Time to switch letters vs. numbers vs. none

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Laurensss
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Re: Time to switch letters vs. numbers vs. none

Post by Laurensss » Tue Jan 29, 2019 10:16 am

HI Pavel, I get your point but I have two comments:

* As was shown in another thread the relationship between the chord name and the actual notes to play is not 1:1
* It is actually /really useful/ to have a good idea of the chord progressions in songs, and how they relate to the notes you are playing. This will help tremendously with playing by ear and improvisation, and I personally wish I was more proficient in it. I agree with you that note names and fingerings on every note are harmful (imho they do more bad than good, apart from the very first introduction to the keyboard and tricky finger changes) but learning the relationship with the chords while playing is very valuable.

So I understand and support completely why the chord names don't disappear with the note names. They are two different things, serving a different purpose.

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sw1tch73ch
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Re: Time to switch letters vs. numbers vs. none

Post by sw1tch73ch » Tue Jan 29, 2019 11:52 am

Pavel,

I think you underestimate how much you will learn to read notation.

Old books may or may not print chord information, depending on the publisher. Most of the one's I have do (usually above the grand staff). They are actually usually for guitarists that accompany the singer and pianist. The sheet music will spell out specifically which notes to play for the pianist. Then there are the thousands of "Fake" books (the actual industry name for them!) that only spell out the melody for the singer and chords for everyone else. These would also be called Lead Sheets.

Best to just turn off the notation with the "None" button. Then also spend time with the Chord and Scales lessons.
== Just keep playing. Just keep playing. Just keep playing, playing, playing! ==

-- jbs --

dirtyredog
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Re: Time to switch letters vs. numbers vs. none

Post by dirtyredog » Fri Apr 26, 2019 12:57 pm

I love Pavel's suggestion! It would be a godsend for my memory.

The way my memory works I can associate the three visually but I struggle to associate finger numbers to the patterns once I've switched notes. I find myself stuck toggling back and forth and forgetting the pattern before I've gotten to the second or third chord. I've been stuck on intermediate c minor triads for well over a month and JUST TODAY figured out I was using the wrong fingers because I finally switched back to finger numbers now I cannot even do the first bar correctly. To add frustration to the whole thing I'm unable to print from the app so I can't even keep a copy on the side...SO NOW I HAVE 2 PC's with the darned app open just so I can read both ways. Ridiculous....just add them side by side..not all of us are in our 20s and can soak up knowledge like sponges. Im an uncoordinated dyslexic old fkr.

I'm NEVER going to pick up a lead sheet and try to play it. I just want to learn the cords and methods to practice some songs I like. I've been practicing for about a year and a half and learned to read music in elementary school but that doesn't translate into reading it while on the run.

One other suggestion I'd like to make is it would help tremendously if there were key hints as to where your fingers need to go before the note is to be played. No need for the whole rain fall like in Synthesia just give me a heads up as to where I need to go next. That would help me memorize and memorizing will ensure I can actually read the music without either the fingers or the letters! Rock band style pattern hinting is popular for a reason! We don't all learn in the same manner.

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sw1tch73ch
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Re: Time to switch letters vs. numbers vs. none

Post by sw1tch73ch » Fri Apr 26, 2019 1:24 pm

dirtyredog wrote:
Fri Apr 26, 2019 12:57 pm
One other suggestion I'd like to make is it would help tremendously if there were key hints as to where your fingers need to go before the note is to be played. No need for the whole rain fall like in Synthesia just give me a heads up as to where I need to go next. That would help me memorize and memorizing will ensure I can actually read the music without either the fingers or the letters! Rock band style pattern hinting is popular for a reason!
I'm curious how you'd do the keyboard hints? Are you talking about the RockBand video game? I haven't played with that so I'm not familiar with what they do. But to be fair to the Playground Sessions app, those Chord Names are a sort of hint, once you know your chords, as to where you'll be playing your notes.

Don't downplay the importance of lead sheets. My wife uses them as part of her work as music director at the church. The melody printed on the sheet music is for singing. The chord notation is for playing the backing accompaniment, and that's all she needs.
== Just keep playing. Just keep playing. Just keep playing, playing, playing! ==

-- jbs --

dirtyredog
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Re: Time to switch letters vs. numbers vs. none

Post by dirtyredog » Fri Apr 26, 2019 1:39 pm

Yes, like the video game. Watch a youtube video of any of the synthesia tutorials it's just like that, a waterfall pattern. You can see it coming. The "length' of the water fall is the duration of the note. So it's child's play to know where your fingers are going to go next...

In the case of Playground sessions though, I don't think you can do that.

I think I would suggest a toggle, like the left and right hands of demo:

When demo is on you can see the notes as they're played which is useless at hinting because you will have already missed the note and the music will have not waited for you to get it right. If there were a "hinting feature" and the finger numbers showed up on the keys-to-be-played-next perhaps in a different color than what demo shows then it would give you the clues as to where to go and visually you can match that to the sheet music itself with or without the letters showing the notes. It pretty much wouldn't need those at all anymore I think.

Not sure if im explaining that well. but I can't mentally turn the sheet music sideways while on the go. I can do maybe one or two notes then I'm jsut trying to match whatever tempo.

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sw1tch73ch
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Re: Time to switch letters vs. numbers vs. none

Post by sw1tch73ch » Fri Apr 26, 2019 5:08 pm

I don't know how the developers did their user interface, but I think this would work for the students. It's a little like the light up keyboard idea where the next note lights up, but on the screen and not the physical keys.
== Just keep playing. Just keep playing. Just keep playing, playing, playing! ==

-- jbs --

andrewwegierski
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Re: Time to switch letters vs. numbers vs. none

Post by andrewwegierski » Wed May 22, 2019 12:42 pm

Pavel,

Chord symbols are not letter names. Additionally, I don't see them ever being able to be toggled off in the app. It's a standard part of our music notation.

No, classical sheet music doesn't feature chord symbols. Maybe some older books don't either. But chord symbols do not hinder your ability to read notes.
Andrew Wegierski

Customer Support Representative
Music Arranger

support@playgroundsessions.com

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