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PrintableCaptainJack said: Graycap23 said: With out question. are any of you musicians? Yes. I'm a homeless man's Prince and I can't read a lick of music but I can play all day long. | |
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Graycap23 said: CaptainJack said: are any of you musicians? Yes. I'm a homeless man's Prince and I can't read a lick of music but I can play all day long. Elvis Costello's best work was before he could read music. None of the Beatles could read music. Something to think about. | |
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The only one that knows if Prince can read music is really Prince. However, I suspect (and I am a musician) that he plays by ear and can read music to a certain extent but not a great extent. This thread is looking at this from their eyes and view on music and musicmanship; however, I personally believe that he has a unique gift and that he learns what he can formally, but since it doesn't handicap him very much he instead focuses his energy into other areas of music such as improving his ability to play various instruments which we have seen him do over the years. If I was a betting man, I would believe that Prince has a sound base in chord structure (by ear and from just living and breathing music) thus when he hears the song in his head he can put it together fairly easily and play it just as easily. However, he feels his music and that's why all of us (most of us) really enjoy his music - you can actually listen to the same song over and over in concert and he brings a different flavor to it. Again, to the extent that he can read music - I would say very little because I play piano and drums but I couldn't stand lessons. I am going to take formal lessons however but in I am in no rush:) | |
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Graycap23 said: This may sound like a stupid question but why in the hell would you need to read music if you can play what ever you want to play? I can't read a single note but I can play anything that I can come up with in my head. Just a question.
It may be that it simply isn't necessary or important for some people to read music. But for others it is. It's simply, I believe, down to personal motives. For me, I can play music that I either hear in my head or on record and I can frequently and easily play it and accompany it. However, I'm very unsure whether that is influenced by any formal music training I have received over the years. What I do know is that I get a kick out of learning more about musical theory and being able to read music. For me, being able to pick up a score and read it and hear it in my head, understand how the different instruments interact, even when I might not play a particular instrument, is interesting. I don't doubt that there is something of an intellectual game here - rather like reading a playscript, seeing the structure and imagining how the play might be performed on stage - even as someone who has had no formal acting or stagecraft training. It also means that I also have another tool in the armoury - with the ability to read and write music, I can scribble it down for someone else to play a piece with me. Sure, there are tapes or discs I could record on nowadays, and software available to do it for me, and I'll record what I've composed on those too. But I also understand why some people will say ... 'Why on earth should I bother?' If it doesn't help them and they are not interested, why should they? For them, as you describe, it's a silly question. ALT+PLS+RTN: Pure as a pane of ice. It's a gift. |
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CaptainJack said: panther514 said: He can't...scroll up to my previous post..and check out the interview. He can! do you think he would have been such a musical genius if he couldn't? Stevie Wonder, BB King, Chuck Berry,Hendrix,Prince, Carlos Santana,Sly Stone,Muddy Waters, Bo Didley,Buddy Guy,Stevie Ray Vaughn,Robert Johnson, Johnny Guitar Watson,Curtis Mayfield...all geniuses..none read music most of their careers...almost all were self taught. "I wasn't invited to shake hands with Hitler, but I wasn't invited to the White House to shake hands with the President, either" ~ Jesse Owens | |
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Daddy said: I can't get the video to work.
Sorry about that...go to [YouTube Snip - luv4u]type "prince interview" in the search and scroll until you get it. It's an interview from Australia where he clearly states that he doesn't read. "I wasn't invited to shake hands with Hitler, but I wasn't invited to the White House to shake hands with the President, either" ~ Jesse Owens | |
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Thanks, I got it. I guess that settles it then. Surely he's got some primitive form that he can read and to communicate what he wants from his band members. Who knows. | |
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napoleon370 said: The only one that knows if Prince can read music is really Prince. However, I suspect (and I am a musician) that he plays by ear and can read music to a certain extent but not a great extent. This thread is looking at this from their eyes and view on music and musicmanship; however, I personally believe that he has a unique gift and that he learns what he can formally, but since it doesn't handicap him very much he instead focuses his energy into other areas of music such as improving his ability to play various instruments which we have seen him do over the years. If I was a betting man, I would believe that Prince has a sound base in chord structure (by ear and from just living and breathing music) thus when he hears the song in his head he can put it together fairly easily and play it just as easily. However, he feels his music and that's why all of us (most of us) really enjoy his music - you can actually listen to the same song over and over in concert and he brings a different flavor to it. Again, to the extent that he can read music - I would say very little because I play piano and drums but I couldn't stand lessons. I am going to take formal lessons however but in I am in no rush:)
Very well put! As a self taught musician (bass player). I may not have the ability to look at a chart but i have an ear and an understanding of Theory,chord progressions and scales that i use as my base. Playing by ear for so long, I have the ability to improvise and solo seamlessly when someone from a chart 9 times out of 10 is bound by it. I see it all the time...they are incredible readers but they have no feel in their playing...robotic almost...no flavor in their playing at all...fries with no salt. "I wasn't invited to shake hands with Hitler, but I wasn't invited to the White House to shake hands with the President, either" ~ Jesse Owens | |
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Prince said early in his career that he couldn't read and didn't plan to learn. It is not necessary. Reading is strictly a european advent, to the European mind, nothing is real unless it is written down somewhere, that goes for law, academics, music, on and on. Americans have a bit more leeway and most of our great musicians were limited in their ability to read. I am a musician and glad I can read because it helped me play songs that I wouldn't have had a clue to and to develop my own style, I rarely read now and could get by without it but as a young musician with absolutely no help, learning to read made me better. | |
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Daddy said: Thanks, I got it. I guess that settles it then. Surely he's got some primitive form that he can read and to communicate what he wants from his band members. Who knows.
He just shows them.."While i'm playing this, you can fill in here by playing this....take your solo after I...." other than the horns...he will jump on your instrument and show you note for note what he wants from you...not primative at all.Most of the time,he just gives them the music on disc and tells them to learn it...it's already there recorded as a reference. "I wasn't invited to shake hands with Hitler, but I wasn't invited to the White House to shake hands with the President, either" ~ Jesse Owens | |
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It's a little like learning a foreign language, or learning ANY language.
Babies can't read. Children under a certain age can't read. But they learn how to speak fairly quickly before they ever learn to transcribe their speech. It's amazing how sophisticated the human ear can be. As we get older, some of us forget to trust our ears.  
Some people tell me I've got great legs... | |
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u2prnce said: Graycap23 said: Yes. I'm a homeless man's Prince and I can't read a lick of music but I can play all day long. Elvis Costello's best work was before he could read music. None of the Beatles could read music. Something to think about. The Beatles could/can soooo read music | |
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Graycap23 said: joelmarable said: does he read music.im a piano player that plays by ear and wish to god i could read. i believe i could be more creative.friends say it would take away from me.
From my many years of experience those that read can't create. Those that can't read create their butts off. That's why I've never tried to get any formal training. I think it would mess me up. As a general statement, this is completely untrue. There might be some truth in it when it comes to Jazz where the music is based on improvisation and soloing a lot - for sure, a good ear is the key to become brilliant in that (though the ability to read doesn't exclude that). In classical music, you're completely lost without the ability to read/write music. And this is what bothers me: those who can read also can learn to improvise and completely play by ear. Andre Previn is a good example: film scorer (4 oscars), classical conductor, composer and an excellent jazz pianist. But those who can't read might be brilliant in what they do (Prince and others), but they will never be able to play certain music simply because that music requires the ability to read. You can't play the well-tempered clavier by ear alone without learning it from a sheet, unless you're Mr. Johann Sebastian Bach himself. Not being able to read limits you to do certain things. Why do you think does the control freak Prince hire Clare Fisher for his orchestrations? Being able to read = not creative? Franz Schubert only got 31 years old, but he composed around 1000 individual pieces of music... And for the Beatles, at least McCartney must be able to read/write as he composed an oratory some years ago.  | |
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EmancipationLover said: Graycap23 said: From my many years of experience those that read can't create. Those that can't read create their butts off. That's why I've never tried to get any formal training. I think it would mess me up. As a general statement, this is completely untrue. There might be some truth in it when it comes to Jazz where the music is based on improvisation and soloing a lot - for sure, a good ear is the key to become brilliant in that (though the ability to read doesn't exclude that). In classical music, you're completely lost without the ability to read/write music. And this is what bothers me: those who can read also can learn to improvise and completely play by ear. Andre Previn is a good example: film scorer (4 oscars), classical conductor, composer and an excellent jazz pianist. But those who can't read might be brilliant in what they do (Prince and others), but they will never be able to play certain music simply because that music requires the ability to read. You can't play the well-tempered clavier by ear alone without learning it from a sheet, unless you're Mr. Johann Sebastian Bach himself. Not being able to read limits you to do certain things. Why do you think does the control freak Prince hire Clare Fisher for his orchestrations? Being able to read = not creative? Franz Schubert only got 31 years old, but he composed around 1000 individual pieces of music... And for the Beatles, at least McCartney must be able to read/write as he composed an oratory some years ago. For the most part I agree with this. Just a couple of points: 1. I'm not that clear on how much Paul McCartney can read and write music: his Liverpool Oratorio was a collaboration with conductor and composer, Carl Davis, who was at least responsible for the orchestration of the piece - just as Clare Fisher and his son worked on 'Kamasutra' for . It wouldn't surprise me to learn that McCartney simply played / recorded the parts that he wrote rather than scored them.
2. Your statement that you're completely lost in classical music without the ability to read and write also has exceptions. It's rare in my experience, but not unheard of, for people to be able to hear classical music and then play it back by ear, rather than have to rely on the ability to read a score. I had a friend of many years that was able to listen to pieces by the likes of Scarlatti and Chopin, and play them back at the piano. He had perfect pitch and whilst he knew what each note was on the piano (someone had once told him where C was so he worked out the rest from there), he had never had a formal piano lesson in his life, and he had simply sat at the piano as a young child and almost instinctively he felt he knew how to play - he just had to practise. I asked him once if he could play an F7b5 chord and he genuinely didn't know what that meant. He had no knowledge (as far as he was aware) of how many sharps or flats in each key, but he could play accurately different scales starting from any note. He was also unable to look at a basic triad on a stave and work out what it was on the keyboard unless the position of each note on the stave was explained to him. . [Edited 4/22/06 5:05am] ALT+PLS+RTN: Pure as a pane of ice. It's a gift. |
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langebleu said: EmancipationLover said: As a general statement, this is completely untrue. There might be some truth in it when it comes to Jazz where the music is based on improvisation and soloing a lot - for sure, a good ear is the key to become brilliant in that (though the ability to read doesn't exclude that). In classical music, you're completely lost without the ability to read/write music. And this is what bothers me: those who can read also can learn to improvise and completely play by ear. Andre Previn is a good example: film scorer (4 oscars), classical conductor, composer and an excellent jazz pianist. But those who can't read might be brilliant in what they do (Prince and others), but they will never be able to play certain music simply because that music requires the ability to read. You can't play the well-tempered clavier by ear alone without learning it from a sheet, unless you're Mr. Johann Sebastian Bach himself. Not being able to read limits you to do certain things. Why do you think does the control freak Prince hire Clare Fisher for his orchestrations? Being able to read = not creative? Franz Schubert only got 31 years old, but he composed around 1000 individual pieces of music... And for the Beatles, at least McCartney must be able to read/write as he composed an oratory some years ago. For the most part I agree with this. Just a couple of points: 1. I'm not that clear on how much Paul McCartney can read and write music: his Liverpool Oratorio was a collaboration with conductor and composer, Carl Davis, who was at least responsible for the orchestration of the piece - just as Clare Fisher and his son worked on 'Kamasutra' for . It wouldn't surprise me to learn that McCartney simply played / recorded the parts that he wrote rather than scored them.
2. Your statement that you're completely lost in classical music without the ability to read and write also has exceptions. It's rare in my experience, but not unheard of, for people to be able to hear classical music and then play it back by ear, rather than have to rely on the ability to read a score. I had a friend of many years that was able to listen to pieces by the likes of Scarlatti and Chopin, and play them back at the piano. He had perfect pitch and whilst he knew what each note was on the piano (someone had once told him where C was so he worked out the rest from there), he had never had a formal piano lesson in his life, and he had simply sat at the piano as a young child and almost instinctively he felt he knew how to play - he just had to practise. I asked him once if he could play an F7b5 chord and he genuinely didn't know what that meant. He had no knowledge (as far as he was aware) of how many sharps or flats in each key, but he could play accurately different scales starting from any note. He was also unable to look at a basic triad on a stave and work out what it was on the keyboard unless the position of each note on the stave was explained to him. . [Edited 4/22/06 5:05am] Thanks for the info on McCartney (didn't know about the collaboration). Maybe "completely lost" was an exaggeration. Of course there might be pieces which can be replayed by someone with a very good ear and talent without the ability to read. I can replay some pieces (at least on a basic, semi-accurate level) by ear myself, but that doesn't count as I've had a classical education and my training in harmonics for sure has an influence on this ability. But the more complex the compositions get, the more difficult (if not impossible) it gets to replay them. Maybe one of the best ears in music history belonged to Mozart who could play even complex compositions after hearing them just once. I don't know if it is the truth or a legend, but I think he had to order sheet music of Bach compositions because they were too complex for him. For sure he studied Bach a lot as it is proven by his attempts to compose Fugues himself. | |
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He said that he couldn't read in an "Aussie" interview.
He seems to have a firm grasp of music theory though based on Interviews from the Emancipation/NPS period when he actually talked about the music and not about God or woman's wayward roles.  | |
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Imago said: He said that he couldn't read in an "Aussie" interview.
He seems to have a firm grasp of music theory though based on Interviews from the Emancipation/NPS period when he actually talked about the music and not about God or woman's wayward roles. He for sure knows a lot. "The Dance" is in Eb minor, that key really isn't easy to handle. Also, I remember that scene in "Graffiti Bridge" with the sheet music of his songs appearing. I think one was "Goad is Alive", one was "Rave" and one even "Diamonds and Pearls" (?). However, the music written down there was complete nonsense and had nothing to do with the actual songs. | |
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2 Read Or Not 2 Read??? Isn't that the age old ??? Personally I don't care how U go about your own personal craft of making music. Music should come from that spiritual place inside U that forces U 2 want 2 let that inner voice come FWD & B heard. When I 1st started out, I played purely from that platform as a means 2 an end.
Then as my ear got stronger & other music assaulted my eardrums I wanted 2 understand some of the theory behind the melody, the harmony, the structure, & the whole glue that kept this stuff 2getha. So I took some classes, realized that just like any other craft in life, some have a gift, & some need 2 B taught in a formal setting. Took piano lessons & that's where I got the foundation in learning how 2 read music. I can't fly through classical scores which come in sheets & sheets of paper, but simple pop music is not hard 2 decipher your way through. I love guitar took some lessons, & still can't play the 2 I have @ home. Bass guitar was an EZier fit, 1 damn note @ a time unless U Stanley, Victor, Jaco, etc... As a drummer, thankfully I was blessed with rhythm & an ability 2 make the noise I was making sound pleasing 2 the ears, so I've never had lessons there & it's by far my strongest instrument... Now in this age of computerization, I can play my own music into the PC, print out the score, & amaze myself when I read it back & go, "DAMN..., DID I REALLY PLAY ALL THAT STUFF!?! HELLY YEAH MAN!!! ROFLMAO!!!" So my answer 2 this is... Reading music is just another skill in your toolbox. Some people can create masterpieces with or without the same tools. As long as U R true 2 U, & U can get your thoughts out cohesively & folks can tap they feet, nod they heads, & shake they azz's 2 it. Then "By Whatever Means Necessary," just MAKE IT HAPPEN DAGGONE IT!!! PEACE!!! | |
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Thebrotheraj said: 2 Read Or Not 2 Read??? Isn't that the age old ??? Personally I don't care how U go about your own personal craft of making music. Music should come from that spiritual place inside U that forces U 2 want 2 let that inner voice come FWD & B heard. When I 1st started out, I played purely from that platform as a means 2 an end.
Then as my ear got stronger & other music assaulted my eardrums I wanted 2 understand some of the theory behind the melody, the harmony, the structure, & the whole glue that kept this stuff 2getha. So I took some classes, realized that just like any other craft in life, some have a gift, & some need 2 B taught in a formal setting. Took piano lessons & that's where I got the foundation in learning how 2 read music. I can't fly through classical scores which come in sheets & sheets of paper, but simple pop music is not hard 2 decipher your way through. I love guitar took some lessons, & still can't play the 2 I have @ home. Bass guitar was an EZier fit, 1 damn note @ a time unless U Stanley, Victor, Jaco, etc... As a drummer, thankfully I was blessed with rhythm & an ability 2 make the noise I was making sound pleasing 2 the ears, so I've never had lessons there & it's by far my strongest instrument... Now in this age of computerization, I can play my own music into the PC, print out the score, & amaze myself when I read it back & go, "DAMN..., DID I REALLY PLAY ALL THAT STUFF!?! HELLY YEAH MAN!!! ROFLMAO!!!" So my answer 2 this is... Reading music is just another skill in your toolbox. Some people can create masterpieces with or without the same tools. As long as U R true 2 U, & U can get your thoughts out cohesively & folks can tap they feet, nod they heads, & shake they azz's 2 it. Then "By Whatever Means Necessary," just MAKE IT HAPPEN DAGGONE IT!!! PEACE!!! It really depends on what you want to do. For most of pop music, you might not need the ability to write/read (also due to recording technique). On the other hand, you can't conduct an opera without the chance to study the score first. | |
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EmancipationLover said: Maybe one of the best ears in music history belonged to Mozart who could play even complex compositions after hearing them just once. I don't know if it is the truth or a legend, but I think he had to order sheet music of Bach compositions because they were too complex for him. For sure he studied Bach a lot as it is proven by his attempts to compose Fugues himself.
The story of Mozart I'm familiar with is of him, at 12 years old, listening to Allegri's 'Miserere' in the Sistine Chapel in Rome, then leaving and writing it down from memory (it was apparently considered so prized a piece that its transcription was prohibited and performance restricted). Mozart returned shortly afterwards with his score to check his work and make minor corrections. There's a version of the story here: http://www.classical.net/...erere.html ALT+PLS+RTN: Pure as a pane of ice. It's a gift. |
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no! | |
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I No
Rain is wet, and sugar is sweet Clap your hands, and stomp your feet Everybody, everybody knows When love calls, U gotta go (I Know) {{repeated in the background}} ([Listen, the soul of this song belongs to God]) Welcome 2 the New Power Generation The reason my voice is so clear Is there's no smack in my brain Hundalasiliah ha na na-sha na na na na na na I know there is a heaven, I know there is a hell Listen 2 me people, I got a story to tell I know there was confusion lightnin' all around me That's when I called his name don't U know he found me No! Is what Spooky Electric say, it's not OK But I know love is the only way till my dying day No - til my dying day I'll be OK Cuz Lovesexy is the one til my day is done Hundalasiliah I know there is a devil because he talks so loud He makes U do things that your friends do, hang out with the crowd But my Lord he is so quiet when He calls your name When U hear it your heart will thunder U will want 2 hear it every day No! (people) Is what Spooky Electric say (everbody say) But don't U know that I know Love is the only way, til my dying day No - Til my dying day I'll be OK Cuz Lovesexy is the one til my day is done Hundalasiliah Alright y'all, everybody in the house (serve it up, Frankie) Here's what I want U 2 do Raise your hand up, straight in the air Swing it 2 the right, savoir faire Up on the 2, swing on the 4 Everybody on the dancefloor sha-ho, sha-ho, sha-ho, sha-ho sha-ho, sha-ho, sha-ho, sha-ho y'all ain't got it together go ahead, go ahead, go ahead raise your hand up, straight in the air (let's get it up, let's get it up) yeah Say no (say no) No - if U can't find your way - everybody say (say no) No - if U're afraid, everybody ain't got it made (Say no) - if U want a drug other than the God above No - if U need a drink every single day... Blow that devil away! Say yes Yes - if U want this feeling called love (come on 'ya, say) Yes - if U want it now raise your hand 2 the man above (Yes) Up on the 2, swing right on the 4 We want everybody 2 open this door! Say no - if U don't wanna live life under the gun (I know) We know a better way 2 have some fun (I know) I know - there is a heaven and a hell I know there is a heaven and a hell {{ song breaks down into a crowd noise... }} tell ya what... Man, are we on the guest list? Guest list? Guest list? I don't see no 5 dollars U owe... Ok I'm gonna go to the car I'm goin' home. I'm gonna have one of them sandwiches. [sleep] sandwich, that's right I need the green three sheets. That's right. (that's what I'm talkin' about) A peanut-butter sandwich (her and her girlfriend) (the one that was standin') {D} (right next to my woman...) (right next to my woman) Let us praise God {E} with the fruit of the vine ((My name's Andre Crabtree III)) our [innocent] symbol of glory ((I've got more holes than a golf course)) and thank him 4 lessons of the past, for life, prince... (I said who popped the question?) ©1988 Controversy Music - ASCAP | |
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To be able to do both is beneficial. Why limit yourself? Prince can read music. All those music classes he's claimed to have taken growing up. He probably doesn't read in the classical sense. In funk and jazz reading is not as essential or needed. So reading charts or writing charts isn't the done so much. He like so many others more than likley have intermediate/advanced knowledge of theory that he/they haven't had to utilize in years.
Funny of all the names cats have thrown around in this discussion I may have missed the name QUINCY JONES.....one who can read and write music and has had a very long standing career on both sides of music in just about every style. Sure he doesn't play but he certainly wrote charts out for a whole lotta folks and coached them to bring their style to his productions and writings. So those who claim reading is wack.....is badass composer Quincy Jones,Miles Davis,Dizzy,Wayne Shorter,Marcus Miller,Victor Bailey,Herbie Hancock,Bernie Worrell,etc. wack for knowing how to read and write music? | |
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Shhh747 said: In an interview, Prince said he couldn't read music.
yeh i was gunna mention that i think it was on an australian interview he said he didnt | |
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SammiJ said: Shhh747 said: In an interview, Prince said he couldn't read music.
yeh i was gunna mention that i think it was on an australian interview he said he didnt prince told me he didn't know prince  | |
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panther514 said: The interview says "no, I do not read musice" - that is much different than "I can't read music". He does not need to, but certainly can. I have seem him pre-concert re-write pieces for his band. Also, how many tracks has he "written" for other people? Bangles, Kenny Rodgers, Sinead, others - what does he "write": "well, it sounds like wang, wang, giga clang - just another manic Monday"? Yes - he can read and write music. However, when building a concert he plays by ear. | |
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I can not read music and play it at the same time. Yet I can play it on my keyboards. You may remember seeing Me playing keyboards and singing, at the court house, during he Michael Jackson Trial, in Santa Maria. Yet when singing from A Church Hymnal, I let my voice go up and down with the black dots on the lines. To learn Someone Else's Songs, I suggest write down the letters secquence, of the notes, then find them on the insturment, memorize them, then play them with your own feelings.
with love, -nickki | |
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CaptainJack said: are any of you musicians?
Ummm dude... that's danm near the dumbest question you can ask on this board. Almost as dumb as you questioning weither Prince can read music or not when he says in the linked interview a few post ago can't, and has said so on several other occasions if asked. Neither Stevie Wonder nor Ray Charles could read music ... but both are/were still very much geniuses in their own rights. It isn't that uncommon to be a musician who can't read music And before you even bring up this question... even though HE can't read music doesn't mean that those around him can't. After he self composes a song in studio.. i'm pretty sure it's not to far fetched to beleive that he has peeps who will translate his tracks to sheet music for those band members who may need it to initially learn a song. But of course.. they have to know how to play with out it... cause ya never know when Prince will kick into a 15 min freestyle funk jam and his band members need to be able to improvise to keep up. | |
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vman4639 said: panther514 said: The interview says "no, I do not read musice" - that is much different than "I can't read music". He does not need to, but certainly can. I have seem him pre-concert re-write pieces for his band. Also, how many tracks has he "written" for other people? Bangles, Kenny Rodgers, Sinead, others - what does he "write": "well, it sounds like wang, wang, giga clang - just another manic Monday"? Yes - he can read and write music. However, when building a concert he plays by ear. I do not and I cannot read music are one in the same. I'm not sure what you were looking at when you saw him writing something down..but he wasn't charting music...he does not read..not by choice but because he has never felt the need to learn..as far as the music used by other artists...he gave the bangles a recording of the song and showed the phrasing of the lyrics by singing it..there were no charts. "I wasn't invited to shake hands with Hitler, but I wasn't invited to the White House to shake hands with the President, either" ~ Jesse Owens | |
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QuakeXLE said: CaptainJack said: are any of you musicians?
Ummm dude... that's danm near the dumbest question you can ask on this board. Almost as dumb as you questioning weither Prince can read music or not when he says in the linked interview a few post ago can't, and has said so on several other occasions if asked. Neither Stevie Wonder nor Ray Charles could read music ... but both are/were still very much geniuses in their own rights. It isn't that uncommon to be a musician who can't read music And before you even bring up this question... even though HE can't read music doesn't mean that those around him can't. After he self composes a song in studio.. i'm pretty sure it's not to far fetched to beleive that he has peeps who will translate his tracks to sheet music for those band members who may need it to initially learn a song. But of course.. they have to know how to play with out it... cause ya never know when Prince will kick into a 15 min freestyle funk jam and his band members need to be able to improvise to keep up. Well put! James Brown didn't read either. There are a several different software apps that will chart every note you play. He has to have access to one or he pays someone to chart it for him. "I wasn't invited to shake hands with Hitler, but I wasn't invited to the White House to shake hands with the President, either" ~ Jesse Owens | |
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