[Swadd]

im absolutely terrible at sight reading for the piano and i have been playing for almost 5 years...!! How do you learn to get better? PRACTICE PRACTICE i know... but do any of you have any techniques as to getting to sight read better? what would you advise someone if they already practice really hard?

[cor_fortis]

(Original post by Swadd)
im absolutely terrible at sight reading for the piano and i have been playing for almost 5 years...!! How do you learn to get better? PRACTICE PRACTICE i know... but do any of you have any techniques as to getting to sight read better? what would you advise someone if they already practice really hard?

Just take a piece of music and do a few bars at a time. sight read them, then do them again. after about 3 times move on to the next 3/4 bars. after a while build up the number of bars you sight read and before you know it you'll be able to do a whole piece!

[allypallywally]

dont worry, i have been playing for 13 years and only now am i starting to get good at sight reading. I especially found sight reading the bass clef hard, if you try to learn those notes it will happen!

[LostInLaw]

Make sure you run through the whole passage in your head first. Much easier to deal with tricky things such as large chords, odd timing, key changes if you're prepared for them. I tend to play it through once without actually pressing the keys just so you can decide on the fingering for any difficult parts. Then once you've got all that held in your head, play it.

[cchanuk]

I found the best method for sight-reading is to expose yourself to a lot of music - start off with really basic stuff, like the pieces you didn't learn for previous exams and then build it up. You'll get a bit of confidence, and eventually you'll be able to sight-read at the same level as your playing.

[Fingersmith]

Get music of pieces that you know, so you can tell when you're hitting the right notes and what the rhythm is supposed to be. Most people find rhythm harder to read than find the dots.

I learned to read when I was a kid because I had an absolutely fearsome teacher and I never practiced so I had to read in the lesson or DIE.

[chainedheart]

I was terrible at sight reading, and the only thing to get better is to practice as much as possible. It doesn't have to be hard sight-reading, start with some easy stuff and as soon as you get the hang of that progress to the next level.
Good luck!

[kurovalte]

hmmmm, compared to what most people are saying this may seem a bit strange, but when most people are reading music they work out which note it is first, i.e. the note name and then place their finger because this is how you are taught. Because I am self taught, i cut out the middle step, instead of naming the note you should simply see the note on the score and know where to place your fingers. It does take a while to learn it effectivly but it is the best way to improve sight reading as it really speeds up learning the actual notes, giving you more time to focus on things such as style and rhythm.

hope this helps

oh and you need to get a good idea of various styles of music as well

[ultramarine]

My music teacher trained me by putting me in front of the choir to sight read & accompany them at the same time. The pressure was like $#%$@^@^!% but it worked

[DawnAR]

Go through the piece in your head first before you play.

And I also find it useful to concentrate on reading the left hand music while I sight read and focusing less on the right hand since I find reading treble clef easier. Also try to read a bar ahead when you sight read

[leahbroad]

Start with easy pieces and work your way up. Try and imagine the piece in your head before you play it so you know where to look out for any tricky jumps, accidentals etc. If you're practicing for an exam the most important thing is not to stop if you make a mistake but keep the rhythm! Also accompanying people really helps as it puts the pressure on and you're forced to read faster. Good luck

[piano_penguin]

I'm not incredible either but I'm improving

What I do:

-Daily, I sift through my music collection and find a random difficult piece. Then force myself to play some of it. I know it's boring and obvious, but really, practising is key. Plus when you get to exam standard sight reading it's easy

- This works - ALWAYS LOOK AT THE MUSIC. Again, sounds obvious, but most people naturally look down at their fingers when sight reading. This makes it worse as there is the moment of panic where you have to try and find your place again...check fingers again...massive gaps between notes = stilted performance. You basically need to always keep your eye on the next notes apart from where you have to move to a really random note. Try and know your way around the piano...know what an octave feels like etc. I've found closing my eyes when playing helps, though difficult at first

And yea what other people said about reading through first in exams they usually let you have a little play through first so I recommend that instead of starting from the beginning you go straight to the most difficult bits.

Oh..and know your scales. They help with ingraining the key in your mind which is very important - examiners hate when you don't have any sense of key!

Hope this helps! Good luck xx

[RightSaidJames]

(Original post by Swadd)
im absolutely terrible at sight reading for the piano and i have been playing for almost 5 years...!! How do you learn to get better? PRACTICE PRACTICE i know... but do any of you have any techniques as to getting to sight read better? what would you advise someone if they already practice really hard?

Self-teach yourself as much extra music (i.e. stuff not taught by your teacher) as possible. The more you do it, the better you'll get at sight-reading.

I'm absolutely **** at sight reading though, because I failed to do the above enough!

[Nooshkabob]

Technically you should be able to sight read 2 grades below your current grade, so if you're grade 6 you should sight read grade 3 pieces. Give it a go but if you can't manage it yet then start with the easiest pieces, it's no use plunging straight into something you won't be able to do, and take your time. Play through it at half the speed you think you should but it'll be more accurate. The more you do it, the quicker you'll get (although sight reading will never be up to speed and perfect unless you're a genius) so do one or two every single day. and again, as much exposure to new music as possible and feeling comfortable with scales arpeggios, key signatures and time signatures. You can also buy books which can help with exercises and tips, so that might be worth a look

[diggy]

I was just about to make a thread like this the thing about sight reading is I believe that it makes a true pianist I mean the ability to pick up sheet music my teachers probably been playing for 40 years but it still amazes me that he can look at a piece for a second and play it better than me after practicing for hours

[diggy]

Btw important grade 4 and got 9 marks for my sight reading in my last exam :O

[jazz1234]

i think it is very important to stay calm when you're trying to do sight reading. The more worried you get about it the more mistakes you'll make. However difficult it is, you just have to breath and tell yourself that you're able to do it. Because really, you are able to do it but every musician has a mental block in one area. I couldn't stand aural tests but I ended up passing them at Grade 8 with just some patience and calmness! Good luck!

[ThatPerson]

(Original post by Swadd)
im absolutely terrible at sight reading for the piano and i have been playing for almost 5 years...!! How do you learn to get better? PRACTICE PRACTICE i know... but do any of you have any techniques as to getting to sight read better? what would you advise someone if they already practice really hard?

Try this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3V-0...feature=relmfu

He has 3 quick lectures explaining his technique, then there is something like a 30 part video series on sight reading.

[awayinmyhead]

My sight reading mind process:

1) Check time signature
2) Check key signature
3) Acknowledge speed
4) Tap out any complicated rhythms
5) Note any odd accidentals/notes
6) Physically tap the beat

Just a few things to help. I've always aced sight reading somehow!

[Fingersmith]

Sounds obvious but is vital: read ahead of what you're playing. That's why players nod for a page turn bars before the end of the page.