Learning to read music didn’t happen as quickly as I anticipated it would. A fitting comparison would be to consider how long it takes to learn to read English (or any other language.)
One thing is certain – the more you read, the better you become at it. I’m not an expert yet, but it’s great to be able to look at a piece of music and have some understanding of what’s happening.
I’ve found reading to have numerous benefits, and some include:
- A huge asset for learning all the notes on the fretboard.
- The ability to read notational textbooks, including those written for other instruments like the violin.
- Increased workflow with DAWs and other software that’s dependant on understanding music notation.
I’ve found one particular resource that’s proven to be a great asset – Develop Sight Reading by Gaston Dufresne. I believe there is also a bass clef edition.
