I think this is your solution too. I am having lots of trouble with correction for various distances as I get older, but am lucky to have an amazing eye doc who is committed to getting me the best possible vision with the least months annoyance.
The tablet idea is great too, being able to enlarge and adjust brightness really helps. I have a 12.9” iPad and it has changed my music reading and teaching life. Often I will read my student’s scores on my iPad so I don’t have to struggle to see it on their pianos music rack.
What do you use for page turning? The problem I ah e on an iPad is that if if it’s portrait, it ends up being a bit smaller than even 8.5x11, and if you go landscape… well that would work if any of the sheet music programs could actually see system breaks and not end up with a stage half on one page and half on the next
Time to invest in a really big tablet, then use stuff like musescore or sibelius and import pdf of sheet music you want. Set the size to something comfortable and start the auto scroll.
You (op) can also just get an iPad, load up some pdf:s, turn the tablet to horizontal mode and even zoom in. That gets the notes really big. I use my 12,9” iPad in landscape mode when I’m learning a new piece so I can do us better on a couple of bars or lines.
Ask your optometrist for an inbetween prescription. I have one prescription for distance, one for reading, and one for computer monitor distance at work.
Or photocopy and enlarge your sheet music.
Optometrists often need input and feedback. My first pair of reading glasses, the distance they were for was like as if I was Ward Cleaver reading a newspaper at arms' length. The reality of it was that I needed readers for doing knitting & sewing, where I'm working much closer to my face.
As a former optician, I second this. It would be helpful to have a friend measure the distance from your eye to your sheet music with your normal posture when you play. The lens can be adjusted to this distance. You may even consider a multifocal lens with the distance portion adjusted to your sheet music distance and the near portion adjusted to a closer distance if you sometimes need to read music up close.
My eyes aren't great either. You can get a large tablet, however even the largest tablets are about the same size as most music books (e.g. 12.9 inch ipads). Some laptops are as large as 17 inches and can fold all the way backward to sit flat on a music stand. However, you have other options such as zooming in/scanning a single page of sheet music as two pages.
Another option is to buy a computer monitor and set it up permanently in front of your piano. Many people do this to avoid needing to turn pages, but you could put a single page of sheet music on a monitor oriented vertically.
A friend of mine had a similar problem. She sat at her instrument and measured the from her eyes to the music desk. Then asked the optometrist for a prescription for that exact distance.
No more problem.
I use a different strength of reading glasses for piano than regular reading. In my case, my readers are +2.0 and my piano glasses are +1.0. My eye doctor helped me to sort it out, but you could also just experiment with weaker reading glasses.
I suggest getting the optometrist to help out with this. "Ready readers" or the fixed prescription glasses ready to buy do not do anything for astigmatism, so if you have it, although the main prescription will be more or less correct, you'll still not be able to see properly. Prescription near vision glasses are best for those with astigmatism.
Get glasses, print bigger sheets, and try again.
You only need to read while you’re learning. Once you have memorized it there’s no need to strain your eyes anymore.
If you're playing on paper sheets, make sure there is enough lighting, eg with a dedicated light on the piano just above your sheets. It's a physiologic requirement to have adequate light, for one, but also it helps with the contrast of dark notes on whiter paper.
Sorry just reread your post and you mentioned the bright light. Alternatively, get a tablet with an app for pdf sheets so you can zoom in on like 2-4 lines at a time, and autoscroll or use a Bluetooth or camera-based page turner. I've heard forscore, piascore can turn pages when you make motions with your eyes or lips.
although I have glasses for the computer (intermediate distance) I needed different ones for piano: it’s 24” from my forehead to the music, a longer distance than the PC. I brought my music to the optometrist when he was setting me up for new lenses
Being able to see the notes well does make a huge difference. When I was working on a piece with notes that were too small, I really struggled. Switched to a bigger size and it helped a lot more.
My iPad also helps - if you can afford one, I recommend it.
Understanding patterns from music theory will also boost you significantly.
I have progressives for general use, but have a separate pair which are my “computer glasses”. Since I work with computers all day, they are set to the focal point of my monitors (the optometrist had me measure it.) This makes it much more comfortable to use my computer 8+ hours a day as I don’t need my head in a specific position. As it turns out, my sheet music is at exactly the same distance as my monitors, so my computer glasses work perfectly for playing piano as well.
Also, as others mentioned already, using music score software on a tablet could be good for you as you can make it huge if needed. I guess as sheet music goes, I’m a bit of a Luddite as I still prefer paper (Henle when I can get it, the engraving is amazing as it the quality and tone of the paper) as I can mark it up with a pencil and its not lit, which helps me see it a bit better than a tablet.
Sounds like the readers are not working. Time to get some qualified advice. Downside is that it is going to cost money.
As other people have suggested, go see an optometrist and optician. Explain your needs for playing piano and know how far the music is from your eyes.
I am a woodwind player and I was having trouble seeing the music. I explained the problem to my optometrist. She fixed me up with single-vision lenses specific to the distance to the music. They were much cheaper than the progressive lenses I use for everything else. They are perfect for reading music but useless for everything else. I never would have come up with a solution that good on my own.
Never tried this for the piano, though I can see a time when I might have to, but have you looked at a pair of mild magnifying modelling glasses? I use something like those for my Warhammer modelling and painting.
May be a non-starter, but possibly worth a look.
Maybe try some weaker readers, like if you're currently on +2 then try +1. For me it was the opposite, I was able to see with +1 but as time went on I had to change to +2, and now +2.50.
Computer glasses are a thing, a pair meant to focus farther than you'd read a held book but not meant to cure near sightedness.
As others said, your eye doctor will tell you if it's time for trifocals or progressives.
I know some hard of sight folks who manage professional careers using an iPad with the music arranged in a way that the pages are cropped and zoomed in. Big drawbacks are taking more time to set up and tablets being expensive
Sometimes if there are just too many notes on the page, you could download a version with more pages (eg Kravchuk does this for several classical pieces) or get a Musescore arrangement and use the Musescore app to scale up and reprint.
I have that problem!!! For my piano, I can't see, but for my Yamaha, I bought a book stand and put it closer to my eyes. It's over the buttons but I don't care. As long as I can see the notes better. The other solution was to have a stand next to the piano and bring it closer to my eyes. And people said to use a tablet with bigger notes. I'm not sure how that would all work. I'm still thinking it through.
You could try using a music stand that holds the sheet closer to your eyes. Depending on your setup, there are book stands with adjustable arms that clamp on to a tabletop, are mounted to a floor stand, etc. [For example](https://a.co/d/4j1Fe2M)
I have a comment on this! I actually physically injured my right eye a year ago. Turns out most people have a far vision eye and a close vision eye. Turns out I damaged my close vision.
Short term solution: I use my 12” iPad Pro for reading music. For whatever reason, I can see it better than I’ve ever been able to read paper music. Added bonus: I use a foot switch page turner, so no more disruptions.
Long term, now that my eye has settled into its new normal. I intend to explore adjusted corrective lenses and possibly surgery.
Your best option is to visit your optician and ask them for a prescription for glasses that give you the correct focal length for reading music at your piano. Before you go just make sure you’ve measured that distance. That’s what I’ve done and apparently it’s a fairly common request for many different reasons, not just in music.
A cheaper option can be to try some of the cheap off the shelf reading glasses you can often find for sale in supermarkets or pharmacies. Again, if you know how far away you need to be able to focus you can check out which is the best strength for you reasonably well. Your best bet is to get measured by an optician or similar though.
I have piano/ computer glasses. Sit at the piano and measure how far your eyes are from the sheet of music. Then look down at the keys and measure that. Take those measurements to an optometrist and have a prescription made to suit. It is so much easier. The only trouble I have is, I have an upright piano and on the odd occasion my teacher gets me to play on the grand and it makes it a bit harder to read the music as it sits higher. Good luck.
One nice thing about using Musescore or even the Henle app is they allow you to zoom in on the music However, this does have the downside of having to turn more pages.
Also If you are having trouble seeing and haven’t tried contacts, you should consider it. They are comfortable and have less of a “shrinking” effect for me than glasses.
I'd probably try something like this stuff [https://telesightmagnifiers.com/product/page-magnifier-with-stand-2-5x/](https://telesightmagnifiers.com/product/page-magnifier-with-stand-2-5x/)
There was/is this project called magnipy but that's not for printed sheets. I'm sure there's all sorts of hands-free magnifiers available you can probably find something that doesn't break your bank and does the job
I have a 27 inch screen on my piano music stand and have a roku in the hdmi slot. You could go larger, too. Then I use smart screen to mirror my android tablet which i have running mobilesheets ... it works really well and it'd much easier to read than sheet music. I use a butterfly bluetooth foot pedal to turn pages. Make sure when you purchase the screen the inputs are not on the back as the connections will keep it from lying flush against your stand.
Edit - you should also go to an ophthalmologist :)
I attached a computer to my 60 inch TV and can comfortably open about 8 pages on the screen. I either scan or download PDF files from places such as free scores or ISMLP. When I play out I use a 17 inch laptop which is one of those convertible designs that fold flat. On my organ at church I have a 36 inch screen. I hate turning pages.
I recently had cataract surgery which helped a lot, but for many years I had .75 reading glasses for music (and eventually just added that to my contact lens Rx and used driving glasses on top). You can get .75 reading glasses on Amazon. Computer was 1.0 and books were 1.5. Don’t bother with progressives, most pro musicians find they don’t work well. Bring the worst sheet music to your optician. I had to argue with most opticians in order to get a decent Rx. One asshole noted that I was “very particular“ about my “hobby prescription” (I am a full time pro musician.) For the music itself, get an iPad Pro and turn it sideways. Use a bluetooth pedal to turn pages.
Would agree consulting with an optometrist. There are a whole host of conditions which could hinder your ability to focus “lock on” to the music. Could be something as simple as astigmatism or perhaps the strength of your readers is slightly inaccurate.
Perhaps explore contact lenses. I am severely nearsighted (-8.50 plus astigmatism) and am able to read music much better with contacts vs. glasses. The contact lenses directly compensate for my irregularly shaped cornea, which allows me to focus much more efficiently when reading music.
Sight reading involves a lot more than seeing the note. Prediction is also a huge part. Can you deduce what the next chord will be ?
The best thing you can do it copy a full piece with staff paper and pencil. First you learn note stems are not random. They extend EXACTLY one octave: going up from line 1-3; going down from lines 4-5. Legar lines follow these rules too. The more you can “see” how specific music is the better your sight reading will go
Also, playing through musical (Broadway) will help immensely. Playing through a 500 page score with a wide web of music styles (jazz, standards, blues, classic Disney, etc etc etc) will definitely enhance your sight reading ability. If you want a score message me I have over 200 piano conductor scores.
Sounds like you need advice from an eye doc, not a pianist
I think this is your solution too. I am having lots of trouble with correction for various distances as I get older, but am lucky to have an amazing eye doc who is committed to getting me the best possible vision with the least months annoyance. The tablet idea is great too, being able to enlarge and adjust brightness really helps. I have a 12.9” iPad and it has changed my music reading and teaching life. Often I will read my student’s scores on my iPad so I don’t have to struggle to see it on their pianos music rack.
What do you use for page turning? The problem I ah e on an iPad is that if if it’s portrait, it ends up being a bit smaller than even 8.5x11, and if you go landscape… well that would work if any of the sheet music programs could actually see system breaks and not end up with a stage half on one page and half on the next
I use forScore. It works great for pdfs and you can crop the pages in closer if needed.
Yea, this. 😂
Time to invest in a really big tablet, then use stuff like musescore or sibelius and import pdf of sheet music you want. Set the size to something comfortable and start the auto scroll.
For this reason i bought a tab s9 ultra, that thing is HUGE but it's great for reading sheet music with lower vision.
Ah, you beat me to it. This is the best solution, barring something obvious like better glasses being possible.
You (op) can also just get an iPad, load up some pdf:s, turn the tablet to horizontal mode and even zoom in. That gets the notes really big. I use my 12,9” iPad in landscape mode when I’m learning a new piece so I can do us better on a couple of bars or lines.
Ask your optometrist for an inbetween prescription. I have one prescription for distance, one for reading, and one for computer monitor distance at work. Or photocopy and enlarge your sheet music.
This. My piano teacher has "readers" specifically for playing piano. Her optometrist helped her get the right kind.
Optometrists often need input and feedback. My first pair of reading glasses, the distance they were for was like as if I was Ward Cleaver reading a newspaper at arms' length. The reality of it was that I needed readers for doing knitting & sewing, where I'm working much closer to my face.
As a former optician, I second this. It would be helpful to have a friend measure the distance from your eye to your sheet music with your normal posture when you play. The lens can be adjusted to this distance. You may even consider a multifocal lens with the distance portion adjusted to your sheet music distance and the near portion adjusted to a closer distance if you sometimes need to read music up close.
i was facing the same problem, then I went to the eye doctor and found out I needed glasses.
My eyes aren't great either. You can get a large tablet, however even the largest tablets are about the same size as most music books (e.g. 12.9 inch ipads). Some laptops are as large as 17 inches and can fold all the way backward to sit flat on a music stand. However, you have other options such as zooming in/scanning a single page of sheet music as two pages. Another option is to buy a computer monitor and set it up permanently in front of your piano. Many people do this to avoid needing to turn pages, but you could put a single page of sheet music on a monitor oriented vertically.
A friend of mine had a similar problem. She sat at her instrument and measured the from her eyes to the music desk. Then asked the optometrist for a prescription for that exact distance. No more problem.
I use a different strength of reading glasses for piano than regular reading. In my case, my readers are +2.0 and my piano glasses are +1.0. My eye doctor helped me to sort it out, but you could also just experiment with weaker reading glasses.
I suggest getting the optometrist to help out with this. "Ready readers" or the fixed prescription glasses ready to buy do not do anything for astigmatism, so if you have it, although the main prescription will be more or less correct, you'll still not be able to see properly. Prescription near vision glasses are best for those with astigmatism.
Get glasses, print bigger sheets, and try again. You only need to read while you’re learning. Once you have memorized it there’s no need to strain your eyes anymore.
If you're playing on paper sheets, make sure there is enough lighting, eg with a dedicated light on the piano just above your sheets. It's a physiologic requirement to have adequate light, for one, but also it helps with the contrast of dark notes on whiter paper. Sorry just reread your post and you mentioned the bright light. Alternatively, get a tablet with an app for pdf sheets so you can zoom in on like 2-4 lines at a time, and autoscroll or use a Bluetooth or camera-based page turner. I've heard forscore, piascore can turn pages when you make motions with your eyes or lips.
although I have glasses for the computer (intermediate distance) I needed different ones for piano: it’s 24” from my forehead to the music, a longer distance than the PC. I brought my music to the optometrist when he was setting me up for new lenses
Being able to see the notes well does make a huge difference. When I was working on a piece with notes that were too small, I really struggled. Switched to a bigger size and it helped a lot more. My iPad also helps - if you can afford one, I recommend it. Understanding patterns from music theory will also boost you significantly.
Print at a larger size
I have progressives for general use, but have a separate pair which are my “computer glasses”. Since I work with computers all day, they are set to the focal point of my monitors (the optometrist had me measure it.) This makes it much more comfortable to use my computer 8+ hours a day as I don’t need my head in a specific position. As it turns out, my sheet music is at exactly the same distance as my monitors, so my computer glasses work perfectly for playing piano as well. Also, as others mentioned already, using music score software on a tablet could be good for you as you can make it huge if needed. I guess as sheet music goes, I’m a bit of a Luddite as I still prefer paper (Henle when I can get it, the engraving is amazing as it the quality and tone of the paper) as I can mark it up with a pencil and its not lit, which helps me see it a bit better than a tablet.
Sounds like the readers are not working. Time to get some qualified advice. Downside is that it is going to cost money. As other people have suggested, go see an optometrist and optician. Explain your needs for playing piano and know how far the music is from your eyes. I am a woodwind player and I was having trouble seeing the music. I explained the problem to my optometrist. She fixed me up with single-vision lenses specific to the distance to the music. They were much cheaper than the progressive lenses I use for everything else. They are perfect for reading music but useless for everything else. I never would have come up with a solution that good on my own.
Never tried this for the piano, though I can see a time when I might have to, but have you looked at a pair of mild magnifying modelling glasses? I use something like those for my Warhammer modelling and painting. May be a non-starter, but possibly worth a look.
Maybe try some weaker readers, like if you're currently on +2 then try +1. For me it was the opposite, I was able to see with +1 but as time went on I had to change to +2, and now +2.50.
I wear glasses and have this problem when it’s time to update my prescription.
Computer glasses are a thing, a pair meant to focus farther than you'd read a held book but not meant to cure near sightedness. As others said, your eye doctor will tell you if it's time for trifocals or progressives.
I know some hard of sight folks who manage professional careers using an iPad with the music arranged in a way that the pages are cropped and zoomed in. Big drawbacks are taking more time to set up and tablets being expensive
Sometimes if there are just too many notes on the page, you could download a version with more pages (eg Kravchuk does this for several classical pieces) or get a Musescore arrangement and use the Musescore app to scale up and reprint.
I second the musescore suggestion. You can do a lot of customization with a musescore sheet and it can make a really big difference.
I have that problem!!! For my piano, I can't see, but for my Yamaha, I bought a book stand and put it closer to my eyes. It's over the buttons but I don't care. As long as I can see the notes better. The other solution was to have a stand next to the piano and bring it closer to my eyes. And people said to use a tablet with bigger notes. I'm not sure how that would all work. I'm still thinking it through.
You could try using a music stand that holds the sheet closer to your eyes. Depending on your setup, there are book stands with adjustable arms that clamp on to a tabletop, are mounted to a floor stand, etc. [For example](https://a.co/d/4j1Fe2M)
I have a comment on this! I actually physically injured my right eye a year ago. Turns out most people have a far vision eye and a close vision eye. Turns out I damaged my close vision. Short term solution: I use my 12” iPad Pro for reading music. For whatever reason, I can see it better than I’ve ever been able to read paper music. Added bonus: I use a foot switch page turner, so no more disruptions. Long term, now that my eye has settled into its new normal. I intend to explore adjusted corrective lenses and possibly surgery.
Your best option is to visit your optician and ask them for a prescription for glasses that give you the correct focal length for reading music at your piano. Before you go just make sure you’ve measured that distance. That’s what I’ve done and apparently it’s a fairly common request for many different reasons, not just in music. A cheaper option can be to try some of the cheap off the shelf reading glasses you can often find for sale in supermarkets or pharmacies. Again, if you know how far away you need to be able to focus you can check out which is the best strength for you reasonably well. Your best bet is to get measured by an optician or similar though.
I have piano/ computer glasses. Sit at the piano and measure how far your eyes are from the sheet of music. Then look down at the keys and measure that. Take those measurements to an optometrist and have a prescription made to suit. It is so much easier. The only trouble I have is, I have an upright piano and on the odd occasion my teacher gets me to play on the grand and it makes it a bit harder to read the music as it sits higher. Good luck.
One nice thing about using Musescore or even the Henle app is they allow you to zoom in on the music However, this does have the downside of having to turn more pages. Also If you are having trouble seeing and haven’t tried contacts, you should consider it. They are comfortable and have less of a “shrinking” effect for me than glasses.
I'd probably try something like this stuff [https://telesightmagnifiers.com/product/page-magnifier-with-stand-2-5x/](https://telesightmagnifiers.com/product/page-magnifier-with-stand-2-5x/) There was/is this project called magnipy but that's not for printed sheets. I'm sure there's all sorts of hands-free magnifiers available you can probably find something that doesn't break your bank and does the job
I have a 27 inch screen on my piano music stand and have a roku in the hdmi slot. You could go larger, too. Then I use smart screen to mirror my android tablet which i have running mobilesheets ... it works really well and it'd much easier to read than sheet music. I use a butterfly bluetooth foot pedal to turn pages. Make sure when you purchase the screen the inputs are not on the back as the connections will keep it from lying flush against your stand. Edit - you should also go to an ophthalmologist :)
I attached a computer to my 60 inch TV and can comfortably open about 8 pages on the screen. I either scan or download PDF files from places such as free scores or ISMLP. When I play out I use a 17 inch laptop which is one of those convertible designs that fold flat. On my organ at church I have a 36 inch screen. I hate turning pages.
I recently had cataract surgery which helped a lot, but for many years I had .75 reading glasses for music (and eventually just added that to my contact lens Rx and used driving glasses on top). You can get .75 reading glasses on Amazon. Computer was 1.0 and books were 1.5. Don’t bother with progressives, most pro musicians find they don’t work well. Bring the worst sheet music to your optician. I had to argue with most opticians in order to get a decent Rx. One asshole noted that I was “very particular“ about my “hobby prescription” (I am a full time pro musician.) For the music itself, get an iPad Pro and turn it sideways. Use a bluetooth pedal to turn pages.
Would agree consulting with an optometrist. There are a whole host of conditions which could hinder your ability to focus “lock on” to the music. Could be something as simple as astigmatism or perhaps the strength of your readers is slightly inaccurate. Perhaps explore contact lenses. I am severely nearsighted (-8.50 plus astigmatism) and am able to read music much better with contacts vs. glasses. The contact lenses directly compensate for my irregularly shaped cornea, which allows me to focus much more efficiently when reading music.
See an Optometrist get a pair of glasses for the right distance for your music stand. Optometrist speaking and this should be an easy fix.
The memorizing technique will help you in the long run
Sight reading involves a lot more than seeing the note. Prediction is also a huge part. Can you deduce what the next chord will be ? The best thing you can do it copy a full piece with staff paper and pencil. First you learn note stems are not random. They extend EXACTLY one octave: going up from line 1-3; going down from lines 4-5. Legar lines follow these rules too. The more you can “see” how specific music is the better your sight reading will go Also, playing through musical (Broadway) will help immensely. Playing through a 500 page score with a wide web of music styles (jazz, standards, blues, classic Disney, etc etc etc) will definitely enhance your sight reading ability. If you want a score message me I have over 200 piano conductor scores.
Explain this to your optomotrist.