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After wandering off into piano for 3 years, I'm back trying to recover what I knew on guitar. Again.
But now I am having a terrible time seeing the strings! Esp the top two strings on a blond-neck Telecaster!
My Ibanez jazz box is a little easier to see around the 12th fret, but I notice a problem up near the nut. Since neglecting the guitar I did get a lens implant but the left eye vision is pretty much the same as before.
It seems I have to get in just the right spot and sometimes everything is a blur.
Anyone else have this problem? I am thinking of black coated strings for the Tele. Anyone ever try those?
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09-15-2018 02:32 PM
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After doing 5-10 minute practice runs that requires watching the neck&fingers&strings, I get this awful double vision happening.. not the kind you get from too much drinking. Not a focus problem either. Some other horrible thing. Lasts for 10 minutes or so then it gets back to normal. I have a blond Tele also but I remember it happening with dark necks too.
Never happens when playing classical guitar weirdly - I guess that's because the eyes are not strained very much because they are only needed to "secure" the position of the left hand, not fingers themselves.
Fortunately I mostly play by ear and prefer not watching the neck anyway. A glimpse to check the hands position now and then, thats all..
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Depending on which pair of glasses I'm wearing, I can see the strings or the sheet music but not both.
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Ideally, you shouldn't be looking at the strings at all. It can take a lot of practice to get to the point where you don't need to, though.
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On my day gig programing computers I started having trouble with the monitors. My eye doctor suggested I get a set of glasses for working on the computer. They would test my eyes for a distance for my typical computer setup, in talking to him he said he's had musician with trouble reading charts on stands so they did the same for them a set of glasses for that typical distance. The hassle is you have to change or take off your glasses when not doing the task they were made for. Another option is those little half glasses.
But as sgosnell said you need to get used to not looking at the neck or only look for big leaps. Reading music is a good way to work on this since you can't look at the neck and the music you have to develop that sense on where you are on the neck. Mental practice using the guitar in your mind helps with this and whatever exercise your working on. Plus you have the advantage to practice anywhere doctors offices, in line somewhere, you can be working on guitar without your guitar.
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Def it's best when I'm just reading. But I started a guitar class this week and he is showing us some new chords so I need to look at the neck once and awhile. And I need my glasses to see what he's written out for us, then can't see the neck...yeesh.
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I did this perhaps 18 months ago. One of my better recent moves. Between work and home, I spend a *lot* time on PCs. I love the lighter, "workspace" prescription, and I use this almost exclusively at home.
Originally Posted by NoReply
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I've got three pairs of glasses, two for computer. But I think that distance is too far. I may need another pair just for guitar! Yikes.
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I've got progressive lenses. One pair of glasses covers reading, middle distance/computer, and distance/driving. Now if I could remember where I put the damn things down. Getting old sucks, though it beats the alternative. Originally Posted by CarolM
John
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For a few years, when I was flying large transport-category helicopters, I wore trifocals, and then I found progressive bifocals, with a line, which let me see all the stuff in the cockpit that I needed to see. It varied from very close to something over 3 feet, and it was all important to be able to see clearly. They no longer make the progressive bifocals I had, but fortunately my eyes started to get better, and now I don't wear glasses at all most of the time. I don't know how that happened, but I went from better than 20/20 to a period in my late 40s when my near vision got poor, and I went from Walgreen's reading glasses to prescriptions, changing annually, and then things started reversing for unknown reasons. At the end of my career I could pass a flight physical with no restrictions, not even the common "must possess corrective lenses" notation, which was issued for near vision 20/40 or less. So there may be some hope for some people, although it can't be counted on.
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I learned to not look at the neck when doing orchestra pit work. A lot of times the music on the stand was the only thing lit and I just learned my way around the neck. Doc Watson as good at it - he was blind and jumped all the over the neck - never heard him miss. It can be done.
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I've had trouble keeping track of things when descending on chromatic scales.
No problems ascending, but when I come down, things seem to dissolve.
Is this normal?
And if it is abnormal - maybe there's a solution. If so, I'd be glad to hear of it.
Thanks.
Russ
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As far as how good are the color strings I would look at any reviews on them I could find on the internet. And as far as tone quality that has a lot to do with each individuals taste in sound. But I know there are companies that make Them in different colors and Guages
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Whatever you put in your oat bran, I want some. Originally Posted by sgosnell
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Practice blind playing... actually most serious players play blind (even if they seem to look at the fretboard)...
I actually had a very funny problem - I could sight-read and never cared about if I looke at the fretboard or not - and then I got a guitar with no fret-marks at all (no side-marks even as on some classical guitars) ... and I was shocked that I felt uncomfortable and sometimes a bit lost for a second
...though as I said I did not look at the fretboard when I sightread for example becasue I had to look at teh score... I still felt as if I was dependent on visual perception when I improvized..
(Later I had the same problems with lutes that have no marks too and I glued side-marks at the beginning)
So I had to conciously focus on it and I have overcome it quite quickly (but I knew the fretboard of course before it - it was more psycological thing I believe... just requires some concentration and focus on it)
Reg gave his approach on this forum... that presumned blind orientation... I like it, it is based on positions primarily and gives you rather physical orientation by touch and hand position than visual.
But there are other approaches too I think...
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I just read the thread title as ‘angel eyes and seeing the strings’ - now where did I put my glasses?
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Yes, I have this problem. Even if you don’t normally look when playing there are often passages that require it higher up the neck where fingerings get bunched and proximity makes short sightedness more acute. I see a blur but enough to know the strings are still there. Glare doesn’t help from a direct light source, and having just spots for fret markers can cause confusion sometimes. I put it down to aging. There are worse things happening than deteriorating eye sight. Only thing I can suggest short of prescriptions lenses (glasses) is don’t hold your focus for long periods on your strings. Fix your eyes on a distant object for a few seconds.
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sgosnell, I've heard of that happening before, "growing" out of eyeglasses in middle age. Not positive but I think it can happen to near sighted rather than far sighted folks.
To Carol, as mentioned above, a visit to your eye doctor is in order. Also, it might be easier to try to look at the frets rather than individual strings, if that makes sense. Welcome to the forum.
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