Do You Have to Be Able to Read Music to Play Piano?

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[horatiodreamt]

The great jazz pianist Erroll Garner (composer of "Misty") couldn't read music. Yet he was a talented composer and improviser.

[nicecreamsundae]

Yes to all of the above! I would love more videos on improvisation, playing from a lead sheet, learning different styles, and even good ol' sight reading! :)

[brendaboykin]

Great Blues, Robert. You brought forth a very authentic and soulful/soul deep sound.(Jazzer, here). I always learn a lot.

[russmaleartist]

Yes Sir,
I would be very intereested in learning more of improvising and lead sheets, etc.
I believe you are a very talented man, who has learned how to communicate very well to people and without any errs of talking down to people.
You are not only a fantastic classical pianist, with obviously a great respect, not only of your father and what he taught you . . . you are also a person, who enjoys teaching and sharing what you have learned.
I have watched you for many years and have even had you respond personally to me . . . and to be honest, I was surprised you did, and witth a kind and courteous manner . . . so, your father taught you very well indeed!
Thank you for all that you do, share, and enrich our lives. God bless and save your soul!

[DandGBears]

So I took lessons lessons from a concert pianist for almost six year who all had the degrees you could possibly have and they HATED improvisation. I used to ask about it a lot and would get answers like oh people think they can walk up to the piano and just do “whatever they want without any real thought to it…..ridiculous.” I finally realized they themselves never improvised. They also had similar feelings about sight reading because when you perform, the piece must be gone over meticulously spending hundreds of hours learning it. As a consequence I would only learn maybe 3 pieces a year and yes I can play them all from memory. But just being able to sit down and play something for friends and family would be nice. I hated that I spent all that time learning and people be like that’s real nice and all but do you know how to play anything I may have heard. To answer BUT I just played you a John Field Nocturne was not good enough for them lol. Any Beatles, Elton John maybe 😅

[Robert-ycql]

Nicely done.
Dyslexia comes in many flavors... and so I learned to use my ears to help me figure out what notes to play and when.
I play music for the pure enjoyment of it and encourage others to do the same.
I am also of the opinion that improvisation is a skill that needs to encouraged whether you read or not.

If you really want to feel like you are creating music, improvise... and feel the rush of excitement as the music flows out of you.
And the more you try, the better you get. 🙂

[joshuagiese]

The first time that I encountered someone who could play classical music but couldn't read music, I was in college. He came into my practice room, he told me that he learned the piece I was practicing, played it beautifully, and he explained that he learned it all by ear. At first, I felt rather embarrassed, being shown up, as a collegiate level pianist, by someone who couldn't even read music, but it was one of the biggest eye-opening musical experiences of my life. I now have a greater respect for the many ways of learning to play piano.

[rmoore]

Please do make more videos about improvisation. I am a classically trained pianist and would love to know more about this.

[jamieoteri]

I like this! I’m not good at reading notes but memorize pieces. Having the freedom to improvise is a tool I want to learn

[vic]

Great video. I'm 65 and started piano a little over 2 years ago. I just finished the last book in the adult Alfred series, now starting on Snell. My teacher said that once I get through these, I'll be able to play anything. We also work on popular pieces... he's very encouraging and wants me to try anything I want to. We actually had this same discussion at my last lesson a few days ago, and he concurred with what you said. I look forward to more info on improvisation.. I'm just amazed when pianists do that.

[JayMSinger]

I was so lucky to have a childhood piano teacher that taught me Clementi, Bach, Mozart, and Hanon for technique, but he also got me fake books (for $5 each!) so that I could gig. Ted Harris was an ASCAP composer and the great mentor of my musical life. There is a French pianist, DOMi, who has classical 'chops' but bleeding edge improvising skill. Chick Corea and Keith Jarret also crossed that musical line. I hope you continue to explore this aspect of our art.

[aBachwardsfellow]

woo-hoo! Love that boogie-woogie! You GO! Rob! :-)

Seems like there's quite a bit of interest in improv -- including me!

[patrickwall]

I'm interesting in learning more about chords, chord progressions, and playing from lead sheets.

[Targeted_ndividual]

I want to be able to improvise but I don't even know where to start, coming from a position of only being trained to read sheet music.

[Jarnagua]

Self taught. Ive found that working through Bach's WTC and Hanon have done more for my playing than anything. I wish I started Hanon forty years ago. Once you can play Bach, improvising blues, rock, or pop comes effortlessly. My sight reading is atrocious, partly because I have horrible eyesight and just can't see and play, but with music theory and good technique - the doors of music have really opened up for me and it is really exciting and fun. .

[TheMisterGriswold]

Great video, more please! I played rock/pop by ear for decades, and painfully worked through my classical pieces. Then about a year ago I committed to a rigorous sight reading course. Having more ability to read notation has made using my sheet music library so much more enjoyable. Highly recommended!

[classicalmusicbeethovan]

I love my classical piano teacher and I love the music I learn with him, BUT I would also like to be able to sit down and goof off with the piano, improvise and work off lead sheets. The problem has been trying to learn HOW. None of my classical teachers has ever been able to teach me that.

[samwang]

If you stumbled in a few places in a classical piece, you're no good. If you improvise within the boundaries, no one can say it is bad. You are naturally in a more relaxed mood, and probably enjoy playing a bit more.

[weinerdogcat]

I think your world wide audience would appreciate a lesson in "lead sheets" and inprov. I know I would!

[areliusr]

Thanks Robert, very interested in learning more about improvisation.