JKellly, I learned to read music when I was young (30 year or more years ago.). I was a child--I am 42 now. It's comfortable for me to have it there because I can't always remember songs. I'm blessed to read music as well as play by ear.
I play my secular gigs from lead sheets mostly. I was playing secular gigs (jazz/easy listening/softswing) type music waaaayyyy before gospel. I just carried my habit from that over to gospel music too.
Some other reasons I write things down :lol:
1. Organization
2. Structure of the song
I'm going to post something I found in my archive folder about learning songs by ear and this might help someone too.
Then what happens if you have a choir song you love--wore it out---then 2 or 3 years later want to revive it---and can't remember it...lol. Writing it down helps. I have a 3 ring binder with all songs in it.
For my secular gigs--I wish I was like those people who could play piano bar music all night without a piece of paper --but I'm not. I have a 3 ring for that w/at least 300 songs in it all in alphabetical order, and a song list of it that I keep next to it on my gigs...organized by "Uptempo/Swing", "Ballads", "Bossa Nova" "Blues". I'm working soon on revising my church song list like that maybe with "Hymns, Fillers, Choir Selection, Praise & Worship."
Probably TMI (too much information) but that's the logic behind pencils and paper
Love,
Lisa