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Position:Home>Performing Arts> How do I learn to stop wrighting down my music notes?! I need help badly!?Question: How do I learn to stop wrighting down my music notes!?! I need help badly!!? Well 'ive been playing the flute for about a year already and I still wright my notes down! It's realy hard to play it with out the little letters! I've tried practiceing with out the letters but it doesn't seem to work! Any tips!?Www@QuestionHome@Com
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Okay- I have 3 ideas for you: First, pick a simple etude or a song that covers the range of what you can play comfortably!. Play through it S L O W L Y WITHOUT writing the notes!. Once you make it through the first 4 measures, stop and write in the letters of what ever notes you had to stop for!. Do this for the rest of the piece!. If you find that there are a lot of "D"s, erase all of them!. Now play the piece without the "D"s written in!. Pick another note to erase, then play through it again!. Continue this until you can play without too many pauses!. The next day, pick a different etude and do it again!. After a couple days, go back to the first etude you did and see if you can still play it WITHOUT the notes written in!. One thing to look for that could help you out, is melodic patterns!. For example, if the notes are "D-E-D-C-D", don't think of the names, but think "D-up-down-down-up" (without saying the words in your head)!. Try to visualize the patterns and contours of the melody!. Essentially, you just need to practice- a lot- and trust that you know more than you give yourself credit for! Here's idea number 2: Shift your perception!. Let me explain!.!.!. When you see a note on the 3rd space, don't think "C"!. Instead, think "L2" as in 2nd (middle finger) of left hand!. And while we're on it- don't think it!.!.!. KNOW it!. Pretend you're playing "Simon Says"!. Train your fingers so that you stop thinking about which note you're trying to play and just concentrate on the fingerings!. Make some flash cards, each with just one note on the staff!. Have someone help you!.!.!. they can hold up the cards and you play it as fast as you can!. Try to time it and beat your score! There is a lot to be said about muscle memory- the more you ACTUALLY think about what you need to do, the slower it will come!.!.!. especially where fine motor skills are concerned!. Think about when you write!. Do you actually say to yourself "Up, down, across!.!.!. circle around, add a leg"!.!.!. !? Probably not!. The same concept applies to reading music!. I don't know of a single professional musician that sits and thinks about the note names as they play- they see the symbol on the page and their fingers do it!. It just takes a lot of practice to train your muscles, and again, faith in yourself that your body knows what to do!. Now, as you get older and become more advanced, so will the range of what you are expected to play!.!.!. you will be playing some VERY high notes!.!.!. and there are a lot of ledger lines! For these notes, don't be afraid to write in a couple letters- even the pros do this if they are going especially high or low!. And again, you would pay attention to the melodic contour so you wouldn't have to write in ALL the note names!. OK- Idea number 3: Take a piece of music that you have already written all of the note names on and cover up the staffs, so all you see are letters!. Now grab some blank staff paper and notate the notes you have written!.!.!. try to resist the urge to count up the staff ("Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge")!.!.!. LOL!. Keep doing this until it becomes second nature!. also, here's a great website that will let you practice learning the notes!.!.!. and as you get more advanced, will help you with theory!.!.!. http://www!.8notes!.com/school/theory/musi!.!.!. Anyways, I'm sorry I wrote you a book, but I hope you find something in it that helps! Again, just be dilligent about your practicing, and trust yourself that you KNOW this stuff- mentally and physically!. Good Luck!Www@QuestionHome@Com I can't imagine your flute teacher allowed you to WRITE (correct spelling) those cheat letters on the music to begin with!. How could she possibly have let you go on this way for a year!? When you learn with the props, then you will have a hard time unlearning them!.!.!. you have a lousy music teacher!.!.!. so get another one who won't let you use the prompts!.!.!. How can anyone NOT learn how to read music!? I learned to read music and play piano at 8 YEARS OF AGE!.!. and that was PIANO music!.!.!. not just the Treble Cleff stuff!.!.!. It's NOT THAT HARD but it IS hard to unlearn bad habits!.!.!. so you need some help from a competant teacher!. I teach guitar and I would NEVER allow a student to mark up the music with note prompts!.Www@QuestionHome@Com WOW!.!.!.That has got to be the longest answer I have ever seen! :) Practice, practice, practice!. The more you work on just reading the music, the easier it will become!. I had similar problems when I had to learn to read tenor clef!. Just keep working at the passages, slowing them down when you need to, then working your way back to the original tempo!. You'll get it!Www@QuestionHome@Com just enjoy teh music and i think it's normal that you're still writing your notes because you said you only started about a year!. just keep on practincing and little by little eliminate the letters and try to familiarize the notesWww@QuestionHome@Com |