On Thu, Mar 12, 2009, angevin...@att.net said:

> While I'm fluent reading mensural notation for
> singing or other instruments, I've never mastered it with the lute.  

The ability to play at sight is a professional skill that some never
aquire.  It is valued, and orchestral practice recognizes that by
providing pitch-transposed parts for certain instruments (eg, clarinet) so
their players dont have to do the mental twists when changing instruments.

Frankly, I began with Guitar as so many of us do, I also sang and played
other instruments (winds), so the notation itself was easy; but reading
for guitar, especially chords, was something I just found challenging, and
that over more than a decade; not intensive effort, but enough to decide
it wasnt going to happen for me.  Tablature was much easier, and I was
willing to do the transcriptions.

Then I joined a COllegium Musicum, and discovered how hard it was to read
even single-line staff at tempo.  Many dropped notes followed.  Thankfully
it was enough for the director to whittle down the possibles into a
semesters program; and also to decide on orchestrations.  Plenty of time
later to work out fingerings and get up to speed, time enough to get the
pieces into my head where I could then play from rote and do some artful
improv.

You are not alone in finding this a challenge, I say pick one instrument
and concentrate on it; consider what role you want to pursue in ensemble,
then focus on that instrument for staff-notation reading skills.
-- 
Dana Emery




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