Agreed. When I'm learning chords to a tune, if I have them in front of me, I tend to rely on the paper and play the same thing over and over. The melody players in my band agree as well - we all try to learn things by ear first, and use paper in a pinch.

Meg in Chicago

On Fri, May 17, 2019 at 8:52 AM Jeffrey Spero via Musicians <musicians@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

I’m in complete agreement with Jeff Kaufman. If you have the music in front of you, you’re much more likely to play exactly what you see on the page as opposed to being in the moment and playing WITH the other musicians and FOR the dancers. For those that can play by ear, I encourage them to do so. And for those who are uncomfortable with that, I encourage them to learn the music off the page, and then put the music away while playing.

The other Jeff
Culver City, CA

> On May 17, 2019, at 3:53 AM, tom hinds via Musicians <musicians@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>
> I’d like to know people’s opinion of using music while playing for a contra dance. Is it easier to create excitement if the musicians play by ear? Thanks in advance for your opinion, Tom Hinds
>
> Sent from my iPad
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