Sheet Music VS. Synthesia [10 Minute Challenge]

Hey all!
I wanted to try something different here. I gave myself 10 minutes to learn music from sheet music and Synthsia and see how much I can learn from each in that time.

The sheet music piece is Prokofiev's piano sonata no. 3 and the Synthesia piece is "Bonebottom" from Hollow Knight: Silksong (which hopefully is still in development?).
Both of the music pieces I have not practiced before this video however I did listen to them several times before hand so I knew what they sounded like.

Hope it will be entertaining to watch. I'd like to hear from you all what you think about different content like this. I won't stop doing music covers but want to do more than just covers here.

Stay well y'all!

Ryan

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#piano #synthesia

[iLikePiano]

Hey everyone! Hope you don't mind my experiments in different types of content. Let me know if this was interesting to you or not.

[nyokko]

Very precise, when I studied songs on synthesia and showed the sheet to my classmates they thought it was more difficult than it seemed, whether you like it or not synthesia makes studying easier in some ways (especially when your sheet reading is not up to date), but is kinda odd how you have to memorize right away while studying like this
Hope you keep making this kind of innovative video

[marshwetland]

Thanks for the demo of synthesia. It made me want to keep working on my sight reading - lol

[northernflicker]

Very cool video! I'm a complete beginner at music, and this was fun to watch. Reading sheet music hurts my brain, so this looks like magic to me. I love your videos!

[ganimez]

Awesome video idea! It was really cool to see a pro sightreading a new piece. And the tension in last 50 Seconds :-D

[carlosleather]

Very interesting video!! Cool that you are experimenting with new ideas. ( Cheekily snuck in bonebottom in there ;).. Enjoyed it as always Ryan 👍👍

[gunterstunter]

Your videos are great! You earned a new sub, thanks for creating this :)

[jdg]

“What happens here again?”
So relatable.

[KH-uvph]

Fun to watch, helpful, and thanks for sharing.

[coregamegd]

Amazing video! I love how you actually did justice to BOTH methods instead lf being biased by what you have learned by for years.

[ChristoforosChristofiMusic]

Comparing prima vista of the Prokofiev Sonata and the 2nd song is like comparing apples with eggs. You should try at least the same level of works. Keep the good work 🙂

[xXPumadinaXx]

I can actually only play my piano following stynthesia midi sheets, and have been doing so for around 4 years.

I’ve gotten to a point where i can play almost any song at 75% or more playback speed while only looking at the screen.

Definately reccomend using the playback speed setting at 25% as a beginner btw =)

[sidmovich]

Synthesia, the actual software, has a ton of options that can help you a lot if you are a beginner(fingerings(with the right midi) key notations, partitures, and you can loop parts of the song you are learning) despite all these helpers, i recommend having the sheet music, practice with synthesia, and then try to play with the sheet music (you will rebember the notes from synthesia so for beginners is way easy to read the sheet because they already know what that note in the staff is) a mix of the two can help you a lot, i also recommend having a music teacher for at least 3 months to learn the very basics youtube or synthesia can't teach you( hand positioning, posture etc) overall synthesia is only good if mixed it with other learning methods, by itself it will create bad habits that will slow down your progress. Learning piano is not like learning guitar hero, you cant just memorize de notes, you have to feel the music. Also this will all be useless if you dont practice you'r scales and chords everyday, it seems like a waste of time, but will help you a lot to learn finger positioning etc, i recommend starting with the c major scale with thirds with both hands slowly( you will see that its not that simple)

[Wahatoyas]

I can read sheet music both treble and bass on piano but it takes 4x as long

[goldflower]

Thank-you for sharing your thoughts and experience here.

[mistersadaimusic]

I think synthesia might be at its best when you use it to learn pieces which you can already sing the melody to by rote.

At least for me, as a guitar player that can read sheet music moving to piano, it's easier to wrap my head around that way.
I think there are so many tools that they are all viable and have their advantages and disadvantages.

Synthesia at the beginner level is going to result in a very strong ear but sheet music at the beginner level will result in a much faster recognition of intervallic relationships.

[wavynocturne]

This will definitely be an interesting watch!

[biscuitdeth]

Great test ! Why do people think that reading sheet music is that hard ?
I find harder to learn a piece through this kind of video because you have to learn by heart and if you're lost you have to watch the video. It's difficult for me to "visualize" the piece. But I will give it a try because as you mentioned it, you use more the competences you've learned and your ears. I think it might be a great way to improve my level.

[williampachev]

To any one who wants to switch to synesthesia videos.
READ THIS FIRST!

Lack of structure and guidance: Synesthesia videos may not provide a structured approach to learning the piano, which could make it difficult for beginners to progress effectively. Without proper guidance, it's easy to get overwhelmed and discouraged.

Limited feedback: Synesthesia videos typically only provide visual representations of the music, but do not offer any feedback on technique, posture, or other aspects of playing. This can lead to bad habits and poor playing technique.

Incomplete musical education: While synesthesia videos may help you learn how to play a specific song, they may not provide a comprehensive musical education. To become a proficient pianist, it's important to learn music theory, sight-reading, and other fundamental skills that are not always covered in synesthesia videos.

Dependence on videos: Relying solely on synesthesia videos can make it difficult to transition to other methods of learning. For example, if you become used to playing songs by following a specific video, you may struggle to read sheet music or play songs by ear.

Limited repertoire: Synesthesia videos typically focus on popular songs, which may not align with your personal musical preferences or goals. Additionally, learning only from synesthesia videos may limit your ability to explore and appreciate other genres of music.

[martin.gloves]

This is amazing!! Question: how familiar were you with these pieces before making the video? Trying to understand how much of a previous “aural idea” of each of them you had beforehand. Reason I ask is because your musicality was mind blowing since the very first second you started playing 🤯