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Double Bass Music reading glasses
- Thread starter fdeck
- Start date
Bumping this zombie thread because I’m now in a bit of Progressives Purgatory.
Definitely having trouble adjusting to the “fun house” peripheral vision and mini sweet spot which is not in the right place I’m afraid.
Going to explore the mid range readers as suggested.
Definitely having trouble adjusting to the “fun house” peripheral vision and mini sweet spot which is not in the right place I’m afraid.
Going to explore the mid range readers as suggested.
I got a pair of music reading glasses after cataract surgery a year ago but haven't really needed them yet as it turns out. One of the reasons I got music stand distance-specific is because all of my older musician friends(before I was one myself) had separate glasses for just that use. Nothing else worked well enough at that particular distance.
Key words to use might be " TASK-SPECIFIC EYEGLASSES" or "computer glasses". Focal length is about 1meter.. or perhaps better judged by "Arm length away".
Another option may be if you already have reading glasses, is to use a tablet for music and put it on a microphone stand closer to your face. Because it's much smaller than a music stand, it will still look better on stage.
Another option may be if you already have reading glasses, is to use a tablet for music and put it on a microphone stand closer to your face. Because it's much smaller than a music stand, it will still look better on stage.
Progressive made me dizzy. I have for a few years had one per of bifocals for normal use and one pair for orchestra focused at music stand distance and beyond. The conductor is slightly fuzzy, but the music is sharp. I do have to push them up to mark a part, though.
Just a note to all that if - like me - as you get older your middle distance vision is not the same in both eyes, it is extremely worth it to have a pair of prescription music/computer glasses made. I can still use the generic ones, but the ones made for my vision are much better and more relaxing to use.
Since I commented more than 10 years ago... I got a pair of music reading glasses. The prescription is +1 diopters from my regular distance script. They do work quite well, and are just single focus, not bifocal or progressives.
As a myope, I've worn glasses pretty much every waking hour of my life since I was 8, but always single vision till I was about 50.
I remember as a younger man, sitting next to an older trumpet player when he opened up his case, one of those big ones that looks like a sample case, and in special labeled holders over to the side he had glasses:
"Orchestra"
"Low Fronts"
"High Fronts"
"Bifocals"
and maybe one or two others.
That was when I realized that reduced flexibility of focal length was coming for me, too.
I remember as a younger man, sitting next to an older trumpet player when he opened up his case, one of those big ones that looks like a sample case, and in special labeled holders over to the side he had glasses:
"Orchestra"
"Low Fronts"
"High Fronts"
"Bifocals"
and maybe one or two others.
That was when I realized that reduced flexibility of focal length was coming for me, too.
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
I wear progressive lenses now and they work fine for everything. Sometimes, I need to hold my head in a very specific place in order to see charts on my tablet. I had a pair of music-specific glasses made and they make reading charts for a long time more comfortable than my everyday lenses. I can still see my fellow musicians but not quite as well, but I can't see the people in the room (I hesitate to use the word "crowd", more like the couple of people finishing their coffee before they can politely run out the door.).
I have a couple sets of bifocal glasses. And one pair is for music, so half for distance reading at music stand distance and half longer conductor distance. I had the set up at the eye doctor.
Bring sheet music your appointment and set a folding stand at your typical stand distance, and the doctor can fine tune the prescription while you’re looking through the big device (“which is better, 1 or 2”) for the distance for that purpose, rather than the equation they use for typical generic use. Alternatively, the doc can hold a small eye chart a few feet way, but for me, having actual music on the stand got it locked it right.
Sure you look like an odd duck for 5 minutes but you’ll have the lenses you need, and the doc has a story for the next convention.
I also have a set of readers for computer, because the monitor distance for me is further than I would have for a book or iPad reading.
IME, progressives suck because the focal area of the lens is too small.
Bring sheet music your appointment and set a folding stand at your typical stand distance, and the doctor can fine tune the prescription while you’re looking through the big device (“which is better, 1 or 2”) for the distance for that purpose, rather than the equation they use for typical generic use. Alternatively, the doc can hold a small eye chart a few feet way, but for me, having actual music on the stand got it locked it right.
Sure you look like an odd duck for 5 minutes but you’ll have the lenses you need, and the doc has a story for the next convention.
I also have a set of readers for computer, because the monitor distance for me is further than I would have for a book or iPad reading.
IME, progressives suck because the focal area of the lens is too small.
At my last optometrist appointment, I requested a prescription for music reading, and demonstrated the requisite distance. I also have an Rx for driving. So now I go online and buy what I want. I have some cheap readers for computer work. I tried progressives too, and also found the focal area too small.
One thing about progressives is that they need a good size frame to work well and not have distortion. This thread has me thinking about purpose built glasses, but I can barely afford my dailies.
We need large format sheet music.
We need large format sheet music.
Besides using my orchestra glasses, I take all my music to staples and embiggen it 115-120%.
Sadly, if you're near-sighted like I am, you have a negative prescription, and your reading glasses may also be negative but weaker. The glasses you can buy without a prescription are only positive. So, folks like me can't use the cheapies. But if you can, then they're certainly a better bargain.
I got a set of bifocals for exactly this purpose. Upper part for the usual distance of progressives and the bottom set for 2-3 feet away - where my tablet with charts tends to be from my face. Worked like a charm.
Thanks for confirming I’m not alone in abandoning progressives, for the exact reasons you described. My eye doc looked at me like I was crazy when I described why they didn’t work out.
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