whoa, i feel sorry for nickmeads!
the poor person was just asking for an alternate path to learning how to play piano without having to read music, but then s/he's told that s/he's not a worthy member of the piano community for wanting to learn this way (and called lazy and not hardworking). and right after that post (ie which makes posts following sound harsher than they perhaps were meant to be), nickmeads is told that what he wants to do is like being an actor who hates reading scripts. what keyboardclass was seemed to mean to me, though, was that keyboard class feels it's pretty impossible to play piano without reading music.. but given the harsh posts before, i can understand why nickmeads took it badly.
nickmeads, i hear you saying that you really hate reading music, and you were wondering if there was a different way to learn playing. i hear you say that it's discouraged you in the past, and so i can understand you wondering if there's a different way to learn. i also remember you saying that your goals are a little different than most others (ie writing bits of music for your own sake, rather than playing classical pieces), and personally, i totally respect those different goals -- i personally can imagine someone not being able to play classical music and not having interest in reading it, but still being able to pick out basic chord progressions from a pop song (for example) and recreating them at their own piano.
i'm actually surprised by the negative response you're getting. i'm surprised because isn't it common in some American cultures to not be able to read sheet music, but still know how to play fiddle/banjo/guitar? if that's possible, i wouldn't be surprised if piano could be learned by ear, too?
nyiregyhazi's post makes me think. s/he seems to feel that reading is a common base that you need if you want to learn; and what's more, s/he feels that a person who hates reading books is merely not fluent enough, but if they wanted to learn badly enough, they would learn to read better (and so too, a person who wants to learn piano needs to do it through reading music, and if they hate reading music, it's only because they haven't become fluent enough).
` i hope that this idea isn't correct. i, personally, am very poor at reading books, even when i like the information. audiobooks and documentaries do for me in a more accessible way what books don't.
` i can't help but wonder if there are methods/systems out there, which don't use reading music as such a core element in the method. i don't know... maybe some course heavy on ear training, teaching you to be fluent at picking out chord progressions and common melodic patterns? (in fact, i wonder if that's exactly the kind of guidance that nickmeads was looking for, from this community).
` i used to know of an acquaintence who didn't read much music, but learned through a place (NOT a conservatory) that emphasized ear training. he was able to listen to a song once and repeat most of it. granted, he had a natural talent, but his training really emphasized ear training and learning common patterns used in popular music.
nickmeads, i'm sorry that the responses you've gotten have been largely unempathic. i want to encourage you to keep looking, though. i an sympathetic, becuase i, too, am someone who tends to prefer learning in ways that aren't very common. perhaps these members are correct in that reading music THE *primary* skill you need for playing piano, but somehow i am really doubting it.
i had to chime in, though, because i felt sorry for nickmeads. he was hoping for people with more experience to see his own unique goals, and to possibly help him out; but then he gets really negative responses that shoot down his goals. i can't help but wonder if that's more because of the typical training (ie through reading music) that most members here have gotten, rather than nickmead's actual goals being unfeasible.
Topic: Hate reading music, what's the first step I can take to get around this?