Sight Reading

[kop442000]

I want to improve my sight-reading which is pretty non-existent at the moment!

Is the best way to go just finding and playing as many sight-reading exercises as I can get my hands on?
If so, how do I know if I have got them right?

Many thanks,
Paul.

[tcovenent]

If it helps I started sightreading training today (I'm pretty hopeless at it), I've already been developing it slightly by not looking at my hands when playing the scales I already mastered (and finding the roots of those scales by placing my hands without looking and confirming or fixing my position by feeling the black keys).

I bought the easiest piano book I could find "The very first piano solo book" By Allan Small, which is way below my current technical ability and has little to no actual learning curve. What I did was I basically tried to play each solo purely by sightreading, taking my time if neccesary (not ruining the rythm of course) and if I made a mistake (Or thought I made a mistake when I in fact didn't, which is also a sign of bad sightreading IMO) I skipped to the next one immediately, this way I don't acctually end up learning anything by muscle memory or ear, since that usually takes a good bit of repetition. I also examined each piece  before playing it, taking note of a few things and trying to play it in my head.


I did all this off the advise of a website, so I'd advise not taking it to heart, part of the reason I put this up is so someone can tell me it's a bad idea if neccesary...I'm no expert.

[kop442000]

thanks for the post! Some good tips in there thank you.

[pianochick93]

I usually get a book of pieces a few levels below my current level, then go through them one by one. If I make a mistake I either play through it, or start from the start of the bar or section. I find that the first few times I play I don't memorise, so it is still sightreading.

[dan101]

The main point has been touched upon. Always start with pieces that are much easier than your current level. I think that two main strengths that good sightreaders have include:

1) a good piano technique;

2) the ability to temporarily memorize and look ahead during the sightreading process.

Good luck.

[slobone]

The main point has been touched upon. Always start with pieces that are much easier than your current level. I think that two main strengths that good sightreaders have include:

1) a good piano technique;

2) the ability to temporarily memorize and look ahead during the sightreading process.

Good luck.

I'm an excellent sight reader and I don't have either of those! Some people are just born with the ability, like perfect pitch or doing sodoku or whatever. It really doesn't have much to do with how good a musician you are.

Think of it as like language training. If you don't know Russian, you won't be able to read a page of a Russian book, but if you keep working at it, eventually you will.

I'm afraid I don't quite understand the suggestion of practicing sight reading on pieces that are easier than your current level. How did you get to that level if you can't read the music? (I'm assuming we're not talking about playing by ear.)

When you get a new piece, just go over it very slowly and carefully. Play one hand alone, or even just one voice at a time. Count out loud and don't forget the rests. Make sure you know when sharps and flats are in effect and when they're not.

Don't worry about tempo or dynamics until you've mastered the notes. Work on a small section at a time and review what you've already learned every day.

[pianochick93]

I'm afraid I don't quite understand the suggestion of practicing sight reading on pieces that are easier than your current level. How did you get to that level if you can't read the music? (I'm assuming we're not talking about playing by ear.)

By studying the piece and working through it slowly, which isn't sightreading.

When you get a new piece, just go over it very slowly and carefully. Play one hand alone, or even just one voice at a time. Count out loud and don't forget the rests. Make sure you know when sharps and flats are in effect and when they're not.

That isn't really sightreading, sightreading is playing both hands at a time, maybe aslower, but certainly not forgetting dynamics. In the exam sightreading tests I have to do, I get marked down if I forget dynamics, or if I only play one voice at a time.

Don't worry about tempo or dynamics until you've mastered the notes. Work on a small section at a time and review what you've already learned every day.

That is how to learn a piece, not sightread it. See above comment.

[slobone]

pianochick, you're right of course. Learning and sightreading are two different things. I guess my brain was experiencing gridlock. 

But as for sightreading, the best way I know of to develop quick skills is to be an accompanist -- of a singer, instrumentalist, or even your local chorus. You'll be under pressure to learn in a hurry.

If you don't want to do that, you can simulate it by turning on the metronome and forcing yourself to play all the way through without stopping.

Of course you'll make a lot of mistakes the first time through, so turn around and do it again. Eventually you'll learn how to fake the parts that you can't play on first sight, which is a useful skill in its own right.

For best results, do this with all different kinds of music, including sheet music for pop songs.

[mike_lang]

Some helpful things for improving sight reading, in my experience:

1)  Learn to read well.  Learning dense music in a short-period of time helps this, which in turn will aid your sight reading.  When I was younger, I learned four or five pieces every week, and generally, if I was able to play accurately (not necessarily with polished interpretation), I was assigned new pieces.  I did not memorize anything for eight years, and though I do not recommend this avoidance of memorization, I believe that I sight read the way I do today because of the incredible amount of music that I read during childhood.

2)  Accompany as much as possible.  I cannot stress enough the importance of having someone forcing you to continue in spite of your mistakes.  Not to mention, when you sight read with another person (violinist, clarinetist, singer, etc.), you are forced to interpret on sight, and on your first hearing of the piece.

3)  Finally, sight read on your own, but mind that you play in rhythm.  Do not accelerate where the music becomes easy, nor slow down when the music becomes difficult - choose your tempo when you begin, and choose cautiously, but not too cautiously.

I hope this helps you.

Best wishes,

Michael

[slobone]

michael langlois, I agree with your points 2 & 3, but I'm not so sure about 1. I too was rushed through many pieces by my teachers because I was such a good sight reader. I'm still suffering from that today.

Sight reading is a valuable skill, but it's no substitute for learning how to play musically. And that can only begin when you've learned the notes.

In fact I'm tempted to say it can only begin when you've memorized the piece, so you can watch your hands instead of looking at the music. And use your ears too, of course.

[pianochick93]

In fact I'm tempted to say it can only begin when you've memorized the piece, so you can watch your hands instead of looking at the music. And use your ears too, of course.

I am a hopeless memoriser, but when I am used to a piece, I can look at the notes, and not where my hands are. My hands just find the notes themselves. Therefore I can concentrate on dynamic markings, playing instructions etc.

[slobone]

I am a hopeless memoriser, but when I am used to a piece, I can look at the notes, and not where my hands are. My hands just find the notes themselves. Therefore I can concentrate on dynamic markings, playing instructions etc.

Well, memorization is yet another separate skill in many ways. The important thing is to learn the piece so well that you don't have to be worried about what note is coming next.

And it's also good to be able to play without looking at your hands. Have you ever tried playing with your eyes closed?

[pianochick93]

Yes, I have. It worked for the bits of the piece that I was familiar with, but not for the bits that I was a bit shaky with.

[ryanyee]

anyway, is it true that if you are good at sight reading, you are talented?

[slobone]

anyway, is it true that if you are good at sight reading, you are talented?

No it's not, and I'm the living proof  In my opinion, sight reading has very little to do with being a good piano player. Although naturally, if you spend enough hours and enough years practicing, you should get better at both.

[anna_crusis]

Is the best way to go just finding and playing as many sight-reading exercises as I can get my hands on?

The thing that will make the biggest difference is technical knowledge. If you know all the scales, arpeggios and common chords off by heart (and with eyes closed) then you're halfway there. That background knowledge allows you to adapt instantly and anticipate where the music is going. I estimate that 50% of the time I'm only glancing at a phrase rather than reading every note because I recognise a fragment of a scale or broken chord in it.

Something that made a huge difference for me too was practicing five note arpeggios in major seventh and minor seventh (so for Amajor you'd go A, Csharp, E, G sharp, A). I'm not exactly sure why but I know that after practicing these daily my aim and dexterity improved about 1000%, which allowed me to stop thinking about where the keys were and devote my attention to working out where the music was going.

The 'looking ahead' thing is a bit mystifying at first. I think all it really means is that you recognise groups of notes rather than individual notes. So you're reading clusters of notes as if they were words, which gives you a bit of valuable thinking time.

By the way you don't need to be at the piano to practice sight reading. A lot of the time I just sit in a comfy chair and read through something and do the fingering in my mind's eye. And I can tell you that is just as effective as doing it for real, even if you can't 'hear' it in your head.

[kop442000]

Hey thanks for all the posts on this guys, they are really helpful..

Feel free to keep them coming!

[slobone]

Something that made a huge difference for me too was practicing five note arpeggios in major seventh and minor seventh (so for Amajor you'd go A, Csharp, E, G sharp, A). I'm not exactly sure why but I know that after practicing these daily my aim and dexterity improved about 1000%, which allowed me to stop thinking about where the keys were and devote my attention to working out where the music was going.

I agree. After spending some time with John Monaghan's jazz books (highly recommended) I got into the habit of doing five five-note arpeggios every day -- major 7th (C E G B), dominant 7th (C E G Bb), minor 7th (C Eb G Bb), half-diminished (C Eb Gb Bb) and diminished (C Eb Gb A). (These are the jazz names for these chords, I think the names are different in classical music.) I only do one key on any given day.

An added benefit is that they're actually easier on the fingers, since you don't stretch as much, and you get an equal workout for all the fingers.

[anna_crusis]

I agree. After spending some time with John Monaghan's jazz books (highly recommended) I got into the habit of doing five five-note arpeggios every day -- major 7th (C E G B), dominant 7th (C E G Bb), minor 7th (C Eb G Bb), half-diminished (C Eb Gb Bb) and diminished (C Eb Gb A).

Yes, I also do the diminished too. I did used to practice the dominant 7th but doing that and major 7th is really overkill.

I forgot to mention I do the major and minor 7ths in their inversions too. They are maddening to learn off by heart but incredibly useful in every aspect of playing and reading.

[slobone]

If you get bored with that, do a different inversion in each hand!