Sheet music - Why cannot I read it and play at the same time ?

Question:

Sheet music - Why cannot I read it and play at the same time ?

Hi Folks,
I am an amateur musician, in a small occasional band, amongst other things, but despite many years of playing keyboard and guitar, I have to memorise what comes next.
I understand what all the dots and symbols mean on paper, but putting sheet music in front of me when playing is hopeless.

Do I have some mental block, or adversion to detailed instructions ?

Bob

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: A lot of people I know have this same problem....I guess it's a mental block....like some people cannot read....they find it very difficult.... I have some students like this....they can play and they can memorize but they cannot play and read at the same time....so your not alone. It's definitely something in the brain....no offense....your brain is just not functioning when it comes to seeing the notes and playing them. Did you start out with a teacher and learn the notes from the beginning....if not maybe this is your problem....why not try and start over in your spare time and restudy the single notes... try this for six months and see what happens....maybe you got lost somewhere in the beginning and it just didn't stick.....and you get confused when looking at the notes !!!!!! I wish you luck with this....bye !!!!!! Try this next time you've been given a sheet of music:

Whistle or lalala the tune whilst reading it.

Reading and playing simultaneously is a learned skill - it takes time. You don't have a mental block; you just need to cultivate the skill of reading music beyond that of simply recognising where the dots are, what they are doing, and what they mean!

One day, you WILL be able to do it! Some of the best musicians in history havent been able to play at the same time as reading the music.

I personally have a bit of trouble with it from time to time - so I can kind of relate.

Youre telling your brain to move both of your hands differently at the same time and telling it to read the music too - and if youre playing a piano, youre feet are involved too!!! Pretty complicated at the best of times.

What I do is practice by reading one part of the music and only playing the melody (right hand) and then doing the same with the rhythm/bass/counter melody (left hand)

this way you learn the piece individually, then try using both hands. It may work, it may not.

if in doubt, try to find a tutor that could help you out as there are many different methods to help this sort of thing! :)

good luck! Paul McCartney has written three major Symphonies and cannot read music. He is Dyslexic. There are many other musicians who can understand music conceptually, but cannot translate it at a fast enough rate to interpret it along with other musicians. You may have a mild dysfunction, or you may have just had a bad experience with notation at an early age and are blocking your natural ability. Then again, you may have never had notation expalined (explained) to you properly. (I left the error in deliberately. I am profoundly dyslexic and often spend more time proofreading my answers than typing them)

Reading sheet music is just like reading a graph or chart in mathematics. You look at the key signature to get the formula, and then follow the symbols to know what the range and rhythm of the notes are. Sometimes you have to do this for years before it becomes natural, and sometimes it never does. I pretty much have to study everything I play, although I have had some success with lead sheets. (Especially if I am familiar with the tune already) Rest assured, you are not alone, and only you can determine what stands between you and musical fluency. Best of luck and I hope you eventually overcome your difficulty, or at least come to understnad what it is. Well, I don't know exactly what to say, but if you can memorize and then play, you definitely do not have a mental block! You just have the gift of memorizational learning. Some people are auditory learners, visual learners, mathematical learners, or kinisthetic learners. You are just memorizational.

I hope this helps you in the Music Business! bob,
most musicians who play have the notes in front of them to help them out. They build up (over time) a great short-term memory facility. People who memorize the music ( like singers) have a long-term memory facility. These two functions don't seem to have an accessible bridge between them, so it means you need to take the long way around, and develop your short-term functions.
As other people have advised a tutor or teacher is a good idea. I would go so far as to suggest a conducting student who plays piano, because they have to be able to perform the same function with a full score ( all the instruments) in front of them, and are perhaps well aware of tips and tricks.
As in any musical activity we delve into, time and patience are the best skills to have. The rest comes with practice.
Lynn Ya, I'm the exact same when it comes to playing the piano. My brain cannot process all the notes that have to be played at the same time. I am however a fluent sight reader on clarinet and sax. I play them proffessionally as they have been my principal study for the past few years. Its all practice! I know that I could speed up my piano reading if I put my mind to it. Get some really easy sight reading books, grade I standard, and work your way through that, then go up to grade II and so on.... try to have a look at them carefully before you start to play. Look out for any areas that may cause you difficulty so you can be aware of them when your playing it. You may find the first few very easy, but they will gradually get more n more difficult n you probably wont even notice!

You can do it!!!!

Good luck!!! If your'e talking about sight reading, it takes years of practice, that's why theres only a small quantity of session players out there!