How far away should my head be from the sheet music?

[nickadams]

I notice when I'm trying hard to play sheet music I start leaning my face close to the sheet music. But I feel like keeping my eyes further away might actually be better because it will help me look further ahead in the piece and prevent me from getting tunnel vision as I play.


Advice?

[brendan765]

Glasses, reading glasses for practice with yourself and teacher, prescription ones are better. or contacts. If you have 20/20 vision than you should be fine. otherwise my info might not be of use

[j_menz]

It's a bad habit, and will be bad for your back. Fix it.

Incidentally, I can't use contacts to sightread. They don't clear quickly enough when I blink. I have special scripts just for piano so the focal length is right for where I sit.

[outin]

The leaning in is probably just a bad habit, it was for me. When I concentrate hard I tend to do this, also with a computer.

But the glasses are frustrating me. Some of my problems with sight reading seem to be from my eyes. When I look away (to glance at the keys from the sheet and back) my eyes take a long time to focus. First I see nothing but blur. At home I can do better because the sheet is right in front of me and I can see the keyboard without actually moving my eyes or head much. But in a grand piano the sheets are too high for this, so reading at my lesson never works out. I can only read if there's absolutely no need to look away from the sheet, but with some pieces it just doesn't work. I don't know what kind of glasses I should get to correct this...

[hfmadopter]

The leaning in is probably just a bad habit, it was for me. When I concentrate hard I tend to do this, also with a computer.

But the glasses are frustrating me. Some of my problems with sight reading seem to be from my eyes. When I look away (to glance at the keys from the sheet and back) my eyes take a long time to focus. First I see nothing but blur. At home I can do better because the sheet is right in front of me and I can see the keyboard without actually moving my eyes or head much. But in a grand piano the sheets are too high for this, so reading at my lesson never works out. I can only read if there's absolutely no need to look away from the sheet, but with some pieces it just doesn't work. I don't know what kind of glasses I should get to correct this...

You may or may not remember that I too was having severe issues with my eyes and reading music, playing piano etc. After all was said and done I ended up with a pair of +1.00 generic reading glasses I picked up at the hardware store for $5.99 ( they happened to be on display there). That's down from my standard reading glass of +1.75 complete with astigmastism correction. I tried 1.50 and 1.25 from the drugstore as my doc suggested and ended up at 1.00. Just FWIW. My issues are gone, no more double notes, no more 2-3 seconds to focus, no more bent keyboard. Granted they are not as sharp as the others but they get well into my comfort zone at the distance I read my music from, compared with no glasses which caused my eyes to tear and produce massive head aches.

[keypeg]

About the head - It's not just about vision and seeing a greater field of the notes.  But of course if you need glasses then it is about vision.    Where you have your head also affects how you balance your body so it affects your neck, your back, and by extension, even your arms.

[hfmadopter]

About the head - It's not just about vision and seeing a greater field of the notes.  But of course if you need glasses then it is about vision.    Where you have your head also affects how you balance your body so it affects your neck, your back, and by extension, even your arms.

Absolutely ! That's why I was having such a time of it. With my correct reading glasses for reading literature I was too far forward at the piano and with out them too far back from the music to sit correctly. Not to mention the eye strain and field curvature problem I brought up in my other posting..

[outin]

I have never needed reading glasses, instead I am pretty short sighted. During the years I have needed stronger and stronger glasses to see far. But to see close I need to take these glasses off, because they are too strong for reading. To see the keyboard I need no glasses, but to see the notes clearly I do because my left eye can't see much further than 30cm without everything getting blurred. When playing from memory I usually prefer to wear no glasses, but it always takes some time to adjust when I take them off. I think I would need some kind of a compromise between seeing far and seeing close. I guess I have to see an optician...

[keypeg]

Outin, I guess that you are not approaching 60 yet.  I was happy with your circumstances until I hit about 54.  Then my eyes no longer adjusted.  I have two pairs of glasses - one for distance, and one for "piano distance".  The big thing about the head for me is that I never looked at my hands: I always played by touch.  It turns out that this degree of immobility isn't good either, so I am actually learning to move my head a bit in order to allow my body to move for distant registers.  That is getting rid of some back and neck stiffness.  Go figure!

[hfmadopter]

I have never needed reading glasses, instead I am pretty short sighted. During the years I have needed stronger and stronger glasses to see far. But to see close I need to take these glasses off, because they are too strong for reading. To see the keyboard I need no glasses, but to see the notes clearly I do because my left eye can't see much further than 30cm without everything getting blurred. When playing from memory I usually prefer to wear no glasses, but it always takes some time to adjust when I take them off. I think I would need some kind of a compromise between seeing far and seeing close. I guess I have to see an optician...

Yes sounds like you need a trip to the doc and explain what is going on.

[iansinclair]

Wait until you guys turn 70...

I have one pair of glasses specifically for keyboards (organ and piano).  As it happens, the piano keyboard (or organ keyboard) is at about the same distance as the music rack, so the glasses are optimized for the music rack.  They are full vision (not bifocals).

If you are younger, and are having real trouble accomodating to distance, you should talk to an optometrist.  If you are my age, you probably already have!

[outin]

Outin, I guess that you are not approaching 60 yet.  I was happy with your circumstances until I hit about 54.  Then my eyes no longer adjusted.  I have two pairs of glasses - one for distance, and one for "piano distance". 

A few more years to go... But I think I will also need special piano glasses...

[j_menz]

When I look away (to glance at the keys from the sheet and back) my eyes take a long time to focus. First I see nothing but blur.

The try not looking at the keyboard. May be awkward at first, but will serve you well in the longer term.

[outin]

The try not looking at the keyboard. May be awkward at first, but will serve you well in the longer term.

Yeah, I try... But can't do it when I have to jump to a new position...I don't have good sense of direction and space, if you know what I mean...spatial recognition. I do practice jumping blind, but it doesn't stick very well.

[j_menz]

Yeah, I try... But can't do it when I have to jump to a new position...I don't have good sense of direction and space, if you know what I mean...spatial recognition. I do practice jumping blind, but it doesn't stick very well.

It takes some time. Practice small jumps first and build up; also practice using the music written down, so you have a visual guide to the sound you are expecting (write out your own if that helps). Also, get used to knowing where you are; if your jumping from somewhere, it helps if you know where you are starting from.  Think about a particular finger as the starting point, and a parrticular finger as the end point; if there's a chord at bot tnds, condider them only in relation to the start and end fingers nopt as jumping seperately.

[outin]

It takes some time. Practice small jumps first and build up; also practice using the music written down, so you have a visual guide to the sound you are expecting (write out your own if that helps). Also, get used to knowing where you are; if your jumping from somewhere, it helps if you know where you are starting from.  Think about a particular finger as the starting point, and a parrticular finger as the end point; if there's a chord at bot tnds, condider them only in relation to the start and end fingers nopt as jumping seperately.

That is a good advice, because that's how I managed to learn the left hand of the waltz I did, by picking specific fingers as "jumpers". But as I say, it just doesn't stick well with me. Every time I sit at the piano I need to "find" the dimensions of the keyboard and my hands again...But surely a few more years of practice will help

[keypeg]

The leaning in is probably just a bad habit, it was for me. When I concentrate hard I tend to do this, also with a computer.

Haha - I sink!  I'd go lower and lower, "sunken in concentration".  No idea why.   Call it the Titanic method of playing piano.    Of course at some point you have to pop up again.