does anyone know for sure? Because i just saw an interview with him with an australian reporter where prince says that he doesnt read music

hhhhdmt said:

does anyone know for sure? Because i just saw an interview with him with an australian reporter where prince says that he doesnt read music

hmmm, where did u see the interview? (: I wanna see it xD

the bigget video site on the internet (YT), from the one nite alone era, its pretty easy to find

So...you had it straight from the horse's mouth...and you're still asking the question?

i find it hard to believe that he can play so many instruments so well and yet doesnt know how to read music. Anyway he looked sorta unconfortable during the interview too.

hhhhdmt said:

the bigget video site on the internet (YT), from the one nite alone era, its pretty easy to find

oh I know this one! watched before, but tnx!

hhhhdmt said:

i find it hard to believe that he can play so many instruments so well and yet doesnt know how to read music. Anyway he looked sorta unconfortable during the interview too.

It's probably more a matter of never using sheet music and not knowing how to write music, not really being a musical illiterate that doesn't know how to distinguish a C# from a Gb. Prince writes his lyrics down but always records his ideas. He doesn't write the notes down. That's probably what he meant.

--

[Edited 10/11/10 10:05am]

hhhhdmt said:

i find it hard to believe that he can play so many instruments so well and yet doesnt know how to read music. Anyway he looked sorta unconfortable during the interview too.

What does that have to do with the price of pork? Prince always looks uncomfortable (to a certain degree) in interviews. Sure you aren't suggesting he was being coerced into saying what he did.

You don't have to know how to read music to play an instrument. Many people who aren't classically trained don't.

Genesia said:

So...you had it straight from the horse's mouth...and you're still asking the question?

"made my day"

hhhhdmt said:

does anyone know for sure? Because i just saw an interview with him with an australian reporter where prince says that he doesnt read music

Aha! Prince caught in another lie! We need more org members like you, hhhhdmt, to keep Prince honest!

I dare him to say he can't leap tall buildings in a single bound! I double dare him, the little liar!

he doesnt but thats ok

he was gifted with a good ear

hhhhdmt, this has been posted quite a few times here.

If it's the same interview I'm thinking it is, the interviewer said, "You don't read music?" Prince answered, "No". He didn't say that he CAN'T read music. I'm sure that he may have learned to read music along the way.

Prince is one of the greatest improvisationists out there. Listening to audios and watching vids of rehearsals is a pretty good example of this. He directs other players which key he would like different passages to be or how he would like something switched around in how it's played. I really like the way he plays songs differently. Makes it more interesting to me and appreciate Prince as a musician that much more.

I only wish that I am able to do what Prince does musically on ANY instrument I have learned to play.

daPrettyman said:

I think he knows how. In a couple of songs, he has mentioned keys, so that tells me he can.

I can read music but that doesn't necessarily mean I know what key to mention for any changes. I don't know how to transition while playing. When I play, it's by reading music. I've yet to memorize ONE piece of music. I most definitely don't play by ear.

rubymoon53 said:

daPrettyman said:

I think he knows how. In a couple of songs, he has mentioned keys, so that tells me he can.

I can read music but that doesn't necessarily mean I know what key to mention for any changes. I don't know how to transition while playing. When I play, it's by reading music. I've yet to memorize ONE piece of music. I most definitely don't play by ear.

Do you play your music scales? That will give you a better understanding of transitioning keys.

Also, if you can read music, you will learn to tell how many sharps or flats are in a song...that tells you what key the song is in (when you look at the key signature).

Can you tell what key this song is written in?

[Edited 10/11/10 20:16pm]

daPrettyman said:

rubymoon53 said:

I can read music but that doesn't necessarily mean I know what key to mention for any changes. I don't know how to transition while playing. When I play, it's by reading music. I've yet to memorize ONE piece of music. I most definitely don't play by ear.

Do you play your music scales? That will give you a better understanding of transitioning keys.

Also, if you can read music, you will learn to tell how many sharps or flats are in a song...that tells you what key the song is in (when you look at the key signature).

Can you tell what key this song is written in?

[Edited 10/11/10 20:16pm]

This is in the key of Gmajor. I know how to read what key the music is written in. It's just that....yeah, I do need to play my scales and chords and stuff like that. And to think I took 2 years of music theory. Never did learn much as far as all the major, minor, pentatonic, etc. scales.

Learning how to read basic musical scales isn't that difficult; learning how to write your own music in notation is a different beast entirely...

purplethunder3121 said:

Learning how to read basic musical scales isn't that difficult; learning how to write your own music in notation is a different beast entirely...

You got that right, purplethunder. I wrote a short piece for piano. I did that to see if I could. It's a very simple piece but adding the bass clef notes with the melody in the treble clef was tricky for me. I mentioned in an earlier post that I have yet to memorize one piece. Well, shoot, I could memorize the one I wrote. I'm such a duhme. Now all I have to do is get my piano down here where I now live.

rubymoon53 said:

daPrettyman said:

Do you play your music scales? That will give you a better understanding of transitioning keys.

Also, if you can read music, you will learn to tell how many sharps or flats are in a song...that tells you what key the song is in (when you look at the key signature).

Can you tell what key this song is written in?

[Edited 10/11/10 20:16pm]

This is in the key of Gmajor. I know how to read what key the music is written in. It's just that....yeah, I do need to play my scales and chords and stuff like that. And to think I took 2 years of music theory. Never did learn much as far as all the major, minor, pentatonic, etc. scales.

Oh, ok. I understand what you mean now.

rubymoon53 said:

purplethunder3121 said:

Learning how to read basic musical scales isn't that difficult; learning how to write your own music in notation is a different beast entirely...

You got that right, purplethunder. I wrote a short piece for piano. I did that to see if I could. It's a very simple piece but adding the bass clef notes with the melody in the treble clef was tricky for me. I mentioned in an earlier post that I have yet to memorize one piece. Well, shoot, I could memorize the one I wrote. I'm such a duhme. Now all I have to do is get my piano down here where I now live.

It amazes me how people like Prince and Stevie don't necessarilly read music, but they can play damn-near anything they hear. That is truly a musical gift.

daPrettyman said:

rubymoon53 said:

You got that right, purplethunder. I wrote a short piece for piano. I did that to see if I could. It's a very simple piece but adding the bass clef notes with the melody in the treble clef was tricky for me. I mentioned in an earlier post that I have yet to memorize one piece. Well, shoot, I could memorize the one I wrote. I'm such a duhme. Now all I have to do is get my piano down here where I now live.

It amazes me how people like Prince and Stevie don't necessarilly read music, but they can play damn-near anything they hear. That is truly a musical gift.

I know what you mean, daPrettyman. It truly is. My youngest daughter has been playing piano since she was 2 1/2 yrs. old. She has even composed her own music but not in the writing it on staff paper sense. I'm sure she will be doing that fairly soon. I hope so. She is 10 1/2 yrs. old now and plays Kuhlau better than I. She also has 5 or 6 videos on utube. One of my favorite pieces she plays is there. She also accompanies herself on piano while singing. Her goal is to attend Julliard.

daPrettyman said:

rubymoon53 said:

This is in the key of Gmajor. I know how to read what key the music is written in. It's just that....yeah, I do need to play my scales and chords and stuff like that. And to think I took 2 years of music theory. Never did learn much as far as all the major, minor, pentatonic, etc. scales.

Oh, ok. I understand what you mean now.

Thanks.

I think he reads "The Economist" and "World Affairs". Like I do.

daPrettyman said:

rubymoon53 said:

I can read music but that doesn't necessarily mean I know what key to mention for any changes. I don't know how to transition while playing. When I play, it's by reading music. I've yet to memorize ONE piece of music. I most definitely don't play by ear.

Do you play your music scales? That will give you a better understanding of transitioning keys.

Also, if you can read music, you will learn to tell how many sharps or flats are in a song...that tells you what key the song is in (when you look at the key signature).

Can you tell what key this song is written in?

[Edited 10/11/10 20:16pm]

Judging by the lyrics, I'd say that is in the key of Crap Major.

daPrettyman said:

I think he knows how. In a couple of songs, he has mentioned keys, so that tells me he can.

those are different skills.

a person can also know how to talk without knowing how to read words

RodeoSchro said:

daPrettyman said:

Do you play your music scales? That will give you a better understanding of transitioning keys.

Also, if you can read music, you will learn to tell how many sharps or flats are in a song...that tells you what key the song is in (when you look at the key signature).

Can you tell what key this song is written in?

[Edited 10/11/10 20:16pm]

Judging by the lyrics, I'd say that is in the key of Crap Major.

i think he didn't know how to read music,

but I'm sure does now.

but you don't have to know how to read music to be great at it.

Score is just another tool.