Sight-reading: reading ahead

[pianomancoy]

Hello.

I have another sight-reading query.

Does anybody know of effective methods to increase one's ability to read ahead - that is, to read the bars ahead, while playing the current bar?

[cabbynum]

Just trust your fingers. When you drive a car or ride your bike do you look 1 foot infront of the car or bike the whole time? No. You'd get into a wreck, but if you look ahead you can trust that you know where your car is.

Kind of a weird way to put it but just trust your fingers, it's psychologically challenging.

[faulty_damper]

You can only read ahead if you already have the note pattens thoroughly ingrained so that you don't have to think about what you're playing at the moment.  This allows your brain to process the upcoming information.  The analogy is direct to reading words: you can only read ahead if you already know the words you read.  If you come up to a new word, you'll have to figure out the pronunciation.

[louispodesta]

Hello.

I have another sight-reading query.

Does anybody know of effective methods to increase one's ability to read ahead - that is, to read the bars ahead, while playing the current bar?

Even though I don't use this because I only learned how to functionally read in my 50's, I recommend the following texts which specialize in training your mind and your ear to accomplish your goal.

They are entitled:  "Speed-Reading At The Keyboard," by Edward Shanaphy, Stuart Isacoff, and Julie Jordan.  There are two or three volumes, and they take you from step one to the end.

It will make a significant difference in your goal towards being a functional sight reader.

[quantum]

This is tied into what faulty_damper posted about knowing patterns.  Begin practicing the read ahead technique with music that has a lot of repetition.  If you start off by attempting music that changes from bar to bar you may be quickly overwhelmed. 

Use music that tends to have a repeating accompaniment pattern, predictable harmonic progressions, easy to follow melodic line.  Opera vocal/piano scores are very useful in developing this technique. 

A couple of pointers:

You don't need to re-read a repeated pattern.  Read it once, count the number of repetitions, then move on. 

You don't need to keep staring at a note grouping, it won't change!  Read it once, then move your eyes to the next grouping.

You don't need to keep staring at a note grouping while waiting for your fingers to catch up.  If the music is easy, keep on reading and absorbing details of the score.

[keystroke3]

Hey pianomancoy,

When I started piano I played everything by ear or memorization. Then when I was older, I had a huge gap in my sight-reading ability, and it was a real challenge getting to the point I'm at now. Here are some important things that helped me progress faster.


1. Get a Sight-reading Series
There are plenty of sightreading books that progress from easier to harder. I when I first started trying to learn sightreading I'd just print off free sheet music from the internet and try to read it. Most would be way too easy or way too hard, so it would either not help me or be demorilazing.  Trust me, spend the little amount of money and buy a sight reading series, personally I used "Improve Your Sightreading!" but honestly any program would work.


2. Practice not looking at your hands
This might be one of your main problems for looking ahead. You have to get used to feeling your way around the keyboard because if you keep looking down at your hands you'll never be able to sightread faster material. After you sightread something once, sightread it again and DON'T look at your hands at all. Even for the big jumps, feel you way to it. When you actually sightread something you'll glance down every so often, but use this as an exercise to break the habit.

3. Learn to Read Chords instead of Notes
This is huge. Think of reading words. If you had to read each letter individually it would take you forever to read one sentence. Instead, recognize a group of notes as a chord and you'll be able to read much faster. Go through the material a third time and literally stop at each chord and figure it out. It's super meticulous at first but after a while you'll get wayyy faster at it.

Anyway, hope this helps!

-Zach Evans 

[j_menz]

1. Get a Sight-reading Series
There are plenty of sightreading books that progress from easier to harder. I when I first started trying to learn sightreading I'd just print off free sheet music from the internet and try to read it. Most would be way too easy or way too hard, so it would either not help me or be demorilazing.  Trust me, spend the little amount of money and buy a sight reading series, personally I used "Improve Your Sightreading!" but honestly any program would work.

I've never used one of these series, so can't comment on their usefulness.  It's really a matter of practice, so the more material you read the better you'll be at it.  If you don't opt for the course, look for pieces that are about three grades lower than the pieces you study.  Reasonably good sightreaders generally do about two lower.

2. Practice not looking at your hands
This might be one of your main problems for looking ahead. You have to get used to feeling your way around the keyboard because if you keep looking down at your hands you'll never be able to sightread faster material. After you sightread something once, sightread it again and DON'T look at your hands at all. Even for the big jumps, feel you way to it. When you actually sightread something you'll glance down every so often, but use this as an exercise to break the habit.

Absolutely correct. If you wear glasses, doubly correct. If you wear contacts, get glasses for piano.

3. Learn to Read Chords instead of Notes
This is huge. Think of reading words. If you had to read each letter individually it would take you forever to read one sentence. Instead, recognize a group of notes as a chord and you'll be able to read much faster. Go through the material a third time and literally stop at each chord

Correct, but not just chords. Apply it to regular figurations as well. Alberti basses, scale runs, arpeggiated chords. Anything regular. And learn to spot variations in these.

On the more general thrust of reading ahead, don't aim for a specific target, and don't make that your focus - it will come of itself. Work on the other things above.

[coolpianoman]

I was most interested to get the speed reading at the keyboard books mentioned here but looks like they are out of print.  Anyone got any info on this?

My recent solution to improving my sight reading has been to do lots of sight reading and you really do get better at it. I used the Alfred Masterworks essential keyboard repertoire which is set at beginners to early intermediate - only one or two page pieces.  I have been working through about 20 a day not at full speed but to get accuracy in notes and timing - has really made a difference.  Any other repertoire which would achieve this would be appreciated but it has to be relatively simple for me.

[louispodesta]

Hello.

I have another sight-reading query.

Does anybody know of effective methods to increase one's ability to read ahead - that is, to read the bars ahead, while playing the current bar?

This is an answer to your query which suggests/proffers a simple or detailed answer.  It does not!

Therefore, I re-post a much re-stated answer to your OP:

[From my post of March 14th, 2014:

"When I was young, I could memorize any new piece for my next lesson, so I never learned how to properly sight read . . .  So, at the age of 50, I made up my mind that I could do it . . .

Therefore, you need to realize that the hand/eye motor skill of basic sight reading is exactly the same as learning how to type.  It is familiarity with the keyboard, so you can get around without looking down.

As a suggestion, I recommend that the first book you get is "You Can Sight Read Vol. I," by Lorina Havill who taught this subject at Juilliard for years.  It has exercises where you "Blindly" play single notes, double notes, triads, and then seventh chords up and down the piano in octave sections.  It is available on-line or at most music stores.

Then, you start out as slow as you can in order to obtain accuracy.  Even though it doesn't seem possible at first, but if you practice this every day for just a few minutes, you eventually get to where you can feel your way around the piano.  Once again, if you do not have a true/blind chord sense (without looking down, like the typewriter), then the rest is useless.

Stated plainly, it does not do any good to read ahead if one does not know what the harmonic structure of the piece is, and accordinlgy what is to come next.

Next (and most importantly), there is a ten book series entitled "Four Star Sight Reading and Ear Tests, Daily Exercises For Piano Students," by Boris Berlin.  These are thin paperback books that contain very short pieces at various levels of sight reading, which are required/extensively and used by the Royal Institute of Music (UK).

They have a mixture of all genres, including church hymnal scores.  Also, they have short sight singing drills and rhythmic practice sections, which are essential to sight reading. 

I recommend that you get volumes 7-10.  And, they are very inexpensive.

Next, set your metronome at the lowest possible setting where you can read without stopping and then read for about 20 minutes a day, and no more.  If you go more than that, it will turn into drudgery and you will hate it.  A great idea is start every practice session by practicing your sight reading.

After you have read through to volume 10 at a slow and steady speed.  Then, go back to volume number seven and then repeat the same process again (slightly increasing the tempo)and again.  This is repeated until you have reached your desired level of competency. 

(The reason this text is used at the Royal College Institute is that it works!)  Accordingly, in about a year or two, your sight reading will have improved by about 300%.

A good basic yardstick is being able to sight read through Mozart or Haydn piano sonatas at a moderate tempo.  From there, you can decide on whether you want to study accompanying and increase your ability accordingly.

So (to review), practice the first Lorina Havill book to develop your ability to get around the keyboard without looking down.  Next, please then utilize the Berlin "Four Star" series to practice actual sight-reading."]

Per the OP, this method works.  For the rest of you, please respond by PM if you have any questions.

Thanks, and in my opinion, this subject is pedagogically a very important one.

[feddera]

Excellent post, louispodesta!

[lostinidlewonder]

To sight read ahead you need to be able to do two simultaneous actions:
1) hear the music you are currently playing
2) read the music that is ahead of it.

You can elaborate on how this is exactly done with hundreds of pages of writing but that's the gist of it.

[coolpianoman]

yes excellent post apart from the fact that the books recomended are out of print.  Lots of other good teaching books on the subject though. My post was requesting recomendations for simple playable repetiore - cant imagine playing Haydn sonatas from sight - nowhere near that standard - however some simple repetoire recomendations would be appreciated   

I think the chords not notes thing is very good advice and am starting to write these on my scores if i can identify them!  Slow metronome too.

[louispodesta]

yes excellent post apart from the fact that the books recomended are out of print.  Lots of other good teaching books on the subject though. My post was requesting recomendations for simple playable repetiore - cant imagine playing Haydn sonatas from sight - nowhere near that standard - however some simple repetoire recomendations would be appreciated   

I think the chords not notes thing is very good advice and am starting to write these on my scores if i can identify them!  Slow metronome too.

Thank you for your candor.

I did not know that these particular books are "out of print."

However, I am used to this kind of garbage/BS! from my local sheet music store, as follows:

1)  "So and so sheet music publisher" bought out so and so other company, therefore we cannot get you your particular sheet music (sound familiar?).

2)  From daily personal experience, I find it hard to believe in these days of the Internet (and God forbid, the telephone) the following:

1)  In regards both texts, the music library at Harvard should be able to make both of these texts available to anyone "online."  The Pierpont Morgan Library in New York would be an additional source.

2)  The folks at Harvard's music library are highly degreed/intelligent, and way more than gracious. 

3)  So, if someone has the common sense to telephone them, the resultant will be a level of professionalism as to how true music research is done!  (I have personally lived this experience).

2  Absent, all of the above, God forbid a student could access the Library of Congress through any more than competent librarian!

Summarily, as previously cited, THESE RECOMMENDED TEXTS ARE JUST THAT GOOD!

[coolpianoman]

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

I am sure the books are great but I do not have the purchasing experience you describe as I get all my music scores on the web usually from Amazon where there are a handful of second hand copies available from some sources at hundreds of pounds. I also live in the UK so your library option is not open to me. 

Anyway I am making a lot of progress on sight reading by just doing a lot of it - simple but obvious I suppose.