my sight reading sucks!!!DX

[piano_vs_science]

why is it so hard for me and not for others???
whenever i look at the sheet music it feels like reading ancient egyptian hieroglyphs

[j_menz]

If you look around this forum, you'll see quite a lot of people aren't great sight readers. Indeed, some of the great pianist weren't/aren't either.

Like any other aspect of piano playing (and much else besides) you can get better by practicing it.

[rachmaninoff_forever]

The guy above me is right.  It's only practice.

But no matter how much I practice I can't get good at it!  It's so fustruruatutituating!!!

[ajspiano]

Indeed, some of the great pianist weren't/aren't either..

I believe there would a number of great pianists in the jazz field that are 'illiterate'.

[freepianosheetmusic101]

Hey - don't fret, I've alway found sight reading difficult to get to 'flow'. I'm pretty sure it's practice practice practice... just try not to expect too much too soon (and try to make it as fun as possible!)
 
Olly
https://My-Music-Room.com

[chauncey]

One of the top things that could help with sight reading: A Hymnal.

It's in SATB form so each hand would have 2 voices to sight read. Works well on your interval recognition as well. Just sight read one, two, how many you want per day. It's also suggested that you start of with the one's you already know and start off with simple keys. For an example start off with hymnals in the key of C, then G, then D, etc. (Circle of fifths)

[piano_vs_science]

But no matter how much I practice I can't get good at it!  It's so fustruruatutituating!!!

I have the same problem

[j_menz]

It's not like a scale, or a tricky passage, or even a complete work. It's a lifelong endeavour.  Don't expect quick results, but you will get better.

Pretty much no-one (Liszt possibly excepted) could ever sight read everything they wanted.

[keyboardkat]

I would suggest the following:
Before practicing sightreading, you need to develop a tactile sense of the keyboard, where the notes are, without looking at them.   Think it can't be done?   Organists do this with their pedal keyboard.  They develop a sense of where the notes are. 
Try playing your memorized pieces while blindfolded.   Yes, it will suck for a while.  You'll hit a lot of wrong notes.  But eventually, you'll get better at it.  After that, you can start tackle sightreading easy pieces, because then you won't have to look down.   You can just keep your eyes on the page.  Then try reading a measure ahead of where you are.  Then two measures ahead of where you are.
Eventually you'll move up to sightreading more difficult music.  But first things first.  It can't be done in a day.

[lovevision]

[piano_vs_science]

Hey - don't fret, I've alway found sight reading difficult to get to 'flow'. I'm pretty sure it's practice practice practice... just try not to expect too much too soon (and try to make it as fun as possible!)

Isn't everything in piano just practice practice practice???

[candypiano]

Same here!  My sight reading is very very very poor and the worse it is, the more unwilling I'm going to practice it.  So, a bad cycle starts...

[revanyoda777]

I would say my sight reading ability is poor at best.

Something that seems to help me is the Bach keyboard choral's. These works are perfect for developing sight reading skills as well as learn chord progressions, and the fundamentals of harmony. Plus they are very brief (two bars average) and easy to play.

Sadly, I dont think piano street has downloads of them

[rachmaninoff_forever]

Your sight-reading sucks because you only practice once every five months...

[gvans]

For me, the best lessons in sight reading came during college, in playing chamber music with a violinist. We met once a week for a semester and sight-read Mozart and some early Beethoven violin/piano sonatas.

The lessons I learned are these: 1) Learn what notes to leave out. You don't need or want to play everything the first time through.  2) Keep the rhythm steady no matter what (this is where chamber music beats playing solo hands down) 3) Practice keeping your eyes a measure or so ahead of where your hands are. 4) Keep your eyes on the score 95% of the time or more. Resist looking at your hands (as someone above suggested).

These days, I still try to read something new every practice session, if only for ten or fifteen minutes. It take mental energy, but the payoff is tremendous.

Note: Franz Liszt, legendary for his sight-reading, read through tremendous amounts of music as a child, and continued  the practice as an adult. Edvard Grieg visited him in his later years in Italy with a violin sonata, and Liszt played both parts simultaneously.

Glenn

[rachchopin]

Well, practice should do the trick. I'll suggest that you practice with Bartok's Mikrokosmos because it will definitely help you improve your sight reading skills!

[mingusmonk]

1.  Sight read for 15 minutes a day every day.  This equals 91 hours in a year.
2.  Sight read material 2 to 3 grades below your playing ability at least at first.
3.  Keep time even if playing wrong notes.
4.  Look constantly at the music not at your hands.  (This helped me more than any other sigle suggestion.  For those of you who had formal typing lessons back in the day . . .)
5.  Scales scales and more scales.

[piano_vs_science]

Well, practice should do the trick. I'll suggest that you practice with Bartok's Mikrokosmos because it will definitely help you improve your sight reading skills!

how much practice???

[pianoman53]

This much  *stretches out his hands this much!*

...

No but really, use your common sense. If you need to practice sight reading, then practice sight reading. No one can tell you how much you should practice, and if you feel you don't get better, then think about what you're doing. And try to search on the forum - you are not the only one with bad sight reading.

[piano_vs_science]

forget it... I found out after playing a piece a few times I seem to memorize it without trying...


why be a good sight reader when you can memorize and play from the heart

[natalyaturetskii]

I always failed at my sight-reading for about 8 years of playing, but now I'm the best sight-reader at school. When I was younger, everyone used to love songs from Disney, so I had to go out and buy this massive book. I knew most of the pieces, so I suppose that helps, but at hope, I always tried sight-reading them. In fact, it was only about a year afterwards, when I got full marks in my sight-reading in an exam that I realised that when I thought I was attempting to play pieces I loved, I was actually improving. I loved sight-reading from then!

My advice is to get a good song book, not really classical pieces for this, with some songs that you sort of know. Then just try some of them out, but make sure you actually like the songs, then you'll just want to play them for the sounds, not for sight-reading practice.

Hope that helps
Natalya

[jeani]

I agree that you need to find music written in a style that you really enjoy playing and hearing.  I think, however, that it may be good to play music that you are somewhat unfamiliar with.  Depending on what level you can easily and accurately play at tempo...if you can only play accurately at tempo book 1 or pre lesson books, go ahead and use that level.. find as much really easy music as you can to develop confidence that you can sightread... I know it's discouraging when even level 1 books can trip you up... if you're playing out of these books, you don't have to worry about your parents thinking you're going to be a great concert pianist (no pressure).  Watch your posture, your hand, wrist and arm position.  Don't look at your hands.  Study the music... make a game out of it.. give yourself a star if you get through the piece with no stops or mistakes even at at slow, regular speed.  That, I believe is the way to grow at sight reading.  If you keep skipping ahead and passing over mistakes, ( I used to play "by ear" while sight reading, passing over mistakes with my own unconscious bridges and quite a few wrong notes ( I still occasionally get by that way)  but if you want to develop confidence as a sight reader, you need to be a little strict with yourself.  After a while of practicing regularly (pretty much every day or so for at least a couple of pieces till you get them down) you'll see some progress.  Also, don't rush through with lots of mistakes... it will only slow down your progress, or halt it.  Start slow and learn to read each note deliberately.. see, you'll enjoy those little notes and phrases when they're played right! And do make a point of playing them as best and as beautifully as you can.

[avanchnzel]

My sight reading used to be really bad as well. I spent about 6 years learning the piano and never got the hang of it. Now I can just hear the recording, get the sheet music and get it within a day. The big tip is to hear it first, then try to copy it, though it's bad that they don't let you do it during a piano exam. I remember I got the sheet music of a song with 7 flats, but it was easy and I got it in a day. When it comes to sight reading, look at the music and play it in your head, if you can. Note any commonly used rhythms and arpeggios that you might have played before.

tsk this is my first post

[bdf2d]

Maybe you can try this way...It's my way to read a new pieces. First, slowly playing the right hand 1 page, keep everything is fine, following the composer's purpose. Note by note. then, playing the left hand slowly1 page. same thing with right hand. Then, put them together, But do not forget, slowly!!! Aha. It's my way to read a new. You can try it!

[hbofinger]

Isn't everything in piano just practice practice practice???

A Texan goes to New York and wants to attend a concert. He goes in the subway, but exits at the wrong station in Brooklyn. He exits the station and sees an elderly woman walk down the street. He asks her in his Texan draw "''Xcuse me Madam, how do I get to Carnegie Hall?" She looks up at him, start jabbing her finger in the air, and says in a heavy German accent: "Practice! My son. Practice!"

(Sorry. Couldn't help it - I just love that joke!)

[lousyplayer]

have you got good hearing and good memory?

try do it very slowly and look at the piano keys and memorize how it looks and sounds, thats what I do )

[j_menz]

look at the piano keys

How do you look at the keys and sight read at the same time?

[rangerx]

The guy above me is right.  It's only practice.

But no matter how much I practice I can't get good at it!  It's so fustruruatutituating!!!

I'm Great at it one note at a time

[lousyplayer]

How do you look at the keys and sight read at the same time?

ok, read, then memorize sound and how it feels in your hands, then look at keys! ok?

[piano_vs_science]

what???
that's hardly possible for me

this is what i do:

practice a song until you've memorised it

go to your lesson and bring sheet music

play the song perfectly while pretending to read the sheet music

now you've successfully tricked your piano teacher into thinking that yoou are a good sight reader!!!

[j_menz]

ok, read, then memorize sound and how it feels in your hands, then look at keys! ok?

No, not OK. To be a good sight reader you need to have a good feel for keyboard geography and be able to navigate around without looking.  Sight reading proper is playing a piece you have not heard or seen before and to do that with a piece of any complexity, you simply do not have time to look at the keyboard.

[j_menz]

this is what i do:

practice a song until you've memorised it

go to your lesson and bring sheet music

play the song perfectly while pretending to read the sheet music

now you've successfully tricked your piano teacher into thinking that yoou are a good sight reader!!!

Firstly, that ain't sight reading. Secondly, I doubt your teacher will be fooled for long.

[lousyplayer]

No, not OK. To be a good sight reader you need to have a good feel for keyboard geography and be able to navigate around without looking.  Sight reading proper is playing a piece you have not heard or seen before and to do that with a piece of any complexity, you simply do not have time to look at the keyboard.

yeah, but you dont  need it to play, only if you want to take exams... to play just memorize. the first jazz players didn't even know how to read anything, never mind reading music, they played by 'ear'. Even Julie Andrews sings by ear.

[omar_roy]

No, not OK. To be a good sight reader you need to have a good feel for keyboard geography and be able to navigate around without looking.  Sight reading proper is playing a piece you have not heard or seen before and to do that with a piece of any complexity, you simply do not have time to look at the keyboard.

Truth.

I'm a horrible sight reader and I practice sight reading every day.  There are certain things that will boost your sight-reading ability.  For example, if your teacher gives you an insane amount of music to learn and you have no choice but to just do it, or if you have to work with a chamber ensemble and you have frequent rehearsals and you have to be prepared.  The saying is that "necessity breeds the skill."  Playing for a church and sight reading hymns works extremely well.

I practice by sight reading a few hymns every day, and playing through one or two children's pieces.  Try not to look at your hands and keep time!

[lostinidlewonder]

The problem I find with teaching/improving sight reading is that most people will not give it CONSISTENT effort. They usually give up after a brief moment of trying to improve their reading. I am yet to come across anyone who has not improved if they have a practice routine that they abide by. Those of you who are willing to practice but have no routine are in a good boat, but those who have no will to practice and no routine, well you have a problem which you may never overcome.

Most students I have found are better at learning reading through merely learning a lot of music. However there are those who benefit from specific training, transposing pieces/patterns, investigating specific building blocks of music into conscious/muscular/sound memory observations and studying reading separate from their repertoire study.

One general bit of advice is to determine what kind of music is easy for you to read and what challenges you. The more you take inventory of what you can and can't do the more controlled and specific baby steps towards improvement you will make. Ask yourself why is certain music easier to read than others. Learn how to play general form music, where you have one hand supporting (chord, scale, arpeggio patterns etc) vs a melodic line. You find this in a huge amount of contemporary music, learn these simple constructed pieces first. If you are serious in improving your Classical music reading Bach's WTC cannot be avoided, if they are too difficult then an easier selection of his works is also possible (a teacher is best to guide you here).

[piano_vs_science]

Firstly, that ain't sight reading. Secondly, I doubt your teacher will be fooled for long.

the point isn't to improve sight reading, it's to trick the teacher
and if my teacher won't be fooled for long, i'd better enjoy it while it lasts

[edger]

You should check out the "Diagnostic Prescriptive Sight-Reading Program" by Dr Dianne Hardy.
The full article is here:

https://www.music.sc.edu/ea/keyboard/ppf/1.2/1.2.PPFke.DPSRP.html


It consists of a sight-reading test (of 30 graded pieces).  This is used to find the current fluency or independant sight reading level (a piece played in correct rhythm, with correct notes, and no mistakes but at slower than full tempo).   

This level defines the "independant" sight-reading level (termed level 1).  A level above this (Level 2) defines pieces  that should be studied for 1 week and a further level up (Level 3), pieces studed for "several" weeks.

She adivses daily sight-reading of several pages at the current Level 1 and studying/polishing a piece at Level2 (after 1week drop it and move on to another) and finally studying the Level 3 piece for "several" weeks under teacher guidance.

This method seems to operate both a "push" and "pull" system and roots pieces being studied (for 1week or several weeks) firmly to the current sight reading fluency level.

Every 4 months or so you re-do the fluency test. If it's improved the grade for all the levels gets cranked up.   You cover an aweful lot of ground.

You need to construct your own DPSRP test, todo this use pieces from any graded schema (with 8-10 grades) such as RCM, AMEB, ABRSM.  If you're sight-reading is pants, you can use their sight-reading tests (which are sub-piece level at the start) if needs be.   

I like the "Holistic" approach of linking and relating the level of pieces being studied to that being sight-read.  It assumes that to improve at sight-reading you need to be sightreading pieces you can sightread (fluency level).

[greener_jrg]

I feel your pain. I took lessons as a child but never did well with it. The trouble for me was that my father was a professional piano player -- classically trained -- and had just shown me how to play a few things that were already miles ahead of what I was being taught via the conservatory approach. The question for me was, do I want to learn to read, or to play. I opted for the latter.

I do not under estimate the value of being able to read well, but for me at least, I got a lot more enjoyment from nice chord changes and just learning what I wanted to play. If you are working on classical pieces, you need to learn to read well and the comments on this topic will be helpful for you. However, another approach may be ... learn chord formations (see attachments.) There are lots of scores available -- albeit many of them are terrible  but there are some good ones too, and of course you can alter the arrangements yourself as you advance -- that can open up a lot of opportunities for adding material to your repertoire.

Just a suggestion, but if you learn chord structures the melody is usually easy enough to figure out by ear. Then, just find some youtube performances to get some ideas on arrangements. For example, in the last month I have learned Forest Gump Theme, Schindlers List Theme, Come Rain or Come Shine ... and have fairly decent productions of all of them now. All without any sheet music. Just you tube tutorials and an understanding of chords.

There is one more attachment that I ran out of space to load here (inversions of chords and keyboard practice .) Let me know if interested, and I will post again.

Best of luck   

[lousyplayer]

You're just a bit retarded that's all! sorry, dyslexic...

[piano_vs_science]

maybe you're right...
i might have musical dyslexia...
but i'll do nothing about it...
i'll quit piano when i get older and become a non musical math/science geek
after all i like math and science much more than i like piano