Piano Forum

'The eyes should hear and the ears should see'

Meaning, when a learned musician sees a score, he hears the music from his inner ear. Also when he imagines music in his head, he should readily be able to imagine the image of the score.

This ability, along with a couple other things(obviously co-ordination..), most notably- great *flexible* experience with many pianistic figurations, is the key to great sightreading.
Also it's the key to starting as a composer too.

I personally think the printed score is a wonderful invention, and for all it's restrictions, it allows for a kind of mapping out, a canvas of sound, and even the greatest of ears are aided by the eyes of a musical architect.