3 ms·

> I’ve tried several times to learn sheet music in my 20’s and it is brutally difficult. What do you mean by "learn it"? Just being able to decode what notes a

> I’ve tried several times to learn sheet music in my 20’s and it is brutally difficult. What do you mean by "learn it"? Just being able to decode what notes are supposed to be played and how long they should last from sheet music, given no time limit? Or doing it in near real-time?

ShamelessC 3y ago
The latter, obviously.
- beautron 3y ago
  Pianists call real-time reading "sight-reading", and it's not what pianists usually focus on. Even the most skilled pianist is probably not going to sight-read a Bach fugue (or be satisfied with the result). The more common way to read music (at least in terms of the large and marvelous classical piano literature), is as part of a careful process of studying. You read to learn and understand the music, but the reading doesn't need to be real-time (it normally isn't, when learning a piece). Real-time sight-reading is its own special skill, which you can practice for its own sake. But it's nowhere near as important as the non-real-time learning process mentioned above. I got pretty good at sight-reading when I worked as an accompanist, but I still hate it: It's not how I like to learn a piece. (And the music I find most interesting [like Bach!] can't even really be learned that way).
Aeolun 3y ago
Is there any point to learning to do it not in real time?
- balfirevic 3y ago
  Well, of course. I can only do it pretty slowly, and I can still learn songs, intros, licks etc. by finding sheet music online and spending time with it. Isn't that pretty obvious?
  - Aeolun 3y ago
    Isn’t that essentially the same as memorizing the notes for the whole song? I dunno, I guess it’s useful, but if I were trying to learn to read sheet music it would be so that I could pick up and play.
    - navane 3y ago
      I'm pretty fluent in reading sheet music. Still, for most songs the process is figuring out what notes to play in sub realtime, then slowly speeding up where both reading and fingering are limiting my speed. Then, as I "know" the whole song, looking at the sheet music helps my fingers remember which notes come next—together with muscle memory. And here sheet music notation shows its strength. At this point I don't see individual notes, but groups of notes, both in time and in harmony, and because I see them as groups at once, my sight reading can keep up with the song. But that takes practice for each song.

ShamelessC 3y ago

The latter, obviously.

beautron 3y ago
Pianists call real-time reading "sight-reading", and it's not what pianists usually focus on. Even the most skilled pianist is probably not going to sight-read a Bach fugue (or be satisfied with the result). The more common way to read music (at least in terms of the large and marvelous classical piano literature), is as part of a careful process of studying. You read to learn and understand the music, but the reading doesn't need to be real-time (it normally isn't, when learning a piece). Real-time sight-reading is its own special skill, which you can practice for its own sake. But it's nowhere near as important as the non-real-time learning process mentioned above. I got pretty good at sight-reading when I worked as an accompanist, but I still hate it: It's not how I like to learn a piece. (And the music I find most interesting [like Bach!] can't even really be learned that way).

Aeolun 3y ago

Is there any point to learning to do it not in real time?

balfirevic 3y ago
Well, of course. I can only do it pretty slowly, and I can still learn songs, intros, licks etc. by finding sheet music online and spending time with it. Isn't that pretty obvious?
- Aeolun 3y ago
  Isn’t that essentially the same as memorizing the notes for the whole song? I dunno, I guess it’s useful, but if I were trying to learn to read sheet music it would be so that I could pick up and play.
  - navane 3y ago
    I'm pretty fluent in reading sheet music. Still, for most songs the process is figuring out what notes to play in sub realtime, then slowly speeding up where both reading and fingering are limiting my speed. Then, as I "know" the whole song, looking at the sheet music helps my fingers remember which notes come next—together with muscle memory. And here sheet music notation shows its strength. At this point I don't see individual notes, but groups of notes, both in time and in harmony, and because I see them as groups at once, my sight reading can keep up with the song. But that takes practice for each song.