Aging: Stuff Happens. Part 1, Vision

A round table exchange and sharing of information about surprises that affect our playing and careers as we age. Panelists: Brenda Schuman-Post with Ruth Diamond, Michael DiPietro, Terry Ewell, Leonard Hindell, Edwin Lacy, Paul Nordby, Oscar Petty, and Amy Collins. International Double Reed Society Conference at Butler University, Indianapolis, USA. June 14, 2025. BDP #365.

[Music, “Tico-Tico no Fubá” Zequinha de Abreu, Performed by Terry B. Ewell]

Vision is the next topic.

Amy, you had something to say?

Yes. Get your eyes checked regularly, have drops put in, have them dilated and if you are an oboe player, we can get away with progressive lenses. But I strongly suggest that you start early with those progressive lenses. I won't tell my stories, but start early, around 40 years to start losing near side or far sightedness you're not going to be able to see the music so well.

Have your eyes checked, but start early with progressive lenses. And as you when you're ready to cross that bridge take your music stand into your eyeglass, doctor, because they don't know what we're talking about. As you read us an iPad, save that and they will help you. Usually the line is higher. If you if you're near sighted and you need that to supposedly see the conductor.

You know you're you're already pay some adjustment, but if you do it only you can really get used to it. Bassoon players I don't know about because you're (head is) so fixed.

I have two separate pairs of glasses. I have reading and I have music glasses so that there are  concessions, because I can't see. But the focal length is right there where I need to have it. Well, many times all those computer glasses are similar. This is the same monitor.

Blow your music up (enlarge it). Yes.

One big advantage is having an ophthalmologist who's a musician. Absolutely. I've been fortunate finding physicians who helps orchestra musicians.

Oh, absolutely.

OK, that's great. Awesome, fantastic.

I have two pair of glasses. They're both bifocal. The top is for distance and it's all plain glass. And the small bifocals are close for my music reading glasses. (Music glasses) The top is still made of plain glass. And the very, very large bifocal area is set for reading at 30 inches. So that solves the issue with the lenses.

Ed, you also wanted to say something about sight reading.

Well, yeah. About the only thing that I've noticed in terms of aging is that the whole process of seeing the note and getting the signal from the brain to the fingers has slowed down a little bit. I always regarded myself as a pretty good sight reader. And I can still do it, but now I think I have to practice things formally I would have read with no trouble.

And I don't know that I have a solution to it, except for practicing more of it. I have a lifelong prohibition against practicing on pop concert music.

However, I don't have a solution; perhaps someone else will.

I have progressive contact lenses. That means when I has a different lens than the other eye, I started early. I'm now 70 and I'm seeing fine out of contacts and they are bifocals.

The thing I want to bring up, was your ophthalmologist eye doctor? They can tell what your cholesterol is. Yeah, that's very important. So, with that, if you do researching and with your physician can tell you something about what is affecting your vision.

Can we talk about cataract surgery? Yeah.

With cataract surgery, you can order both eyes 20/20 or a term called monovision. You can have a far-sighted eye and a near-sighted eye. The monovision is to avoid the need of glasses. I had, the surgery and ended up with mono vision. I found in orchestra. I can watch the connector with my left eye, the far sighted-eye. I can read my music with the right eye, and I don't need glasses. I didn't do that on purpose. It was an error in my procedure. But it turned out OK. So, I'd say that if you get to the point of cataract surgery. Don't discount mono vision like I did.

It may be an option. It's a personal choice. That's what I have, mono vision contacts, yes.

Thank you.

You know, technology is such an important part of music making people many people no longer play for printed music, they play from a tablet. One thing that I've noticed in recent performance is you never know quite know the venue of where you're going to play and if it's possible to have something small, a light that you can attach to your music stand, that can be very, very helpful.

Someone had mentioned enlarging music. Of course, if you have time for that, that's a big help. But having the proper light, you can also be very helpful and having a light above your stand and make a big difference in some situations.

And rewriting the manuscript music on the computer will help a lot.

Figure out what it is and everything like that, because your brain doesn't process the same.

One more point about this kind of technology. Make sure that your tablet is well-charged. Just saying that, out of experience. I was in the audience, but something just went blank in a world premiere.

[Music, “Tico-Tico no Fubá” Zequinha de Abreu, Performed by Terry B. Ewell]