How to play without looking at the keyboard

[breezybellows]

Looking at the keyboard while playing is not a good idea for obvious reasons.
1) how will you read sheet music if you're looking at the keyboard?
2) it's not the best appearance when you're looking down instead of looking at the audience.
3) it's counter intuitive, but looking at the keyboard only complicates things. you're bringing vision and have eye coordination into the equation. looking down is also not ergonomically good and it will start hurting your neck.

In this video I discuss some techniques that help me train to play without looking at the keyboard.

1) Try to create points of references using your fingers. Track the positions of your fingers mentally and remember which notes they are on. using this reference, you can find other target notes.
2) Mark fingering for every single note and try to use the same fingering for every repetition. The fingering should be logical to play the notes in the least challenging way. Use finger substitutions to help tackle shifts and jumps.
3) When you're uncertain about the location of the target note, try to get the edges between keys to count the number of keys to reach the target note. do this repetitively while practicing very slowly. Then your fingers get trained to find the right notes. The goal is to be able to play repetitions without mistakes. Do this very very slowly and then the fingers will magically find the right notes.

 

[Rosie C]

Last time this topic came up it just left me puzzled - I physically can't see the keyboard or buttonboard!

 

[Ventura]

* lightbulb goes on *

OMG Rosie, just how big ARE they ?

 

[dak]

All my buttons are white both left and right! It was actually surprising how much a climbing vacation interfered with subsequent accordion ensemble play: not because of strained fingers/sinews but because of calluses: I wasn't able to distinguish the patterned buttons from the smooth ones by feel, making reorientation tricky.

 

[Rosie C]

* lightbulb goes on *

OMG Rosie, just how big ARE they ?

Ha ha! I hadn't thought of that!

 

[breezybellows]

Last time this topic came up it just left me puzzled - I physically can't see the keyboard or buttonboard!

I didn't understand what you mean by that. Do you mean you never developed the habit of looking at the keyboard?

 

[Tommaso B]

Looking at the keyboard while playing is not a good idea for obvious reasons.
1) how will you read sheet music if you're looking at the keyboard?
2) it's not the best appearance when you're looking down instead of looking at the audience.
3) it's counter intuitive, but looking at the keyboard only complicates things. you're bringing vision and have eye coordination into the equation. looking down is also not ergonomically good and it will start hurting your neck.

In this video I discuss some techniques that help me train to play without looking at the keyboard.

1) Try to create points of references using your fingers. Track the positions of your fingers mentally and remember which notes they are on. using this reference, you can find other target notes.
2) Mark fingering for every single note and try to use the same fingering for every repetition. The fingering should be logical to play the notes in the least challenging way. Use finger substitutions to help tackle shifts and jumps.
3) When you're uncertain about the location of the target note, try to get the edges between keys to count the number of keys to reach the target note. do this repetitively while practicing very slowly. Then your fingers get trained to find the right notes. The goal is to be able to play repetitions without mistakes. Do this very very slowly and then the fingers will magically find the right notes.

Frankly, I don't see it as a Big Deal. Tony Lovello never looked at the keyboard, but my own guru accordionist (Gaetano Galbato--see him on U-Tube) is looking at his keyboard 99% of the time. If contact with your audience is important to you, you can schmooze with them between tunes. Piano players have the keyboard right in front of them and are looking down where they're playing almost constantly. Really now, how often do you need to read sheet music while playing before an audience?

 

[breezybellows]

Frankly, I don't see it as a Big Deal. Tony Lovello never looked at the keyboard, but my own guru accordionist (Gaetano Galbato--see him on U-Tube) is looking at his keyboard 99% of the time. If contact with your audience is important to you, you can schmooze with them between tunes. Piano players have the keyboard right in front of them and are looking down where they're playing almost constantly. Really now, how often do you need to read sheet music while playing before an audience?

It made a big difference for me when I started to train to play without looking at the keys. Feeling the keys was making me more relaxed than looking at it. The biggest difference is when I'm actually learning the song. When I didn't have to look back and forth at the keyboard and the sheet music.

 

[Tommaso B]

Right. To each his own, bro.....It's not a hard and fast choice....

 

[breezybellows]

Right. To each his own, bro.....It's not a hard and fast choice....

Of course. I made the video for someone that requested for tips to play without looking at the keyboard. I didn't want to be imposing (if it came out that way)

 

[Tommaso B]

Of course. I made the video for someone that requested for tips to play without looking at the keyboard. I didn't want to be imposing (if it came out that way)

 

[JerryPH]

Right. To each his own, bro.....It's not a hard and fast choice....

Totally agree, but for accordions they are NOT designed to be looked at... if you do, in time you can and most likely will cause physical damage to the vertebrae of your neck, it is not a natural position to hold, especially on larger accordions, IF you are holding them properly with good strap adjustments.

Heck, if you are not looking at the left hand, why is there a valid need to see the right hand? I can see brief exceptions like for registration changes or big jumps but if you are staring at your keyboard, that is at best a bad habit, at worst you are going to cause a completely avoidable and unnecessary injury to yourself in the long run.

 

[Tommaso B]

Cuz people are different, my friend. I encourage everybody to learn to play without looking, cuz it looks better to your audience. But don't feel it's a matter of life and death. Your wife and kids will still love you....
\

 

[JerryPH]

Cuz people are different, my friend. I encourage everybody to learn to play without looking, cuz it looks better to your audience. But don't feel it's a matter of life and death. Your wife and kids will still love you....

Its not just a "looks better" as most of the audience doesn't care if you are looking down or not, but it is a health thing. No you won't die no more than you would die from continued neck pains/strains or headaches or sitting with a curled/hunched back (and bad accordion position for bigger boxes, because unless you tilt an accordion you won't see it anyway!), which also what looking down causes, but that's completely up to each to learn from if they don't want to learn from others.

PS No wife or kids to love me on this side, but we all have our own personal crosses to bear.
I've said my piece, won't push it further, we're all big boys and big girls and will make our own decisions.

 

[dak]

I've said my piece, won't push it further, we're all big boys and big girls and will make our own decisions.

There's an old webcomic I am reminded of:
xkcd: Duty Calls
I know that feeling is familiar to me... As is my impulse for defending any decision I may have made, good or bad. The art is figuring out when you have said something already, so repetition is not going to work better than the first time round. I am sure if I live another 60 years, I will be able to behave accordingly. In the mean time, I have to hope for lenience.

 

[Thomas N]

It takes practice. A lot of it. I very rarely look at the keyboard. As Jerry said, it physically hurts! It's somewhat slight of hand after a long time of playing - you don't necessarily hit the exact note or chord on the first shot but you can hear where you are and slide up or down in milliseconds. Tony Lovello used to famously yell "don't miss it!" as he played the end chord but if you listen extremely closely you can hear several examples of him on YouTube actually missing it and sliding to the correct chord. Imperceptible to the audience - unless you're looking specifically for it.

 

[dak]

It takes practice. A lot of it. I very rarely look at the keyboard. As Jerry said, it physically hurts! It's somewhat slight of hand after a long time of playing - you don't necessarily hit the exact note or chord on the first shot but you can hear where you are and slide up or down in milliseconds.

You bet. That was the most irksome thing for me starting in an accordion orchestra with CBA: if you are not sure you are right (or comparatively sure you are not right yet), you don't play at full blast. And if everybody around you does, you don't get to hear yourself in order to arrange for those fast corrections. I really hate playing without hearing myself. In that situation it isn't even the worst thing if your own voice group is sparsely populated. Sure, the audience may hear what you are playing. But at least you do so yourself as well.

 

[Tom]

It takes practice. A lot of it. I very rarely look at the keyboard. As Jerry said, it physically hurts! It's somewhat slight of hand after a long time of playing - you don't necessarily hit the exact note or chord on the first shot but you can hear where you are and slide up or down in milliseconds. Tony Lovello used to famously yell "don't miss it!" as he played the end chord but if you listen extremely closely you can hear several examples of him on YouTube actually missing it and sliding to the correct chord. Imperceptible to the audience - unless you're looking specifically for it.

Yup!!!! Been there many times! If you do it with aplomb and a smile that “slide to the correct chord” looks like you did it on purpose…..

 

[JKJ]

It was actually surprising how much a climbing vacation interfered with subsequent accordion ensemble play: not because of strained fingers/sinews but because of calluses: I wasn't able to distinguish the patterned buttons from the smooth ones by feel, making reorientation tricky.

As beginner on the accordion learning the stradella bass I discovered this - while simultaneously getting back up to speed on the sometimes-neglected guitar I had the same problem. In rebuilding calluses on my left fingertips I found I could me longer feel the registration dimples and patterns on the accordion. If I’m going to play both I’ll have to make some button tactile modifications. Or switch to a left-hand guitar - ack!

JKJ

 

[JerryPH]

Tony Lovello used to famously yell "don't miss it!" as he played the end chord but if you listen extremely closely you can hear several examples of him on YouTube actually missing it and sliding to the correct chord. Imperceptible to the audience - unless you're looking specifically for it.

Those examples are definitely there... and then he goes and plays the 3 main notes in CUMANA in 3 octaves at super speed and hits every one without error... the man was incredible.