How to make good use of sheet music and play musically?

When we play by ear, does that mean we have to throw away the sheet music?

I want to emphasize that when we play by ear, it does not mean that we throw away the entire score. The score has its place. Learn to put it to good use, but at the same time avoid its pitfalls. I’ve fallen into the trap for so many years that I didn’t even know they were there. My brain was totally preoccupied with translating symbols into actions on the piano. I just read the music by sight and trained myself to think faster to hit the notes. With more notes on the score, I struggled to think ahead. With more sharps and flats, I tried to think even faster. With the change of keys on the bridge, I forced myself to think even faster. So, in this whirlwind of mental activity calculating and translating symbols, I was mentally exhausted without ever listening carefully to the sounds I was playing. So without the sheet music, I’d be totally lost at the piano. Does this sound familiar to your experience?

Now I have discovered an efficient way to use sheet music and want to share it with you. Please understand that music is a vocabulary. Even when you play melodies from the sheet music, you are expressing yourself with that vocabulary. You must realize that sheet music cannot express all the dynamics of a song and all its possible embellishments. Experienced musicians know that we can never play a melody the same way twice. We will add embellishments, grace notes, trills for additional effects. We will vary the time and play subtle variations to express different moods. Score sheets cannot show everything. They are simply snapshots of notes written to give you an idea of ​​what can be done. Sometimes the most important item can be omitted because it is difficult to write it down. It is simply impossible to write down the large number of possible variations even for a simple melody.

Sometimes we confuse reading music with being musical. The ability to read music is very useful but it is not the same as being musical. Reading is a totally different skill. Notes are just a series of symbols. These symbols seem misleading because they give us the impression that it is music. Music is not a constant series of going back and forth from note to note. Rather, the music is what happens between these notes. That part cannot be read. There is a saying that says “read between the lines”. Yes, that is what we must do when we play from the musical score. Now, I always “play between the notes.” Music has a fluid property. How to put the flow? This is where the ear plays an important role in connecting these notes into beautiful musical expressions in your performance.

I’m trying to put the emphasis on developing our “SEE, LISTEN, AND PLAY” reflex rather than the “SEE AND PLAY” reflex. Fixing our attention on the visual aspect of the score freezes our flow of creativity. Just touch what we see without listen deep it makes our music rigid and mechanical.

We were raised in a visually focused culture. We look at the notes carefully and our whole being is fully involved in the written notes in front of us. It is as if the learning takes place on the score in front of us rather than within us. So when you use sheet music, train yourself to hear the music you see on sheet music. Don’t just play the notes you see.

Get a new way of viewing your musical score. Learn to perceive the information you see as melodic shapes and sounds beyond visual notes. Learn to hear the sounds of what you see on the sheet. Let the sheet music come to life in your ears. Let the notes come to life and sing to you. Don’t look at them indifferently. Let those notes draw you into the tones they represent so they become beautiful sounds in your head. When you do this, a whole new world of musical freedom awaits you.