Sight reading problem

[muki_piano]

 Hi
      I  am a 4th grade piano (theory) (ABRSM Brd) student. and i am going to appear for
Piano Ist grade Practical . I have some problem with sight reading.that is whenever the piece is within firat 5 notes of any scale(both left+right hand) i can able to play the piece smoothly.

   But after a  finger change in the piece  everything gets confused especially the left
hand.the worst thing is even i cant able to remember which key is below the current  finger position without looking the keyboard after a finger change.

kindly advice

Thanks in advance
Muki4piano

[keypeg]

You have identified some specific things: finger change - also usually involves changed hand position - identifying keys.  Can you play with that and see what you might be missing?  How far away is your exam?  Can you ask your teacher to help you specifically in that area, maybe play Sherlock Holmes and come up with strategies?

Would you say that you associate a note with a finger?  I have returned to the piano recently and want to learn to play it properly this time.  The one thing I realized is that I didn't really have a mental map of the keyboard to associate the notes with.  It's something that you can work on consciously, doggedly, until that map is in your brain.  I actually borrowed from what I saw some teachers trying to impart to beginners.

First you have this keyboard which has three black keys and then it has two black keys.  We play so fast that we don't think about it.  A always lives snuggled between the top two of the three black keys.  Of course you know that.  But if you make an experience of it - sight read something super-easy and really concentrate on the fact that this is an A that lives between those two keys.  Visualize it.  Feel it with your fingers.  Just know that this is the address where A always lives.  When you get back to your real music, you may find that sight reading of advanced repertoire has suddenly become easier.

Second is the geography of where your hand is on the keyboard.  It covers the space of five keys that go from Key1 to Key5, and can expand outward or contract inward from there.  Your hand is also sitting within that black/white key pattern.  Be consciously aware of where your hand is.

In the places where you're stuck and get confused in sight reading, slow down, stop, figure out what's happening, what it is that you don't know and what it is that you still need to know - and how you are going to go about knowing it.  This can also launch you into questions for your teacher.  "How can I stop myself from getting confused whenever there is a finger change? Are there an exercises I can do to strengthen this weakness?"

[slobone]

Also, there's two different things here: sight-reading and being comfortable with where the notes are on the keyboard. You might make better progress if you separated them. That is, practice as much as you have time for on familiar pieces and excercises, scales and arpeggios, and you will automatically be more comfortable with which note is under which finger. Then when you practice sight reading it will come a little easier. But sight-reading just by itself is not necessarily the best preparation for sight-reading, if you follow me.

[dan101]

Remember that sight reading is all about temporary memorizing. Look ahead. Also, build up your technique as much as possible. Reading is all the more easier if your fingers are working reliably.

[keypeg]

From recent discussions and what I'm finding, sight reading would not be about temporary memorization, and people trying to do so seem to be experiencing problems.  I would like to know more about this - pros and cons.

[slobone]

I think it's about anticipating, but not necessarily what's on the page. You have to anticipate with your ear too. Usually with most composers you can kind of tell what's coming next. There's usually a lot of repetitions, sequences, predictable modulations, etc. If you see an accidental coming up, it alerts you that something different is going to happen.

[muki_piano]

Hai Guys .

    Thank you so much for your replies.i will try to follow your suggestions.

    Can anybody advice me  how to play passages with different  Key signatures.
Because if am in C major scale i feel comfort and i can able to play the Piece almost
correctly .
       but if the piece in some other Key again the same confusion appears(sight reading problem)  . and my Technical skills are
         1.able to play all 36 scales(major,minor(harmonic+Melodic) upto 2 octaves
         2.able to play Major and minor arpeggieos upto 2 octaves
         3.able to play all maj and minor triads in all inversion.
        4.able to play chromatic scale upto two octaves

kindly advice