@mrmhead Said
What kind of music?
Do you listen to the music before or while reading?
I can read music - for the purpose of playing, but not to sit down and read it like a book.
And a full orchestra score is mind boggling to me.
... you know the E G C F#A ... Bb notes etc don't make words ...
Yes... "mind boggling" is pretty accurate.
Background:
I started picking up the guitar again. I had started learning 10+ years ago, but life got in the way. So now - recently - I started again. But now, I want to "read" music...
So, I was "reading" (trying to learn) the lines, time signatures... etc
Then, because it was classical guitar, I am learning/reading left hand finger movements... notes & cords...
So... example... notes A - A - E - E - B - C - B - A.... etc...
Then reading the note values... whole, half, quarter, eighth... etc...
Then since it is classical guitar... the right hand finger movements "P I M A"
Some of that being bounced off of (or compared to) "tablature" because that is the way much of the guitar music is presented (which I don't especially like)...
Then come the "rests" and the "ties"...
Then... because I am a
nut bag... I start (for kicks) looking at "music ensembles"... etc...
Now, please don't get me wrong... I have not wrapped my brain around all this... but I can't help looking at it and trying to...
It is, at this point, very "mechanical"... but I'm starting to "hear" things... example... very small example... my 4th string (D) was off... I couldn't quite tune the guitar by ear, but could hear that it was off... it was very disturbing...
(Not like I was going to kill people, but it was getting in the way of my practice...
)
So I feel like I am beginning to "hear" what I am "reading"... maybe...
And you are right... nothing like words. I can read Italian, Spanish, French... and if a word is not coming through, I can get the dictionary translation... This music thing is very different...
I feel like I am either on the edge of "understanding' OR very far from "understanding"...
Sorry for the rambling response... I've never been especially musically inclined, but I am working on it...