Hi!
I don’t know English music terminology, I wrote it in with the best depiction I could, please bear with me

I’ve been playing piano for several years. I have very good improv and a blues it up quite nicely by ear with other musicians.

But while I know how to read music scores and learn something new I do so with great lenghts and difficulty.

I read music alright, but I suffer from an intense lack of mass when the music sheet goes up in the level of complexity. I get the sheet up 2 inches from my nose and creep my hands on the correct notes when that and look for the familiar soundings when I read a line that has several keys at once. And then if something is not so familiar, or doesn’t immediately register in my head, zoink, I get lost and drop that sheet for a while until I hear someone play that part.

When the notes go out of the scale, I have to start counting… its silly, I’ve done it hundreds of times, but I still count up from middle or 2nd "Do" and up on that scale when it falls out of the range of lines.

I curse and swear in my best French!

Surely my piano skill increases, but my ability to read music easily, even if its something I’ve known since I’m 7 years of age, does not.

One thing for sure, is that I’m a self-taught pianist so I must have created bad habits or things that hinders my ability to relate music to paper.

So I thought, technique, is something I have. I have technique and I can crack some Scott Joplin or standard oldies like Louis Armstrong or Sinatra like a cinch.

What are basic materials I can use to do increase my ability to read music?

I look on the shelves in the music stores and I read hundreds of titles : "Learn piano for begginers", "My very first piano lesson", "Etudes", etc.

It takes a toll on my humility to buy a book with a cartoon boy-face with the same vendor that sold me my piano. I took one home and felt my intelligence was insulted.

I can pop you a minor and a major arpeggio in each of the scales, eyes closed. I however need the drills to relate that very subjective knowledge and ability to paper in a flash, like I see some do. I want to be able to follow other musicians or learn something without having to hear it first hand or having the CD in hand.

Having said it all and vented, I thank you for reading this and hope you can help me!

Thank you!

Alex

You could always contact a local piano instructor and tell them what you are having problems with. They will more that likely understand and be able to help you figure it out. Ask them if they can spare an hour of so to help you. Other than that, your best bet is just to keep reading more and more music. The more you are exposed to the better you’ll get at it.