Are you worried that because you memorise new pieces quickly you don’t get to practise reading notes on the harp?
Or maybe reading music takes so much time that you stop looking at the score and start playing from memory?
Does it feel like you have to start from scratch again when you come back to the music?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, this episode is for you!
First, well done to you – because…
…you noticed the problem!
Memorising is a great tool – it just seems that right now it’s become a bit of an unhelpful habit. But you knowing that it happens is the first step to overcoming that challenge!
Be mindful
The next step is spotting the problem WHEN it happens. Only when you notice it right there at the harp you will be able to react and change how you react.
In this video I will share with you one simple technique that will help you notice when you may be falling for that unhelpful habit.
Don’t start from the beginning
Always starting from the same place will make it really hard to avoid memorising this one spot you keep repeating. Pick at least a few other spots where you can start from. Within these sections find the bits with are the ones who need most of your attention.
A temporary “ban” on starting from the beginning is also not a bad idea!
The “backwards” method
Get to know one practice strategy that makes it virtually impossible to memorise… and try it in your pieces!
You can see me using this method in practice in one of my earlier tutorials for the Silent Night harp arrangement (from 5:01).
Practice reading music away from the pieces
If you find reading music challenging, make sure you put aside some dedicated reading time just to go through short exercises and really (REALLY!) easy pieces.
Also make sure that you check out this FREE 3-part video training that will show you how to recognise notes more quickly on the harp!
Sign up for a FREE 3-part video training!
Make your memory your ally…
By making sure you memorise using your long term memory you can use memorising to get better at reading music.
You need to ensure that what you memorise is encoded semantically instead of acoustically (and don’t worry, I explain all this in the video).
Your next step will be matching the patterns that you found to what you see in the score. When you do this, I promise that you will never feel like you’re starting from scratch!
Watch the video
Want to get better at READING MUSIC? Sign up for the FREE 3-part video training!
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