4 ms·
I can sit down at a piano and immediately play any melody I know by ear, with reasonable-sounding chords, unless there’s some very surprising harmony involved.
by tobr 6y ago
I can sit down at a piano and immediately play any melody I know by ear, with reasonable-sounding chords, unless there’s some very surprising harmony involved. I’m not sure how sight reading would improve on that speed.
I’m also not sure why you assume I’ve never had a teacher, just because I haven’t bothered to learn to read notes well.
All the benefits you talk about in sheet music, you can also get from listening to and making recordings, and playing with other people.
- siraben 6y agoI'm curious, how does this approach fare with classical pieces where learning by sheet is the norm? The melody and chord progression is not hard to for a lot pf pieces (e.g. pop and jazz if you have a trained ear for complex chords), but learning Listz's Un Sospiro by ear is going to be really hard no? I learned that piece by its 6 page sheet then memorized it, would be amazing if that could have been done by ear, if possible.
- kstenerud 6y agoIt would be like learning Romeo and Juliet by ear. You could in theory do it, but it's far easier if you know how to read. And far easier to refresh your memory down the road if you need to perform it again.
- plank_time 6y agoI think the people who don’t want to master reading from sheet music are not interested in learning long piano pieces like that.
- tobr 6y agoThat type of music really isn’t a part of my life, but I can’t see why not. Even classical music tends to boil down to a melody + harmony. You wouldn’t get the exact fingerings right, but I don’t really find that interesting anyway.
- jimmy2times 6y agoI guess it would take a lot of patience, but it should be doable, maybe even more feasible than some contemporary music that is heavy on sound fx. I don't find this as rewarding as trying to understand how a piece "works" though, or creating something new.
- siraben 6y agoI think sheet music is a great way to see how a piece works since things are laid out spatially, and complex or subtle patterns can be teased out (e.g. voices in a Bach fugue). I often follow the sheet music as I listen as well.
- jimmy2times 6y agoYes, excellent point. Notation can be a great aid to understanding. I should give this a try more often.
- nkingsy 6y agoI can also do what you describe. It’s just now happening after practicing way more in lockdown (1hr/day vs 20min before). Had lessons as a kid but never practiced. Picked it back up 4 years ago. I have a Beatles fake book. I play the melody and chords in the right hand, some simple metronome like bass line with the left. This year I mastered every song and I found that I could play any other fake book song the same way on sight. Then I tried doing it without the book and was shocked to find it pretty passable. The music (real chords and melody) is much more fun for me. It gives me a beautiful structure to play around with.