I think being able to play without music is a gift. My wife is a classically trained pianist and organist. She sight reads like crazy and can play just about anything you put in front of her. If she doesn�t have music she couldn�t play twinkle twinkle little star. She has been a church organist for 40 years and still can�t play hymns without music even though she has played them a thousand times.

I, on the other hand, am only a fair sight reader. If I play a tune 4 or 5 times I can throw away the music. I will usually play it 5 or 6 times more to fine tune my arrangement. After that I rarely use the music anymore. The first professional job I played was a cocktail party in between a wedding and the reception. I got there, set up the organ and Leslie and discovered that I had no music. I played the next two hours from memory. I don�t try to memorize the music it just happens. Also when I�m kicking bass I have discovered that if my foot plays the right notes my hands will too.

It�s a gift.

Tom