If you're a classically-trained musician, it's all too easy to cock a snook at people who can't read music and are products of a 'listen and learn' approach. You've spent years studying theory and learning to read music, putting you a cut above those who haven't. Right?
If you've honed your instrumental prowess by playing by ear, you might be inclined to disagree. It's all very well being able to read music, but is that really a superior skill to being able to hear a song a few times and work out how to play it? If you're in a covers band, do you really want to be the person who can't play the new number you're working on unless someone gives you a chart?
It's a difficult one to answer, so we're throwing the question out to you, the MusicRadar users. Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below or on Facebook.
![A comped image with a young George Harrison [left] onstage with the Beatles in Hamburg, a Gretsch Duo Jet strapped to his shoulder. On the right is his Futurama electric](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/b8Kr55ksRwtGJHnbs2GZvg-1280-80.jpg.webp)
