What pieces I can try to sight read to improve my repertoire skills?

[wankimx3]

Hey guys I need some advice for this do you guys have any suggestions for piano pieces that I can sight read daily? I would want to sight read something that only takes a day to learn and it's neither easy nor hard. Any help is appreciated thanks!! I'm still relatively new to the masses of compositions by several famous composers so I have no idea where I can start from 🤷🏻‍♀️ The hardest level that I can try is around Grade 6 sight reading.

[leigh anne]

I would want to sight read something that only takes a day to learn and it's neither easy nor hard.

I can't really suggest a piece that only takes a day that isn't easy or hard. But what I can suggest is, a piece you can sight read in a day however they are very easy I hope you don't mind this is the best thing I can do. You can try Für Elise or The Harebell or Starlight Waltz or La Paloma or Moonlight Sonata. (You can stick to 1st movement only) I'm not sure but I think they are all grade 6 and below.
I play those pieces and trust me they are quite easy. I hope this helps.

[quantum]

Grab a hymn book and sight read through the SATB hymns.  If you want more of a challenge, get a copy of the Bach chorales and go through them.  When you have become reasonably proficient in sight reading these hymns and chorales, do sight transposition up and down a semitone or whole tone.  This is not just a theoretical exercise, real world ensemble rehearsals often call for this skill.  You can proceed to transposing to further keys once you gain some proficiency. 

Get some piano rehearsal scores for opera or other vocal + piano works.  This will build up skills in managing sightreading with long pieces.  Practice the piano part naturally, but also practice playing some of the vocal parts along with the piano.  Eg: a conductor asks you, can you help the altos with their notes starting at bar 45.  Also practice playing the SATB parts from the open score.  Once you have gained proficiency, transpose.

Get some piano rehearsal scores for transposing instruments such as clarinet or french horn.  Practice reading the instrument part which might not be written in concert pitch, in which case you read the note in one key but hear the pitch in another key. 

Much of the music to practice these sight reading exercises can be found in public domain.

[brogers70]

There is tons of music you can sight read, particularly if you are willing to go slowly. Kuhlau Sonatinas, lots of Haydn and Mozart Sonatas, Scarlatti Sonatas, Chopin Mazurkas, Bach Suites and Partitas. Some of this stuff you almost certainly will not be able to read at tempo (at least I sure couldn't) but working through it slowly at sight can be very helpful. I like to bounce around between things that are relatively hard which I have to read slowly (below tempo but without a lot of stopping) and then things which are easy enough that I can read them at tempo without looking at my hands, like the early ones in this

https://imslp.org/wiki/Sight_Reading_Exercises%2C_Op.45_(Sartorio%2C_Arnoldo)

Hymns and Bach chorales are good, too, but there's a special skill in being able to decide which hand to use to play the tenor line at any given moment; it's not always obvious what will be most convenient. Also, lots of the Czerny exercises can be used for sight reading (and they are all free on IMSLP); the ones he designed for beginners are easy to read at a fairly quick tempo, the more advanced ones you may have to read more slowly. The Music for Millions series has a couple of volumes of stuff for beginners that is good sight reading practice. Just doing a half hour or so of this a day can be very helpful.

[mad_max2024]

My advice is to play something that you like.
If you have any favourite composers try to look for easy pieces by them. If you want to expand your knowledge and discover new music go on youtube or google and listen to stuff. Try to figure out what styles you prefer and what you want to play then do a quick search for sheets or leads.

You can also do pop or jazz or blues if that is more your style. Or anime/videogame music.
If your goal is to practice sightreading just look for your favourite songs or pieces and go for it.

If you do it with music you love you'll enjoy it more and you will be more motivated to do more of it.
The more you do it the more fluent you'll become in it.

[nightwindsonata]

Just play. All the time.

Honestly though, there comes a point where your ability to read notes on their own is not enough--you need to be able to recognize common patterns and figurations, to look at a piece and identify the chords and harmonic direction, and eventually have the fluency of technique to play advanced music--it WILL translate over.

Practice reading new pieces SLOWLY, all kinds of pieces. When you start seeing common figurations, isolate them, and practice them as etudes in all major/minor keys (for instance: there are many forms of broken arpeggios to become familiar with). With this in mind, I have actually found it helpful to practice improvising. Ironically enough, if you can treat sight-reading as organized improvisation, rather than dutifully reading out every note the composer wrote, you will instantly be one step closer to playing in the same manner as a professional.

[lelle]

I'm a fan of the Burgmuller Etudes Op 100 for this sort of thing. You could also try some Stephen Heller Etudes. More fun than Czerny overall.