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This is wrong. Played piano all my life, and never learned to read sheet music fast enough for it to be any use. This has not stunted my development. I play by
by tobr 3y ago
This is wrong. Played piano all my life, and never learned to read sheet music fast enough for it to be any use. This has not stunted my development. I play by ear and chords.
- abid786 3y agoYou’re probably not very good at playing the piano. I’m not sure what you mean by far enough, but not being able to sight read a piece is not the same as being unable to read sheet music at all.
- tobr 3y ago> You’re probably not very good at playing the piano. This is rude. What the heck do you base this on?
- dbalatero 3y agoYeah it's a moronic comment. I'm not even going to bother to compile a list of musicians that smoke everyone else without reading sheet music, but you can't throw a rock without hitting one.
- pclmulqdq 3y agoIn the professional music scene, you can go for an entire career without running into one. It is a relatively small set of outliers, and even then, there is a narrow set of genres (most of them Western and modern) where a professional player can get away with not reading or writing music. Even in the poster child of learning by ear, Jazz, something like 99% of session and pro players learn to read music.
- bityard 3y agoI've noticed that across my many hobbies, there are always people who insist that THEIR way of learning how to do a thing is the ONLY way to learn how to do a thing. This seems more prevalent in the music world, though. Especially if they had strict teacher.
- djaychela 3y agoWes Montgomery couldn't read music, but he was a pretty good guitarist [1] [1] This is an understatement, by the way.
- rwhyan 3y agoI'm sure you can play piano, but I'm also willing to bet it has put a ceiling on the types of pieces you can learn. Have you tried learning a Chopin Ballade or Bach WTC fugue without sheet music?
- dbalatero 3y agoGP might not want to play that kind of music. You can easily get away with no reading ability if you play in bands, pop groups, etc. (not that it's not useful to read)
- tobr 3y agoWho is it for, you asked. Do you think there might be a few beginner pianists who see value in being able to play other music than 300-year-old fugues? If an interest in developing musical abilities in a different direction constitutes a “ceiling” and “stunted development” for you, you have a very narrow view of what it means to play an instrument.
- rwhyan 3y agoIt's objectively a ceiling if you can't work towards playing the most technically challenging music. It doesn't have to be Bach. You will struggle to learn ANY advanced piano without sheet music. Sure it's for "beginners," but I'm saying it will inherently stunt their growth compared to putting in the work to learn sheet music.
- tobr 3y agoIt’s not an objective ceiling when we disagree on which way is up! You have a super-weird and specific idea of what it means to play piano. I really can’t think of a less inspiring goal than playing “advanced” or “technically challenging” music. If you like to do that, go nuts, but don’t assume that anything else is meaningless.
- rwhyan 3y agoHow is that "super-weird" or "specific"? If anything, your idea of advanced pieces not being "up" is obscure. > I really can’t think of a less inspiring goal than playing “advanced” or “technically challenging” music Really? You can't understand how aiming to conquer a highly technical and musical piece is inspiring? It's the same as tackling any other difficult goal. Music at a less technical level isn't meaningless, but it's an inherent limitation on your musicality if your repertoire is limited by technique. Technique facilitates greater musicality. Sheet music facilitates greater technique. Regardless, do as you please, but it's like saying, "I'll never learn code, because I can build no-code products!"
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- ksenzee 3y agoI play by ear and chords too, but being able to jot something down, or read something someone else has written down, is as useful to me in music as it is in English. Literacy is just plain practical.
- tobr 3y agoPractical and useful, yes! Stunting development is something different. I do know how to read sheet music, but I’ve never practiced it to be fast enough to sight read. I’ve never felt that this has stunted my development - if it had, I probably would have picked up speed naturally.
- ksenzee 3y agoSightreading is difficult enough that most pianists aren’t any good at it. Those who are get props and envy from other musicians.