The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #113211 Message #2406648
Posted By: CarolC
06-Aug-08 - 12:17 PM
Thread Name: The Weekly Walkabout (part 2.)
Subject: RE: The Weekly Walkabout (temp.)
For me, when the recorder was my main instrument, I practiced until the fingering became second nature and I never really had to think about it any more. And then, once that happened, all I had to do was know a melody in my head, and if I could whistle it, I could play it on the recorder. Which, I guess, is another way of saying I tended to play by ear. I could do this with any simple melody, but much longer classical pieces, I had difficulty with playing because I couldn't memorize them very well, and I never was able to read music for the recorder.
I can read music for the accordion, and I do (mostly for the basses, which I sometimes have difficulty memorizing), but I can play a melody on the keyboard side by ear (if I can whistle it, I can play it). I'm sure that's because I've been playing on keyboards since I was a child and the notes have become second nature on that instrument as well.