How to work on sight reading? (Besides "just practise more")

[mozart404]

I've been playing a little under 2 years and have gotten to a good level pretty fast, (around ABRSM Grade 5 or 6.) However my sight reading is still terrible, I memorize most of what I learn and it's clearly taking it's toll now. If I want to learn a new piece it takes forever because of the memorization process.

I used to play classical guitar and was a pretty good sight reader, so you can imagine my frustration. I'm well acquainted with the stave, it's more the physical motions of syncing up the hands and finding the right notes without looking.

I've dedicated a little bit of my practice time to reading easy pieces, but it's not improving. (Plus, I've read through most of my beginner pieces to the point I know how they sound so it's not really sight reading anymore...)

Is there a specific book or method to help tackle this? I really want to start getting this sorted so I can feel like a better musician, I'm planning on dedicating half an hour of my practice time (out of around 2 and a 1/2 to 3 hours) each day to just sight reading.

[visitor]

Begin reading daily more 4 part music ie hymns
Also sigh reading daily easier baroque works as well


Aside from practicing more you can take a speed reading course this will allow you eyes to see more of the page and and scan page more quickly

Generally you want to Get in habit of playing while reading ahead of where you are playing so you anticipate what is coming next and read ready to be there and play

[goldentone]

Begin reading daily more 4 part music ie hymns
Also sigh reading daily easier baroque works as well


Aside from practicing more you can take a speed reading course this will allow you eyes to see more of the page and and scan page more quickly

Generally you want to Get in habit of playing while reading ahead of where you are playing so you anticipate what is coming next and read ready to be there and play

Good tips there.  The speed reading is an idea nouvelle to give a more crystalline view of the music.  If you've struggled with sight reading, I can testify that when you begin to lick it, it will add a lot of joy to your playing, and give you a sense of completion as a pianist.  All you have to do is spend some time working on it every day.  It only needs to be 10-15 minutes.

I would add to look into Super Sightreading Secrets by Howard Richman, an innovative guide.

[erick86]

I only have two words of advice:

1.  Practice at a difficulty level where you are just a tiny bit past your comfort zone.  Sight reading material which is a struggle at every single beat is not accomplishing anything.  You should be able to play the music close to it's intended speed, and not correcting every mistake.  If you make a mistake, just roll with it, and keep on going with the imaginary metronome.  Don't feel like you need to be sight reading hard material just yet.

2.  Don't look at the keyboard.  Try to memorize the geography of the keyboard and feel where you hands are on the keyboard while your eyes remain always on the page.  The more your eyes dance up and down, the harder it is to maintain a good flow!

[lostinidlewonder]

Know how to play all scales and their fingerings blindly this will help your sight reading tremendously. Write on your sheet music patterns in the notes or fingers that you observe. Section up the score into its parts. Don't only learn pieces from bar one to the end start multiple places and notice repetitions and slight alterations to repetition. Read heaps and heaps of easy music, you should read though hundreds of small pieces each month. Listen to music and read the score.

[timothy42b]

(Plus, I've read through most of my beginner pieces to the point I know how they sound so it's not really sight reading anymore...)

Yes it is. 

[j_menz]

Yes it is. 

No, it really isn't. It's reading, sure, but it's quite a different matter to pick up an unknown and previously unheard score and make music from it.

[timothy42b]

No, it really isn't. It's reading, sure, but it's quite a different matter to pick up an unknown and previously unheard score and make music from it.

No, I meant that in reverse

Good sightreading requires the same learned patterns as the beginner uses in his lesson pieces.

The skilled sightreader has more patterns in his repertoire.  Much of his sightreading consists of retrieving those learned patterns and that is why he is so fluent and comfortable on an unknown piece.  Of course there is some prima vista sightreading occurring, and that is a skill in itself, but one of the reasons the beginner struggles to sightread is he has so few patterns well learned and grooved, stored in the memory banks.  If a beginner spent a huge amount of time sightreading novel material I doubt his skill would improve much beyond a basic keyboard geography, which is not enough. 

[j_menz]

one of the reasons the beginner struggles to sightread is he has so few patterns well learned and grooved, stored in the memory banks. 

That's certainly true, and there's a difficulty of finding new material that only uses those few patterns. But recognising a pattern as known off the page is different to recognising it in a piece you've played lots of times. And, one needs to learn a general form of a pattern for it really to work as such, not just a number of specific cases.

Someone new to piano probably needn't spend any additional time on sight reading anyway, since they're generally going through pieces fairly quickly and don't have the tools to remember as much so sight reading is much closer to what they are doing.

They are also not generally the ones who claim to have poor sight reading. After all, it's perfectly natural for them to have poor everything.

But the amount of strictly new material should increase as the skillset advances.