reading at sight or use memory?

[gilad]

hi all, this my first question about actually playing the piano since i found this wondeful forum.
i've been learning piano for nine months now and am currently learning to play the loved and hated fur elise.
i'm doing pretty well and have it mostly in memory.
my only problem is that i can't read at that speed and play at the same time without making mistakes. i can't keep my eyes(which are pretty weak-often causing me to stick my nose against the paper, and not giving me room enough on the keyboard) glued to the music and find the keys too,
i use the score as a guide and rely on memory mostly.
does that sound right relative to whatever level of music you play?

[allthumbs]

Für Elise is a lovely piece. I still play it regularly.

What I would suggest is to play the piece without depending on the music. Pay extra attention to the spots where the lapses in memory and/or mistakes occur and work on these areas seperately.

Do this for each trouble spot until you can play them from memory without mistakes.

It's a good idea as well to include a couple of bars before and after the trouble spots in your practice sessions so as to be able to transition them into the piece smoother.

I hope that helps.


Cheers

allthumbs

[zheer]

eyes(which are pretty weak-often causing me to stick my nose against the paper,

  OMG this reminds of an old lady that used to teach piano in my secondary school, she was blind as bat (bless her) anyway she used to play Beethovens last sonata better than all the recordings i have of this sonata.
      Anyway i think allthumbs has given you sound advice.

[rc]

I rely mostly on memory as well... It turns out better because you have to internalize the music, and takes the score out of the equation. Nothing wrong with that. The only thing is that you will never develop sightreading skills like this. So it depends on if sightreading is important to you. If you're half blind, maybe it isn't.

Every try glasses?

[instromp]

Zheer's advice is said well. And also if your having problems reading it becuz of vision problems then you may want to buy some reading glasses,not prescription but just some to magnify the notes so they are able to be read.I used to know this site that has large notes for visionly impaired /elderly people who have problems reading small notes.I wish i could remember.sorry .

[alzado]

When you say you read the music as a guide, but play largely by memory . . . .

I believe that is what most people do after they have worked with a piece quite extensively and have it pretty well down.

It is largely memorized, but skimming over the score with the eyes is an additional help to keep on track.

It is of great help to memorize where the keys are, so you never (or almost never) have to look down at your hands.

[tac-tics]

Sightreading is a completely seperate skill. Don't worry if you can't keep up. Most people can't.

[timothy42b]

I memorize first and play from memory.  I practice sight reading separately.  No, I'm not good at either yet, but I'm improving.  <g>

There is a risk to playing from memory.  You can look at your hands.  It is better not to, because it slows down learning the keyboard.  So I try to do at least a little playing with my eyes closed.  This really shows if you've memorized or not. 

[gilad]

wow, thanks all, thats exactly the sort of stuff i wanted to know. the replies have been first class. they've all helped elminate an area of question. and lots of useful tips, awesome!
about my eyes i dont know if there are any opticians here or opthalmolagists posting here?
but my optician always says the same thing, " you can't improve your vision further than what we have done through your glasses" he says i have a problem with my corneas or something. my glasses help but in comparison to other people my vision is still weak with them on.
i'm going to see an opthalmologist soon and will see what the story is.
maybe i will get glasses purely for magnification.
will investigate.