Hello,What used to do because my sight reading totally sucked was that after I finished my technique like scales and arpeggios and stuff and before I would start practicing my repertoire I would just spend like 10 to 15 mins sight-reading easier pieces but without looking at my fingers at all unless they make huge jumps. Josh Wright has good video on it. I would watch it if I would be you.Hope this helps,Alex
I would just spend like 10 to 15 mins sight-reading easier pieces but without looking at my fingers at all unless they make huge jumps.
I agree as well that this would be great practice. I'd also add that you could try practicing with your eyes closed. As I've practiced more and improved, I've noticed that sightreading and playing in general has gotten easier because I can rely on more of peripheral vision to play than looking for each individual key. So I'd suggest practicing eyes closed and easy sightreading without looking at the keyboard in tandem:-sightreading improves your reading speed and level of comfort visually with sheet music-practicing eyes closed improves your spatial awareness of the keyboard and your level of comfort physicallyIdeally putting these two together means you get better at the actual reading while also physically getting more accustomed to the keyboard and not always looking at your hands.
Ok I’m confused : how do you combine sight-reading, which is loosely defined as playing music you have not played, with your eyes closed ?
My girlfriend (who has a master's degree in piano performance) who wasn't very experienced with a vista used the following books https://imslp.org/wiki/Sight_Reading_Exercises%2C_Op.45_(Sartorio%2C_Arnoldo). She did a few exercises each day consistently over time, and by the end of the three books her a vista had significantly improved and she moved on to reading more advanced repertoire. It didn't take that long, either. She speaks particularly highly of the first book.
The book really reminded me of this:The difficulty goes up pretty fast. Here's a breve, here's a semibreve, and viola!
I’ve never understood these questions of ‘how do you get better at sight reading, and am even more perplexed by the responses of ‘buy these exercises ‘ or ‘schedule time’. Isn’t anyone just inquisitive about trying music they have never played?
I'm not sure if that is the most effective method to learn. Even if you do try out music sometimes, sight reading is a bit of a separate skill. I learned a Chopin nocturne and a Schubert impromptu, among other pieces, and yet, I was unable to fluently sightread anything at all, even those exercises in C position. I wouldn't say that just going through new pieces automatically improves sightreading -- it also needs to be targeted and deliberate to an extent.
Pattern recognition (ie the ability to glance at a score and spot "predictable" segments of passagework) and innate knowledge of keyboard topography are really important. Find a level at which you can sightread fluently, and then pick things which are a bit harder. Do not look at the keyboard, only at the score. The more you sightread, the more you will acquire sightreading techniques "on the fly".
This is what happens when music becomes about fulfilling some non-musical goal, like completing a grade in time, or taking an exam.
I’ve never understood these questions of ‘how do you get better at sight reading, and am even more perplexed by the responses of ‘buy these exercises ‘ or ‘schedule time’. Isn’t anyone just inquisitive about trying music they have never played? I started playing long before the internet, but would play everything I could get my hands on, just to see if I liked it: pop, classical, musicals, tunes, rag, best of xxx’ It was an exercise in fun not a goal-oriented exercise. Shut off YouTube to hear new music; play new music to hear it.
Topic: Sightreading 