When you learn to play guitar on your own with the help of tabs and videos, reading music may not be one of your first concerns. “How can the ability to read music help you with playing your favourite songs ? ” you may wonder. Most people learn to play an instrument by copying other people. When you are reading notes from a book you are not copying someone, you are just playing notes who someone wrote down.

In an ideal learning situation people learn to play the guitar by being shown what to play. The ability to read music is another skill which will help your overal musician ship and coordination skills. Reading will also help you to get to know your instrument better.

                 Musician ship:

The ability to read music will make you aware of different rhythms. When you play a musical phrase of single notes you will probably play those notes with a different timing and feel. All of this can be written down to show you what is going on rhythmically 

                Coordination Skills:

Having to look at a book on a music stand whilst playing your guitar may sound easier that what it is: You need to read the notes while you play those notes in real time. You are not able to look at your fingers, when you do you will loose the pace of the music and you will also loose where you are in the book. Anyone can learn the skill to play from sheet music, but it does take time and practise.

              Notes on the Fretboard of the Guitar:

One of the difficulties of the learning the guitar is to learn where all the various notes are on the fretboard. Having some reading skills will help you to get to grips with the lay out of the fretboard.

             Reading and Reading:

Learning to read is one thing, in the beginning you will learn what each note of the musical alphabeth looks like, once you have got to grips this you will also learn where to play these notes on the fretboard.
You will need to practise your reading skills, and most basic tutor books for the guitar will let you make a start with this.
To keep your reading skills up, and to improve them, you can read any music which you can play on the guitar. Reading rhythms will be the hardest in the beginning, after a while you will start to feel what those rhythms will sound like.

Hope to catch you soon again,
Eddie