When I first started learning gospel music I had never played by ear and only relied on sheet music. It greatly limited me in several ways, but helped me in others. On one hand, some of the sheet music was written in a different key. The funny thing is there would be a note in italics at the bottom saying, "The original key was E major, but it has been transposed to F to make it more playable..." I thought it was the craziest thing in the world because if I couldn't play by ear and my sight reading wasn't skilled enough to transpose on the spot, I couldn't be in a band that was led by an organist/keyboardist that only played by ear and only in the key the song was originally recorded in. I've spoken to some older musicians and they shared my frustration with inaccurate transcriptions. For some seasoned musicians, you may have the Love Alive transcription series, for example, I believe the intro to "Changed" is not accurate and the transcription to "Jesus Christ is the Way" is in the wrong key.
Although some of the transcriptions had errors, they definitely served their purpose. For those who can't play by ear, but only read can at least read the chords and notes and listen to the recording for feeling or just attempt to guage the feeling the same way a classical pianist does. If you study Beethoven, Mozart, Gershwin, even Thelonius Monk and Art Tatum and you only read the sheet music after a while, you get a feel for their knacks and interpretations of music and therefore have an insight on the dynamics, pulse, and feel/flow of the music. I think the same can be said for Hezekiah when he had the same MD, or Kurt Carr when he used Maurice Rogers, Donald with Kevin Bond, Donald with Cedric and Danny...and the list goes on. Artists have signature sounds, you can get a feel for where the sheet music is going sometimes by virtue of it being gospel music and the way a chordal progression sounds.
I will say the sheet music helped me because now all I do is play gospel by ear, but all other genres I read. Reading gospel sheet music helped develop a systematic approach to the gospel sound and also key chords because everything is always relative especially when you're in a genre like gospel...unless you're referring to the new age patterns from Justin Savage, Soundcheck, Asaph Ward, etc.
These days, I think the best advice is to learn by ear, and then go buy the sheet music and test your ear and your sight....at least that's what I do, its a fun challenge for me because sometimes I don't hear all the notes, like the beginning of "The Blessing of Abraham"...I knew the concept Danny was playing and most of the right notes, but maybe one note was missing or I had one note too much.
On a side note, the Gospel Today "Praise is My Weapon" Songbook has AWESOME transcriptions of the Cedric Thompson sound...the song "Born to Set Me Free" is transcribed perfectly with meter changes, broken triplets and all....
I fidn it interesting that someone who learned first by sheet music then ear
would recommend learning first by ear then by sheet.
I can understand the limitations of a person who only learns from sheet music but what about the limitations and slower learning curve a person with a less developed ear would have if the only learned by ear.
there are some phenomenally gifted individuals that would never need a sheet to help them. but there are others that need all the help they can get espcially in the early stages.
Even Roger Holland the Director I mentioned earlier who has a masters degree in music
says that a beginner should use song books to get the correct vocabulary together
this is exactly what you said
learning from the modern sheet music allows you to take a systematic approach to gospel
yesterday I was playing a song and ripped a move from one of the first songs I learned by sheet kirk franklins he's able
there are countless ways to do that move but getting that exact sound gives you a real feel that is early kirk and early kirk has a real good contemporary gospel church sound.
I think all and all the basic myth has been dispelled
sheet music is more than just a guide it cn be a real blue print to follow to learn how to get higher in this music.
everyone is different some people like myself
like to rely on some sheet music
It was using sheet music that helped me land some great jobs
although my ear is far behind my contemporaries
it eventually caught up enough for me to compete
but my ability to read and now quickly identify some key changes grants me a pass to some open doors that otherwise I couldnt enter.
I dont think that My intention with this thread was to say argue the merits of the ear
we all know that playing by ear is very important in gospel especially
since so few of our music is written.
but I think that learning what is written will help us all develop a better vocabulary
which I think a lot of musicians do not realize.
especially since so much of the early gospel music was so simplified.
spirit fingerz
can you give me the exact title of that book I dont think I am familiar with the thompson sound
you talk about him pretty highly
I would like to pitch in that the yolanda adams song book has some great transcritptions as well
