“I’d love to be able to read music – but it will take too long. I just haven’t the time.”
I don’t know how many times I have heard that that objection from Irish traditional musicians. It’s a common refrain, isn’t it? And, of course, for musicians who have successfully learned to play by ear, the idea of starting to learn how to read music can be daunting. For anyone who has tried it, the chances are that you were taught using classical music examples and methods. And, it may indeed have seemed to take forever, particularly if you were learning bit by bit, trying to decipher notes at a desk with no instrument in sight, or wading through endless theory without ever playing a single tune.
Perhaps you’ve experienced some of these scenarios yourself:
Learning at the Desk: If your only opportunity to learn music was at school, chances are you were sitting at a desk, staring at sheet music – and without an instrument. For me, this feels a bit like trying to learn to swim by reading about it instead of jumping into the water. It’s never going to work – and certainly not fast!
The Endless Theory Trap: You spend hours learning music theory, learning one note at a time, and moving at a snail’s pace. The end goal – being able to read and play tunes off the page – seems miles away,. And so you get bored and disheartened – and give up.
But what if I told you it doesn’t have to be this way? What if you could learn to read music quickly and effectively. AND get to put what you learn into practice – in other words, integrate what you learn with your instrument – from day one?
That’s where my method comes in. It’s a simple, streamlined approach, designed for traditional musicians like you. The best part? You can go from struggling with sheet music to playing tunes off the page in just one week.
Read Music the TRAD Way involves 4 steps, designed to help traditional musicians master music reading, quickly and easily.
The method involves working through all 4 steps focussing on one tune type (Polkas). This then can simply be applied to all of the other tune types.
Here’s how it works:
Step 1 – learn to recognise the form and structure of polkas as they are written in staff notation. Using some specially designed cheat sheets you’ll soon be able to look at printed tune examples and analyse and understand how the tune works.
Step 2 – Learn how to recognise the rhythmic patterns and use my Tap, Clap, Say & Play method to get reading and playing rhythms right off the page!
Step 3 This is all about reading the pitches. And, when I say read, I mean read and play. All of this is done with instruments in hand! Tackle the stave bit by bit. Learn to recognise and play melodic patterns by working through tons of short drills and exercises.
Step 4 This is where you get to put it all together and sight-read full Polkas!
Using the 4-Step Method to read Jigs. Here is where you discover the great secret about reading tunes! The only thing that really changes is the time signature and the rhythms. So, here we sail through Step 1 (recognising the form and structure), spend some time on Step 2 (the rhythmic patterns), add in Step 3 (the pitches) and finish up with Step 4 where we put it all together. And look at that – you are reading and playing Jigs right off the page!
Now it’s on to Reels. So again, it’s about giving the time signature and the rhythms some attention. And the rest is all familiar!
Now that you are able to read and play Polkas, Jigs and Reels, you have mastered the common time signatures. So today is all about looking at all of the other tune types – and how you now have all of the tools to help you read any tune at all, of any type. And … you can now celebrate your new music reading skills!
This 7 day Bootcamp approach really does work. But, finding approximately 6 hours per day for 7 days may not suit everyone.
Maybe you’d prefer the Extended approach. So something close to 3.5 hours per week for 3 months, or 1.5 hours per week over 6 months might sound more your style.
Or, the Leisurely approach might be the one for you. Spend 45-60 mins per week working through the course. Or, take inspiration from Duolingo, and commit to 6-10 mins a day every day for one year.
Read Music the TRAD Way is designed to allow you to master this skill in whatever time you have to work with. It’s your choice!
Sign up now at readmusicthetradway.com
You can do it!
Read Music the TRAD Way is part of the I Teach Trad family.
I Teach Trad offers courses and resources for teachers AND learners of Irish traditional music. Discover how we can help you on your traditional music journey today!
