Sightreading

[mypianoworld]

Hi piano colleagues,

I was just wondering if you know any methods to develop/improve sightreading for advanced students who have never practiced this. Any ideas?

Thanks in advance

[lostinidlewonder]

Reroll your character, go back to level 1 and read lots of easy pieces. As your experience increases you will level up and be able to tackle more challenging works. Search pianostreet there is a lot of info to sift through. It is important to reveal what weakness you have in reading then you can talk about those and advice will be more important.

[ivorycherry]

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

[brogers70]

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 second this. I've been doing 20 minutes of sight reading a day without looking at my hands for a couple of months, and it has already helped a lot.

[getsiegs]

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 physically

Ideally 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.

[anacrusis]

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.

[dogperson]

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 physically

Ideally 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 ?

[getsiegs]

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 ?

Sorry, didn't mean to make it confusing When I said doing them together/combining them, I meant doing both activities separately but on the same day/maybe one after another. Sightreading for your eyes, eyes closed for your hands. If you improve these areas separately, you can get better at sightreading later on (which puts reading AND playing without looking together).

[ranjit]

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!

[lostinidlewonder]

The book really reminded me of this:

The difficulty goes up pretty fast. Here's a breve, here's a semibreve, and viola!

Lol hilarious. I never saw that cartoon before thanks!

[ranjit]

Tom and Jerry has a lot of good music, largely based on early jazz or classical. The classical references I could spot were the Blue Danube, Grand Valse Brilliante, Prelude op 28 no 24, and Hungarian Rhapsody no 2. I could swear I heard Jeux D'Eau somewhere in there, but I was never able to find it. The way the themes are used and orchestrated is brilliant.