Music - I can play by ear but cannot read music at all!

Lollipop95

I play the tin-whistle and a bit of the piano. I cannot read sheet music at all,I just cannot understand it and if we're ever playing in class and sheet music is handed out,I mime playing the tin-whistle. Then,after hearing everyone else playing the song on the tin-whistle,I'm able to pick up how it goes and then I'll play for real and get the song. If I listen to a song for long enough(depending on what instrument it's played on!) I'm able to pick it up by ear in around 30 minutes. For example,I listened to Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart by Alicia Keys and after about 30 minutes,maybe more,I could play the instrumental bit on the piano,without any sheet music. Just listening by ear. I haven't gone to any music lessons,apart from piano listens when I was young but even then I couldn't grasp sheet music,I just learned the songs by ear by listening to my piano teacher playing them first.

I love music class,but because I can't read sheet music and can only play by ear,do you think I should drop it for the Leaving Cert? I'm in TY at the moment and we have to do every subject,hence why I'm doing music!

Luno

Composing is a big part of the exam and you'd really want to know how to read and write music. If it's what you really want to do I'm sure you could learn how to read sheet music. It's not that hard once you have the basics (note names, values, key signatures) Practical is worth 50% and there's other parts to the course that you might be strong at (Irish and aural skills) Have a look at past exam papers maybe and see what you think but I think if you learn the basics for reading music now you'd be fine for music in 5th year!

Chuchoter

I think you have the whole rest of TY to learn how to read music. You clearly have a real aptitude for it (playing by ear is hard!) so it would be a shame to give up on it just for the sake of sheet music.