April Birthdays 
A couple of comments here really hit home, especially the frustration of learning a song and finding out that others in the band didn’t bother. I’ve lived that many, many times in the last forty years.
I’ve read music since day one, but I realize that there are plenty of great players that don’t read. Long ago I walked away from the fantasy that I’d be working with readers most of the time. In fact, most of the time I learn new songs by giving them a listen and playing along. I create chord charts and will write out notation which includes tablature when needed. Fortunately, the bassist I work with is very good about learning his parts and it’s rare for me to need to go beyond a chord chart.
Unfortunately, I’ve had much less luck with some other musicians over the years. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard that someone would have their part together next week, but experience has taught me that “next week” rarely ever arrives. In fact, the very next thing to happen in this scenario is almost always the suggestion of adding more Stones to the setlist. I wish I was joking or at least exaggerating with that last sentence, but I’m not.
The other post which caught my attention was this:
SHADOWNIGHT5150 wrote:
I don't offer free music lessons
How many times have I walked away from a playing situation feeling like I’ve been used as a free teacher. I’ve spent hours and hours showing other players how to expand beyond three chords, teaching the world of minor keys, only to see the player walk away after learning their parts. I don’t mind helping other players in my band, I certainly learned a lot from various people I have worked with over the years, but I terribly mind being reviled for doing so, and I’ve seen this happen more than once.
I have been fortunate to have some excellent teachers over the years. I paid for my lessons, both in money and in time spent learning the materials. It would be unrealistic to expect that everyone else would share these experiences, I had some lucky breaks along the way, but it would be very welcome to find musicians willing to carry their weight. I’ve got that situation now, but it took a long time to find it.
The best thing I could imagine, would be for it to become more common for musicians to learn to extend beyond their tastes and to be prepared to play a variety of music on short notice. When I was jobbing for a living, it was expected that I be prepared to play whatever came up on the playlist. I had to reach beyond Jazz and learn to play whatever the audience wanted. While I was not much of a fan of Country music, it became imperative to learn my way around that world.
In a sense, Surf became an escape, because it is music which can find a good audience, yet demanding to play. It’s a unique situation, music which is both accessible and yet challenging.
—The artist formerly known as: Synchro
When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.
