Eddie,

Great post,

I read music. 30 years ago I could read a lot better. Family, career and other life's responsibilities changed that and I'm not as adept at sight reading. Today it takes plenty of practice.

Ian, I too used John Thompson courses.

Forget playing by ear, my half hearted attemtps in the past didn't get me too far. I found it very frustrating to try to play by ear. My reading skills were better so it has always been easier to just read the charts.

I do some improvising from charts. In the last few years I have used fake books for arranger play.

These questions could raise another question, is it possible to learn to play by ear, if you don't have a knack for it? Do the advertised courses in places like Keyboard Magazine or on the net work?



[This message has been edited by Stephenm52 (edited 06-25-2009).]