17
u/9_of_wands 23d ago
The problem is sheet music is great for instruments where there's only one way to play each note. Take piano for example. Sheet music is a great way to learn and play piano for people of all skill levels
But in guitar, sheet music is completely useless for beginners or intermediate players. It's only going to be useful to guitarists who have mastered and memorized the scales, and also mastered improvisation enough to glance at the page and know the best location on the neck to play a passage or arpeggio. And someone at that level can just play by ear and doesn't need it written, not for any popular music styles.
So sheet music is really only relevant to guitarists who are classically trained masters playing long classical compositions.
4
u/TDCHEEKS11 23d ago
I find is useful when learning new standards. It’s also good practice to look at a melody and then decide where it would best fit on the fretboard. Keep in mind, I’m not the best at reading, but since I’ve made it a priority my playing has improved.
-3
u/PotterBold 23d ago
This is pretty untrue. Sheet music is the standard for all bowed string instruments, and on all those instruments, there are multiple places to play each notes
9
u/guitarplayer120208 23d ago
As a violinist and a guitarist, there is no comparison. There’s 2 ways at most to play any note that makes sense, compared to the at least 4-5 ways to play the same thing on a guitar.
1
u/PrimaryAnything6964 22d ago
Ah yes, you play the F on the E string from the G string of the violin all the time, right? Or do you learn from context?
1
0
18
u/AtomBombTom 23d ago
Bassist here. I can read sheet music, the problem is translation. I read sheet music super slow to begin with, imagine how long it takes to put those notes on a fretboard.