5 mm, depending on the tolerance, 4,9 or 5,1 is right too.

Why was this so hard for me to grasp ?

Another thing I like to share. When I put in notes, I sometimes make a mistake.
I can hear this, when I listen to it, and I can correct it by ear.
Part of me is still in shock, on how my musical hearing has improved, over the last 6 ? months.

[slipstick]

You may want to check your adding up. Unless you've found some sheet music that is written incorrectly a dot following a note extends the length of the note by EXACTLY half as much again. I'd be interested to see some examples where a bar/measure doesn't add up to exactly 4 beats.

But other than that it sounds like you're getting on great. It's good when new learning finally comes together in your head isn't it ?

Steve

[Gps]

It is indeed, the fun is returning in working on this piece, before is was mostly frustration.

I am of course very interested, if I am making a mistake or if I am right.

http://musicnoteslib.com/tabs/James__Hi ... 27937.html

First page second part, first part were the word band, is in front off.

first 8 notes.

1/8 dot, 1/16, 1/8 dot, 1/16 dot, 1/8 dot, 1/16, 1/8 dot, 1/8

Lmao, I found the problem.

I have been writing notes to the sheet paper, and one of the dots, is not actual a dot, but some spot from my ballpoint.
I underlined were I messed up.

[slipstick]

That's good because I'd hate to think you were trying to work from something that was printed/written wrong. That would really add to the frustration if you couldn't rely on the sheet music.

Steve

[Gps]

Yeah for somebody with a lot more experience, it might not a problem, but for me it would.

I just changed something, and now I am starting to worry.
Changing the lead, might mean I have to change the baseline too.

But I do not agree on what is played there. ( because I know the original so well )

First note starts, and last note ends, exactly at the same spot as on the sheet music. But I added a note in between.
Lets hope I am not gonna regret this.

It brought back a memory.
This part is why I switched to a different sheet music version.
But totally neglected the famous 1,2,3,4.

I just added two 1/8 notes with a dot, to the sheet music, an C and a D at the right spot of course.
( that's what my ears agreed to in lmms )

[mrfriendson]

( that's what my ears agreed to in lmms )

I see what you did there D
and I agree xDD

I could play most band instruments and more recently digital orchestration but I have to be honest and admit how intimidating sheet music seems to me.
I can tell if this is a whole, half, quarter, eight, and so on and so forth, rest or note, along with the rest of the musical symbols but I don't know how to play a piece by reading sheet music as I have been too reliant on playing by ear. I don't know whether knowing how to read sheet music makes you a better musician or boxes you within the range of notes and complexity a piece has or being mediocre by just being contented to play everything by ear?
:'(

The closest thing that I can do to reading sheet music is to fire up Synthesia and play the falling notes xDD http://www.sythesiagame.com * sigh *

[Gps]

Do as I do, I have made cheat sheets. Two are the five lines, with all the notes written in it.
For a bass clef and for that other symbol I cant remember the name of. ( F clef ? )
I still cant do without it, but slowly I am improving.

My biggest issue was, not getting that it matters a lot, were a note is placed between the two bars.
I like to call that my 1,2,3,4 problem.
Then I checked my notes to a midi file, and the confusion only got bigger. Why is that second note not directly after that first note ?
Why is there space between those notes, in the midi file, although the sheet music does not show a rest ?
Because, to give one example, that second note start at the second beat.

First time I put in notes from sheet music, into lmms it took me about 30 minutes for 10 notes.
But with help of this forum and me refusing to give up, I slowly pick up speed.

When I seriously started with lmms, people asked if I was tone deaf.
So just using my ears was no option for me. But again because I refused to give in, my ears have improved a lot.

You don't need to be able to read sheet music for making music in lmms.
You do need a good musical hearing, which I lagged also.

So I had two options, dive into the music theory or give up.

So what I like to advice you, if you want to learn to read sheet music, just start, and don't care about how long it will take you at the start.

The way I started was taking a pen, and write on the sheet music abcdefg with the notes. Of course I make mistakes, but by now my ears have improved so much, I can by ear correct these mistakes in lmms.
And there is no really wrong or right in music, as long as it sounds good.

Edit this is a nice site, although it often lags bad. But it highlights to notes played.
And you can select the different instruments
https://www.jellynote.com/en/sheet-musi ... %23score_A

[Gps]

There is something strange about the bassline and the sheet music, when I compare this to the midi file. ( biscaya)

Midi file shows an 1/8 note, sheet music says 1/8 dot. Not just ones, but for many notes.
If I ignore the dots, I can agree with the midi file.

Maybe I am just gonna use the bassline from that midi file.

[Gps]

Never give up never surrender.
I am not done yet, just sharing my progress.

https://soundcloud.com/user586365033/biscayaexport2

[Gps]

Today putting in a track that according to the sheet music is called Jazz guitar.
It has a problem similar to that basstrack. If I use the dot as it should, it wont fit.

It seems that for this piece you need different interpretations of that dot, very weird.
For the main lead, the dot is as it should be. For that fretless Electric bass, I needed to ignore it, and now this part it seems to be add 1/4 instead of 1/2.

If some can confirm this ?

J.Gtr. second part, page one. http://musicnoteslib.com/tabs/James__Hi ... 27937.html
1/8 rest + 1/16 rest 1/16 1/8 dot, 1/16, 1/8 dot, 1/16, 1/8, 1/8 rest.

Edit: Maybe I should add, the only reason why I am interested, if I am right or not, has to do with the fact, if I can or still can't really can't read sheet music.

Edit2: I don't need to worry anymore. Some bars are just strange in this piece. Same track, but a few bars on, a variation on the pattern, which fits 100%.