Devolping better reading skills...??

[alb-d]

what are some good methods?

[ivoryplayer_amf]

Its all about practice.  I know that seems like a lame answer, but you've got to envelope yourself in new music all the time.  Getting involved in a churchc or choir of some sort will help aswell because you are all the time asked to play stuff on the spot.  Thats how I got where I am today.  Now people don't even bother to give me practice time they just give me the music right before and I go for it.  But I wouldn't be able to do that if I hadn't kept on reading new music ALL THE TIME~!   You've also got to make sure that you aren't focusing on your hands.

Your hands should know where they go, that way you can put all of your focus on the notes in front of you.  You can't do one with out the other effiecently.

[m1469]

Well, it is all about practicing, however, the hidden thing is that we each have to develop our own system of reading in a way that makes sense to us individually.  Whether we are reading at sight or at our leisure, there are two main elements to the written page :  Pitch and rhythm -- and each of these indicating some kind of motion for our bodies.

Experiment a bit and see which of these elements are your stronger points, and which are your less strong points.  For example, you may be able to actually read at sight very well, but perhaps it's the playing at sight that is the problem.  Even further, perhaps it's the fingering which makes you stumble and not much more.  In that case, you may wish to study a bit more on principles of fingering so as to get this particular aspect of playing to be a bit more automatic for you.

In any event, you can break the reading process down and then work on individual elements of it.

[opus10no2]

Sight reading can be compare to reading text out loud.

If it's a difficulty saying the words with your mouth, voiceboxxors, and tongue, then isolate that and work on it(comparable to teh physical act of playing).

And the main thing that speeds up sight reading is familiarity with patterns.

Think about the way you read words, it's not like you havent seen the pattern before - and the only stumbling blocks are just that - things you haven't dealt with before.

[alb-d]

I'm getting into more harder music.. I guess that's why it's taking me longer to learn piece now. I can pretty much read at sight.. but once I have to play and put the right/left hands together I get thrown off.

[opus10no2]

Thing is, sight reading is a means to an end.

More difficult music simply requires more repetitions and smaller isolations.

[zheer]

    Reading Orchestral score will improve reading skills, so following the score as you listen to the various instruments improves vertical scaning and oral awarness.