October 21, 2012 in Blog by admin

Piano Improvisation versus Reading Sheet Music

Piano Improvisation Versus Sight Reading
by Jason Johann

Playing piano by ear versus reading music, both the options seem complicated for the instrument. The playing by ear technique is the oldest one; it was the primary means of learning an instrument. Having knowledge of musical theory in some way is essential for reading, but is also a boost for the listening technique.

There are a whole bunch of advantages that listening has over reading. There is no musical score to limit you. This technique does require some initial training of the ear to get used to picking up notes.

Performing the songs you already know is the easy way to learn this technique. It is difficult for a newbie to <a href=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8M0OZtwrH08&feature=plcp”>play piano using chords</a> and they may need to listen to the songs repeatedly. It is a good practice to record and compare the songs you play with the original.

Additionally, the piano score in the sheets cannot be understood by everyone. Yet, improvisation through <a href=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8M0OZtwrH08&feature=plcp”>playing piano chords</a> would be considered easier. You can start playing most of the simpler songs pretty quickly.

Harder songs would require more patience, as they can take even years to become perfect. If you see the sheet music they would be learned much quickly. You need to listen to the song before you can play, which is a drawback in this technique as well.

This is just for enjoyment, there isn’t much creativity involved in here. If you are looking to make a career out of music, then this is a big disadvantage. On the other hand the sheets don’t let you listen to the song until you have played it.

Once you know how to read these sheets you can play with bands to develop new songs, make your own tunes, the sky is the limit. Music sheets are extremely hard to master though. They also require a lot of skills to play them properly.

For a beginner the listening technique is good to learn, but the real competition is from the sheets. It is the biggest leap you will take in order to be the best. In terms of expenses, both are costly.

<a href=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_music_by_ear”>Playing piano by ear</a> versus reading music is a simple choice, if you know where you stand. A novice needs to hear and play along to obtain skills and become used to the tunes of each chord. Yet, a more advanced musician requires understanding music to attain new heights.

The author is an expert music instructor from California. His music school provides <a href=”http://www.soundscapemusicstudios.com/orange-county-piano-lessons/”>piano lessons Irvine</a>. He is also working on a video tutorial series which teaches how to improvise on piano. You can follow his blog and updates on facebook <a href=”http://www.facebook.com/pages/Soundscape-Music-Studios/111286872243054?ref=hl”>here</a>.