On Thu, 3 Sep 2009 17:51:40 +0100, "George Weston"
 wrote:

>
> wrote in message 
>news:qriv959lvqh4ti67udho7cikchfugc8j0d@4ax.com...
>> On Thu, 3 Sep 2009 11:40:56 +0100, "George Weston"
>>  wrote:
>>
>>>
>>>"Steve at fivetrees"  wrote in message
>>>news:I_SdnZLwB-_jaAPXnZ2dnUVZ8oGdnZ2d@pipex.net...
>>>>  wrote in message
>>>> news:59pt95hdfqtd0aha1kdakgb9gqrb04tt1n@4ax.com...
>>>>> On Mon, 31 Aug 2009 01:52:18 +0100, JNugent
>>>>>  wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>>Steve at fivetrees wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>  wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I think you'll find that professional players of any instrument - 
>>>>>>>> ie,
>>>>>>>> guys that take gigs for fees, can nearly all read.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I know a lot (in the hundreds) of pro musicians. Few (perhaps a 
>>>>>>> dozen)
>>>>>>> can
>>>>>>> read.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>That really depends on the musical milieu (and therefore, to a large
>>>>>>extent,
>>>>>>on the instrument), Steve.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>For instance, it's almost guaranteed that no-one in your local symphony
>>>>>>orchestra can't read well.
>>>>>
>>>>> Quite - in any pro orchestra it's absolutely guaranteed that all the
>>>>> players can read very well indeed - sight-reading is a fundamental
>>>>> part of the audition, particularly if you're going for something like
>>>>> the BBC concert orchestra which gets about 2 hours rehearsal time per
>>>>> outing and they don't know what they're going to get from one day to
>>>>> the next.
>>>>
>>>> Yes, I know. Different kettle of poisson.
>>>>
>>>> Close friend of mine is in the Brighton Beach Boys
>>>> (http://www.brightonbeachboys.com), who are, BTW, rather fab. The core 
>>>> of
>>>> the band is a bunch of pro musos (plus one pro actor), of which one is a
>>>> good reader - and, fortunately, writer. They tend to hire small 
>>>> orchestras
>>>> and distribute the dots at short notice...
>>>>
>>>> Most of the rest of the core I've played with in various Brighton bands 
>>>> at
>>>> one time or another. Between us, we could probably muddle through a set 
>>>> of
>>>> charts in slightly less than several weeks. However, they're all bloody
>>>> good musicians. And singers. They know their onions.
>>>>
>>>> My original point was: people like this hear something, and can then 
>>>> play
>>>> it. They don't need no steenkin' charts. OTOH, a horn player who's been
>>>> hired for the night probably does need charts, and the ability to read
>>>> 'em.
>>>>
>>>> I'm reasonably sure that youse guys know all this already, and I'm
>>>> preaching to the choir. Jeez, guys, gimme a break! ;)
>>>
>>>Yep - horses for courses.
>>>Case in point - our band's singer/keyboardist also runs a soul band.
>>>He plays by ear, as does the guitarist and the bassist.
>>>However, the brass section play from scores, having been "brought up" that
>>>way.
>>>There can be disadvantages in this arrangement, though, such as when they
>>>were about to do a gig and the female sax player suddenly remembered that
>>>she had forgotten her sheet music. Much panic ensued and she had to try 
>>>and
>>>busk her way through - apparently not very successfully...
>>>
>>>George
>>>
>>
>> I used to play in a soul band with a girl on sax. We never noticed the
>> bum notes...:-)
>
>You weren't standing directly behind her after she'd had a curry then....
>;-)
>
>George 
>

This one was too cool for curry....The trumpet player, on the other
hand, couldn't go on stage without one...that was BAAAAD!

Pete