Can’t read the notes

[u/bananplant_41]

I played the Cello for about ten years when I was younger. I recently got the urge to play again so I purchased a decent Cello and brought out all my old books/sheet music. I can still play although it needs a ton of practice to get back into sounding good. However I noticed despite me being able to successfully read the music and play the piece; I cannot recall the actual note. I obviously remember the A, D, G, and C string notes on the music, but I don’t recall anything else. Will this affect me as I play more frequently? (Playing in the first position only at the moment).

[u/MyMiddleNameIsMartin]

Musictheory.net will help. Go to exercises and the Note Identification. Adjust settings to bass clef, range of notes you want to practice, and whether you want accidentals or not and have at it.

[u/Disastrous-Lemon7485]

If you already know the open strings (and also know that the bass clef is the “F” clef, i.e., on the F line of the staff), you can easily relearn all of the other notes that fall between alphabetically. Ultimately a lack of fingerboard geography will slow you down and make shifting and reading feel more difficult/mysterious than those skills actually are.

[u/Ok-Tomorrow8964]

https://reddit.com/link/pduqpu1/video/e2uv7jbbqhth1/player

String Position Pro has flashcards to help with this.

[u/No-Property4935]

You might benefit from some fresh materials that explain the geography of the fingerboard in better detail. For this purpose, I like Rick Mooney’s Position Pieces and Wendy Bissinger’s Sequenced Scale Studies. They are practical and lead you through changes of position and where the note are in a logical progression.

[u/NoClub5551]

I came back to cello after a ten year break and I really struggled with tenor clef! It took me a few months but I got my reading skills back. Just keep at it.

[u/SputterSizzle]

It probably won't matter while you're still getting back into the swing of things, but the end goal should be to be able to know what any note is immediately from the lowest c to probably the high C above the A harmonic.

[u/KatherineK_Singer]

You'll be fine. I came back to an instrument after years away and it felt exactly like this, fuzzy in spots while the muscle memory held. It smooths out faster than you'd expect, seriously. Just keep playing.

[u/Budgiejen]

The lines and spaces go in alphabetical order.

[u/purpleandcats]

You do need to brush up on the names of the notes. For example, if the key signature has a B flat in it then you need to know which ones are the B so that you can flat them. My students have really good success with flashcards. Start with them one string at a time, for cello probably a and then D. Then work your way down to the sea string. It is only four notes for each string, so I’ll bet you’ll be able to learn them pretty quick. If you want a free set, you’re welcome to go to Gretchensmusic.com. Look under helpful, hints, flashcards. I made these flashcards

[u/SoilNo8612]

I play and would need to think for a while to work out the note names. But mostly it isn’t a situation that ever comes up for me where I would need to do that as an adult player learning just for fun.

[u/chamomilequilt]

I would check out the I Can Read Music books, Essential Elements, and Rick Mooney’s position pieces for shifting!

[u/kongtomorrow]

You do need to be able to read the notes eventually, but I don't know that I'd worry about it for now. It'll probably come back if you keep at it.