Why do need to do this, are planning to join the Boston Pop Orchestra?

First off start practising scales at the age of six unless you are a child prodigy I can't see you doing this - someone handing you a score and you breeze right through it the very first time. Having the sheet music in front of you is more like a mnemonic to help you through the dodgy bits you don't know well, but you still have to learn the piece beforehand. Traditional notation is still important to Classical guitar. You haven't learn anything on guitar from tradition notation?

Never.

As for why I need to do it - I just don't want to pore over a grand stave and have it take 20 minutes to decipher 4 bars.

How good are you at reading traditional music notation?

Awful, hence my question.

Well there is so much stuff out there as far as books/CD for beginners, scales, songs - I wouldn't know where to start.

One of the first songs I learned was by reading traditional notation for guitar, and it took 20 minutes to learn one bar, because I was learning how to read at the same time. I only knew where middle C was and I had start from that note to figure everything else out, it took a lot of time at first but became easier as time went by.

Every instrument has something easier and more difficult about it compared to other instruments. Sax is a little more easier compare to guitar because it is a melodic instrument (you play one note at a time) but then there are other things about it like embouchure etc etc - you might need a instructor in the beginning to teach you those things.

I'm surprised that you play guitar (I'm only guessing form your user-name) and you hadn't had experience with traditional notation. I rely heavily on TAB but if there's a song I want to learn and that's the only music for it I forced myself to read traditional notation.

I can read music, but only if I'm very careful and take forever over it.

As for not having experience with traditional notation... I know my rythms, I know my clefs, I know how it all works and whatnot.

I just haven't ever had a reason to transcribe or learn from, so my intuitive understanding of scores is weak.

Good question, GuitarBizarre.

I recently got into a sight reading kick myself, and Neapolitan's over-exageration of people that want to be in the Boston Pop Orchestra are the only ones who benefit from proper sight reading is kind of hilarious.

Sight reading can benefit all musicians, whether they are playing by ear, just learning, or have a masters in the subject.

It makes LEARNING music faster. Instead of spending 20 minutes on 4 measure, a proper sight reader can cut that down to a fraction of the time. It's being able to cut that time down so much that it feels like you get it right the first time (or two) that makes it ever so much more impressive.

Further being able to sight read makes you a stronger musician anyway. It's another skill to your tool belt, and other people you play with will be thankful for it.

Picture this - you are in a band with 3 other guys. You play guitar, you got a guy on drums, another on bass, and another on keys. One of you has to sing and play at the same time. No problem cuz your'e good enough, so don't worry. One of you writes the music for the parts, because, well, they can.

Learning a part from a notated system is magic. It's not the easiest thing in the world, but it does help. And it's all about speed at that point. If you're still on measure 4 when the rest of the group is on page 5, they might start looking for another guitarist.

It's just like reading English. You ever read with a slow reader? You read over their shoulder; you're both reading silently. Then you get to the end of the page, waiting for them to flip the page, then you can't help thinking, "Omg. They're still not done? I've been done for 10 min now." Or maybe the slow reader is you. ;)

So the question is - how do you go about getting this awesome skill of awesome?

Start basic. Play simple things. Things you can go through once, twice, three times at the most and have down. Even if it's twinkle twinkle little star. You have to start somewhere.

Try playing it in four or five different keys. Transpose IN YOUR HEAD only. This makes it more difficult. :) Go slow, but keep your rhythm even. Count out loud. 1 ... 2... 3... 4... 1... 2... 3... 4...

Keep yourself honest. Clap rhythms too. Find a rhythm pattern on a piece of music, and just clap it in time. Also, sing the melody lines. Yes, sing. With your mouth. You can do it in private of course, if you don't like your voice. If you can create it with your vocal chords, you can play it that much better. By being able to do that, you'll be able to get a sense of the music in your head before you even touch your guitar.

To keep track when you're singing, give yourself a starting pitch (hopefully in your register). Then sing. When you're not sure, sing first, then check the note. If you're right, keep going. If you're off, fix that one pitch, and keep going.

Rules of sight reading:
1. Go slow and even.
2. Don't start over; even if you made so many mistakes. Finish. Always finish. Keep going.
3. Practice daily for at least a half hour.

These will help you become a better sight reader. When the examples you find are easy, move onto harder stuff. Baby steps will ensure growth.

GuitarreBizarre (sp.?)

Essentially, learn your scales. Those are ****ing important. I learned that with French horn.

Aside from that, arpeggios are great on guitar and piano; you really get a sense of where everything is on your instrument, which could aid you infinitely.

Then, just acknowledge that you don't know an iota of what you've tried to learn, and play by feel alone. You'll be infinitely more expressive than Orianthi or the like, but you'll still know how things come together.

What key is this progression in? A minor/C major/E7/A# major.

I can't figure it out. I think it's because a minor and a# major dont technically belong together.

No, they don't belong together, which means one of them is being borrowed from another key. A# major is also known as Bb major, so that may put a different perspective on things in terms of figuring out the key. There are a couple of possibilities, and all of them have chords borrowed from other keys:

a minor: the chords of Am and E7 both fit (I and V). However, the IV chord is generally minor in a minor key - so this particular progression would normally be Am, Cm, E7. So the C chord is borrowed from a related key - C major. Following so far? I'm trying not to be too technical here :o:

The other possibility is Bb major (it's not normally called A# major), but this is a long shot as E is the IV chord, which doesn't normally have a 7th added to it in a standard progression. As well, the C chord should technically be minor because it's a ii chord, and it's rare that the IV would follow ii and then move straight to I and skip V. I don't know... There are a few things happening here.

I'm also thinking that this short progression is actually part of a modulation from one key to another key, or at least a tonicization of another key.

Is there more to this progression? I need some context. I'm going with the idea that it's borrowing a chord or two from a related key, but that particular progression you shared is not long enough for it.

If that's it, then it's an interesting progression no matter what!

I probably over thought this too much lol