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Four years of sight reading practice

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Re: Four years of sight reading practice

#41

Post by vishnugupta »

EvanAnderson wrote: post #36
TheOtherHobbes wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, that's the problem with this approach. You don't learn random notes, you learn note patterns. It's the difference between learning to recognise letters and learning to read words. Music is made of words - scale-specific gestures, of which there are hundreds, perhaps thousands, typically arranged in some kind of harmonic context so you can make reasonable guesses about what's coming next. This matters because fin…

> Music is made of words - scale-specific gestures, of which there are hundreds, perhaps thousands... This made me think of typing tutor programs that just prompt for random letters. I type like shit on those-- slow and inaccurate. On the other hand, I'm quick and reasonably accurate when typing English words and frequently-used command lines. The analogy would surely hold true with musical instruments. Even with my…

> typing tutor programs that just prompt for random letters

I learnt touch typing on a physical mechanical typewriter. The syllabus that I followed did seem random but as I kept at it I could see there was a method to the madness.

I checked out a few software tutorials and they seemed OK. Maybe there are some not good ones.

Re: Four years of sight reading practice

#42

Post by jedimastert »

-__---____-ZXyw wrote: post #37

a. Why not get piano lessons? If you are more interested in the technical fun of messing with software, this approach makes sense, sure. But if you're interested in sight-reading, it seems a bit wild. Sight-reading involves ear training, chunking patterns, etc etc. b. What does GAS mean?

> b. What does GAS mean?

"Gear Acquisition Syndrome", a common meme particularly among online musician communities around the desire for more gear whether or not you actually need it just to have it

Re: Four years of sight reading practice

#43

Post by tgv »

tarentel wrote: post #27

> I was not learning to name the key signatures It was mentioned the person was trying to memorize all these with anki or something. There's actually no need. You only need to memorize 2 key signatures and the rest follow a pattern. C major has 0 sharps/flats F major has 1 flat Every sharp key is a half step up from the last sharp shown. G major has 1 sharp F#. G is a half step up from F#. In A major the last sharp i…

It's simpler: in the major scale, every fifth down removes a # or adds a b, every quint up removes b or adds a #, and it's the 7th degree. Other church modes can be derived from a major scale. But that doesn't help you while playing. You have to know the key and scale you're in, and read the accidentals (and what op didn't mention: naturals and double #/b).

Re: Four years of sight reading practice

#44

Post by klodolph »

EvanAnderson wrote: post #36
TheOtherHobbes wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, that's the problem with this approach. You don't learn random notes, you learn note patterns. It's the difference between learning to recognise letters and learning to read words. Music is made of words - scale-specific gestures, of which there are hundreds, perhaps thousands, typically arranged in some kind of harmonic context so you can make reasonable guesses about what's coming next. This matters because fin…

> Music is made of words - scale-specific gestures, of which there are hundreds, perhaps thousands... This made me think of typing tutor programs that just prompt for random letters. I type like shit on those-- slow and inaccurate. On the other hand, I'm quick and reasonably accurate when typing English words and frequently-used command lines. The analogy would surely hold true with musical instruments. Even with my…

I remember typing tutors that started with the home row and slowly expanded. There aren’t a lot of words that use the home row exclusively, so you end up with nonsense.

(You said “typing tutors programs” but my memory is of actual tutors, as in, people.)

You may not like practicing random notes but maybe you want to play Schönberg or Bartók?

Re: Four years of sight reading practice

#45

Post by EvanAnderson »

klodolph wrote: post #44
EvanAnderson wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Music is made of words - scale-specific gestures, of which there are hundreds, perhaps thousands... This made me think of typing tutor programs that just prompt for random letters. I type like shit on those-- slow and inaccurate. On the other hand, I'm quick and reasonably accurate when typing English words and frequently-used command lines. The analogy would surely hold true with musical instruments. Even with my…

I remember typing tutors that started with the home row and slowly expanded. There aren’t a lot of words that use the home row exclusively, so you end up with nonsense. (You said “typing tutors programs” but my memory is of actual tutors, as in, people.) You may not like practicing random notes but maybe you want to play Schönberg or Bartók?

Bartók... >shudder< You have a point.

Re: Four years of sight reading practice

#46

Post by castillar76 »

klodolph wrote: post #44
EvanAnderson wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Music is made of words - scale-specific gestures, of which there are hundreds, perhaps thousands... This made me think of typing tutor programs that just prompt for random letters. I type like shit on those-- slow and inaccurate. On the other hand, I'm quick and reasonably accurate when typing English words and frequently-used command lines. The analogy would surely hold true with musical instruments. Even with my…

I remember typing tutors that started with the home row and slowly expanded. There aren’t a lot of words that use the home row exclusively, so you end up with nonsense. (You said “typing tutors programs” but my memory is of actual tutors, as in, people.) You may not like practicing random notes but maybe you want to play Schönberg or Bartók?

Whoof — this brought back memories of endlessly typing things like...

kkk kik kik k,k k,k jjj juj juj jmj jmj hhh hyh hyh hnh hnh

...on a lovely, bangy, ink-scented IBM Selectric in typing class. Which at the time felt like a meaningless exercise, but absolutely strengthened the ability of my fingers to find the right keys in a hurry without looking at the keyboard.

Re: Four years of sight reading practice

#48

Post by tarentel »

tgv wrote: post #43
tarentel wrote: post #27

> I was not learning to name the key signatures It was mentioned the person was trying to memorize all these with anki or something. There's actually no need. You only need to memorize 2 key signatures and the rest follow a pattern. C major has 0 sharps/flats F major has 1 flat Every sharp key is a half step up from the last sharp shown. G major has 1 sharp F#. G is a half step up from F#. In A major the last sharp i…

It's simpler: in the major scale, every fifth down removes a # or adds a b, every quint up removes b or adds a #, and it's the 7th degree. Other church modes can be derived from a major scale. But that doesn't help you while playing. You have to know the key and scale you're in, and read the accidentals (and what op didn't mention: naturals and double #/b).

There are definitely other ways to derive all this but with a quick glance you don't really need to do any computation involving intervals. The key is either the second to last flat, a half step up from the last sharp, C, or F. To me this is much simpler than seeing 3 sharps and going, C->G->D->A. It's definitely good to know the latter but definitely not necessary for ascertaining the key.

Re: Four years of sight reading practice

#49

Post by brudgers »

TheOtherHobbes wrote: post #31
exchemist wrote: post #25

This is cool, though the notes in your example look pretty random? Are they actually randomly or is it just too modern for me to hear it without playing it? I'm a fairly average pianist, but sight reading is a (relative) strength. Being able to play random notes is definitely part of it, but I think for me sight-reading is more about getting a sense of the gist of the music (a lot of pattern matching of common phrase…

Yes, that's the problem with this approach. You don't learn random notes, you learn note patterns. It's the difference between learning to recognise letters and learning to read words. Music is made of words - scale-specific gestures, of which there are hundreds, perhaps thousands, typically arranged in some kind of harmonic context so you can make reasonable guesses about what's coming next. This matters because fin…

Music is made of words - scale-specific gestures, of which there are hundreds, perhaps thousands, typically arranged in some kind of harmonic context so you can make reasonable guesses about what's coming next

Some genres of music are that way. Other genres have different conventions, ethics, and aesthetics. Even within harmonically oriented Euro-traditions, great weight is given to a musician’s ability to play what does not easily “fall under the fingers.”

There’s nothing wrong with Smoke on the Water but it is totally played.

Re: Four years of sight reading practice

#50

Post by brudgers »

CGMthrowaway wrote: post #28

>I am mostly counting the number of sharps and flats and translating that to the keyboard through a pattern I figured out early on. The sharps “activate” from left to right across the groups of black notes, starting with F♯, alternating between the two groups of black notes. This is easier to get into your fingers than any other memorisation technique. The order for flats is mechanically symmetrical – you just start…

  >> This is easier to get
  >> into your fingers than 
  >> any other memorisation 
  >> technique.
Getting the sharps and flats under your hands is an entirely different process than answering a quiz question in Music Theory 101.

Four years playing the piano is still a beginner level of experience against an adult standard of piano playing. Even if it is a lot for an eight year old child.

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