Problem reading sheets.

[gleeok]

Hi! Its been a few years since I last played keyboard/piano, and now I'm pretty much learning it all over again, but this time by my own. I never had many problems reading sheets with the G-clef, but I had to learn the F-clef by myself. I can't tell for sure if its because of my glasses (I have relatively high farsightedness and astigmatism in both eyes) I sometimes I simply go lost! Its been very frustrating, I'm sure when I was 11-12 I could read much better but right now I have to count the lines over and over to find myself and make sure what I've read was right, and then I can't process what is what effectively..Is this normal or I have some kind of problem?

I tried printing bigger sheets, it helps but... I'm still bothered by how I can't concentrate like when I was 11-12. I'm 16 now.

Tips are welcome! And I'm glad I found this community, it seems promising.

Greetings from Brazil ! Thank you.

[j_menz]

If printing bigger sheets helps, it may have something to do with your glasses.

Maybe you should discuss it with your optometrist.  I have special glasses for piano because my normal ones (multifocal) are simply not suitable.

That said, reading takes practice, so you shouldn't expect it to fall into place immediately. But, learn to trust/use your ears to let you know if you're on the right notes as much as double/triple checking the score.

[brianvds]

I may be of use to write the letter names of the notes, or of some of them, above or below the staff? Otherwise you may have to develop some unique way of dealing with the problem. Keep in mind that some people, blind from birth, learn to play piano and to read from Braille scores, or in some other way. I must assume that they have ways to deal with the problem that entail (presumably they memorize the music first, or in short sections?). Perhaps you may need to do something similar?

As J_Menz suggested though, do take it up with your optometrist.

[gleeok]

I may be of use to write the letter names of the notes, or of some of them, above or below the staff?

Haha! thats just what I have been doing with notes I usually get stuck in.

@all

Thanks for the replies, and I will definitely mention the issues I'm having with sheet lines to my optometrist, maybe my regular glasses aren't enough. Overall, I guess its an issue related to both attention and vision, I will try harder, go more slowly and hopefully get new glasses for reading!

[hfmadopter]

I have double astigmatism as well. I also use glasses for reading and close up work and different ones for driving or seeing at distance. A hobby of mine is fly tying and fly fishing, for fly tying I have yet another pair of glasses with more power. For piano without glasses correction can produce double vision at the distance the score is from me, so often I look up at the score and see two notes where there should be one ( and they look to be very small notes at that), if I'm aware of this and careful I'll notice they are also blurry so that's not a real or faithful reading. My doctor told me that my reading glasses are too powerful for the distance I'm working at at the piano and to just go to the drug store and buy a pair of reading glasses one or two powers less than them and see how that goes. It will magnify the print just a bit. My normal reading glasses are impossible , the print at that distance when playing is blurry and the keyboard looks to wrap in an arch, gives a whole new meaning to the term surround sound !!

Ultimately I've come to memorizing but you have to get there first. I will try the drug store glasses though, I have not as yet. Two things are on my list for the weekend actually, to get  a folder of some sort for all this sheet music I have scattered around my piano area and those glasses.

Anyway, you might check to see if that's an option for you as well. I didn't ask my doctor about drug store ( non prescription reading glasses) glasses he volunteered the info. He must think it will work in my case since I'm sure he would love to sell yet another pair of glasses to me.

[wilsonl]

If bigger sheet music don't work, you can try my method, since my eyes also nearly same condition with your eyes (mine even plus cylindrical eyes)

Try to read it on sections, maybe each 3 or 4 bars, marked by pencil. Or 'newbie' way, write the note on alphabetical (like mark 'F#', Bb, dll) on notes which hard to be read (can be read slowly due of your eyes condition).
For the first time maybe it can take long progress, but later you'll know and able to read those hard notes.

Maybe like on the pic

[gleeok]

If bigger sheet music don't work, you can try my method, since my eyes also nearly same condition with your eyes (mine even plus cylindrical eyes)

Try to read it on sections, maybe each 3 or 4 bars, marked by pencil. Or 'newbie' way, write the note on alphabetical (like mark 'F#', Bb, dll) on notes which hard to be read (can be read slowly due of your eyes condition).
For the first time maybe it can take long progress, but later you'll know and able to read those hard notes.

Maybe like on the pic

Yes this helps a lot! I've done a few here and there and the next parts (where its not written on top) I already remember where the notes are. Making great progress already. About the vision..yeah, I've noticed its not only with music sheets, my eyes seem to get tired quickly when reading small letters, kind of what I feel with the lines and notes.

[gleeok]

I also found this site https://www.sightreadingpractice.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi?sight&layout=full&id=17067895013&dpt=s&split=2 which is great for training! Specially when you are not home, it works great on mobile devices with a compatible browser and touchscreen. Every now and then I find myself chasing notes around with that amazing tool haha!

[wilsonl]

Yes this helps a lot! I've done a few here and there and the next parts (where its not written on top) I already remember where the notes are. Making great progress already. About the vision..yeah, I've noticed its not only with music sheets, my eyes seem to get tired quickly when reading small letters, kind of what I feel with the lines and notes.

Yeah, glad it's help But don't use my advice too much, because you can lack on reading composition (if you take ABRSM exam, reading sight will be a difficult test for you), and you'll have a bad time if you use my advice on higher level works like Liszt, Chopin, or Rachmaninoff.
With your eyes condition, you must at least buy a good or new sheet music book, bigger is better, don't buy small or badly printed sheet music.

[outin]

I also found this site https://www.sightreadingpractice.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi?sight&layout=full&id=17067895013&dpt=s&split=2 which is great for training!

Thanks a lot for this link, haven't seen it before. I think I can benefit from this type of exercise and now I have something to do when I'm bored at work

[wilsonl]

I also found this site https://www.sightreadingpractice.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi?sight&layout=full&id=17067895013&dpt=s&split=2 which is great for training! Specially when you are not home, it works great on mobile devices with a compatible browser and touchscreen. Every now and then I find myself chasing notes around with that amazing tool haha!

Wow it helps me a lot, thanks!
I'm lack on reading sight at Eb and Ab position.

[gleeok]

Yeah, glad it's help But don't use my advice too much, because you can lack on reading composition (if you take ABRSM exam, reading sight will be a difficult test for you), and you'll have a bad time if you use my advice on higher level works like Liszt, Chopin, or Rachmaninoff.

Thanks for the advice! I won't overuse it, don't worry. And..well, since playing keyboard/piano is more a hobby for me than anything I won't have to worry about music tests xD, at least right now! Who knows in the future?