Music glasses

[jpwell]

It’s getting close to the time I need them. Wanting to buy “Walgreen”cheaters to start but what do you use. The regular readers don’t work. Can someone recommend anything, computer glasses?
Thx

[Ozzlefinch]

I tell my optometrist that I need music reading glasses when I go for a regular exam and he writes me a separate prescription for it. Not a big deal at all.

[JohnL]

If you don't currently wear glasses, a pair of inexpensive reading glasses will do the job. If, OTOH, you wear glasses now, you'll probably want to talk to your optometrist about a special prescription.

[hyperbolica]

I asked my optometrist about it, and he said to buy +1.0 or +0.75 readers. I was able to find +1.0, and they work for me for about music distance (~3 feet). Prescription would have been a couple hundred bucks, and been about the same.

[Conn100HGuy]

Here's a suggestion for those of you who wear monovision contact lenses. Get an extra lens that's about half way between your near and far lens prescriptions. Use it in place of the far vision lens when you play.

[timothy42b]

It’s getting close to the time I need them. Wanting to buy “Walgreen”cheaters to start but what do you use. The regular readers don’t work. Can someone recommend anything, computer glasses?
Thx

I went to the dollar store and bought one of every size, tried them all and determined which worked at different distances.

[walldaja]

Best thing I did to improve my playing!

[robcat2075]

Drug store lenses might be entirely adequate for you but the advantage of a prescription over drug store lenses is that it will correct for an astigmatism.

Measure every distance you need to see at... reading, music, computer, distance... and have your optometrist write a prescription for each one. He/She is going to do two (reading, distance) anyway for a bifocal prescription. Hopefully you live in a state where they will give you your written prescription when you ask.

Then you can go to an internet dispenser like zennioptical.com and have each one made as single vision glasses in the cheapest frames you can stand. They start at $6.95

[Kbiggs]

I’m very nearsighted, and I’ve had bifocals for about 15 years. I used my transitional lenses until I noticed that I couldn’t read music in low light, and the staff was usually right in the middle of the transition zone. The music was blurred because it wasn’t close enough to read through the bottom of the lens (and I couldn’t raise my horn enough to read through the bottom of the lens anyhow), or far enough to read through the top (and I couldn’t lower my horn … etc.).

I explained to my eye doctor and the optometrist that I wanted a lined (traditional) bifocal where the focal distance for the bottom of the lens is the distance from my glasses to the music stand (say 2 1/2 or 3 feet; I don’t remember the exact measurement). Traditional bifocals have the far-vision part (the top) take up about 3/5 of the area of the lenses. I asked them to reverse the ratio so that the top is only about 2/5 of the lens, and the bottom is 3/5 (quite large by comparison). The top is used to notice other players and the conductor (only when absolutely necessary!), and the bottom is to read music. Yes, it was expensive. Yes, it was worth it.

[psybersonic]

if you go to your optometrist you should be provided with a written prescription as well as a pair of specs, certainly in U.K. this is normal. You can use this to buy cheap corrective specs on the internet. There will be a column which is labelled inter. This is for intermediate focal length usually +1.75 for computer work . This equates to a focal length of 1/1.75 = .57 or 57 cm . I ordered a cheap pair with an inter of +1.25 and that gave me a focal length of 80 cm. So depending on how far your head is from the music you can specify a set of specs to suit your needs. Disclaimer. I am not an optometrist but have got pairs of music readers at 57cm 66cm and 80cm . + 1.75, +1.5 and + 1.25 . If I needed the music at a metre distance I would get +1.0 . Don't know if prescriptions are imperial in USA though.

[sacfxdx]

The problem with "readers" from the drugstore is that your eye's usually have different correction requirements. So you might see OK with standard stuff or you may not. Certainly try them first. Like others have said, getting a real prescription for both eyes and having lens made to those specs is better.

Just be sure they are made for the distance that you will be reading music. Tell the Doc what you want them for. Take some music with you when the prescription is made to verify that you can see it OK.

I use single vision lens (no bifocal) for music.

[BGuttman]

if you go to your optometrist you should be provided with a written prescription as well as a pair of specs, certainly in U.K. this is normal. You can use this to buy cheap corrective specs on the internet. There will be a column which is labelled inter. This is for intermediate focal length usually +1.75 for computer work . This equates to a focal length of 1/1.75 = .57 or 57 cm . I ordered a cheap pair with an inter of +1.25 and that gave me a focal length of 80 cm. So depending on how far your head is from the music you can specify a set of specs to suit your needs. Disclaimer. I am not an optometrist but have got pairs of music readers at 57cm 66cm and 80cm . + 1.75, +1.5 and + 1.25 . If I needed the music at a metre distance I would get +1.0 . Don't know if prescriptions are imperial in USA though.

US prescriptions are also reported in Diopters. 1/Diopters is focal distance in meters.

[jpwell]

I currently don’t wear glasses at all. All good info thx

[afugate]

I explained to my eye doctor and the optometrist that I wanted a lined (traditional) bifocal where the focal distance for the bottom of the lens is the distance from my glasses to the music stand (say 2 1/2 or 3 feet; I don’t remember the exact measurement). Traditional bifocals have the far-vision part (the top) take up about 3/5 of the area of the lenses. I asked them to reverse the ratio so that the top is only about 2/5 of the lens, and the bottom is 3/5 (quite large by comparison). The top is used to notice other players and the conductor (only when absolutely necessary!), and the bottom is to read music. Yes, it was expensive. Yes, it was worth it.

FWIW, my optometrist called these as "executive" bifocal lenses. I've also seen them called "Franklin" lenses.
--Andy in OKC

[timothy42b]

The problem with "readers" from the drugstore is that your eye's usually have different correction requirements. So you might see OK with standard stuff or you may not. Certainly try them first. Like others have said, getting a real prescription for both eyes and having lens made to those specs is better.

This is true, my eyes are quite different. My left eye only needs astigmatism correction at the music distance, so I just popped a lens out of the cheap readers.

With the assortment of glasses approach to determining prescription, you have to be careful to cover one eye at a time while testing.

The other thing you can do is determine the exact distance you get the clearest focus with each strength, and use that to back calculate using F(m)=1/D.