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Piano exam sight reading help!!

Hi,
I have my ABRSM grade 5 piano exam in just over a month. I am super confident about my pieces, scales & aural, but can never seem to do very well in the sight reading test! Only 30 seconds to prepare over 8 bars of quite complex music is just not enough time!!

Does anyone have any tips / tricks for sight reading? Anyone who has done piano exams, what are your tips for the sight reading test?

Any responses at all will be gratefully received!

Thank you :smile:
All I can remember from when my daughter did her grades was that she got hold of plenty of music at the right level and just picked at random and simulated the exam test. Practice, practice, practice.
Original post by ReadingMum
All I can remember from when my daughter did her grades was that she got hold of plenty of music at the right level and just picked at random and simulated the exam test. Practice, practice, practice.

Thank you so much! Yes practice is the key to most things. Just got to keep doing it. :smile:
Original post by Alpacalover1
Thank you so much! Yes practice is the key to most things. Just got to keep doing it. :smile:

Hi there! I did my grade 5 on the piano many years ago (I don’t really play anymore) and it was the last piano exam I did. Honestly my sight reading was terrible because my hand to eye coordination was bad. I was just told to practice lots and lots. My piano teacher said in the exam to not spend ages trying to work out the notes and just play what you can even if it’s wrong and just pay attention to aspects of the piece other than the notes. Hope that help! I’m definitely a memory learner though I’m jealous of people who can pick up a music sheet and play it haha.
Practice.
Yeah, I think practice is your best bet
Original post by XbibbleX
Hi there! I did my grade 5 on the piano many years ago (I don’t really play anymore) and it was the last piano exam I did. Honestly my sight reading was terrible because my hand to eye coordination was bad. I was just told to practice lots and lots. My piano teacher said in the exam to not spend ages trying to work out the notes and just play what you can even if it’s wrong and just pay attention to aspects of the piece other than the notes. Hope that help! I’m definitely a memory learner though I’m jealous of people who can pick up a music sheet and play it haha.


Thank you ! That's super helpful :smile: Yeah my hand eye coordination is quite bad too! It's frustrating when you can read the notes, but can't seem to get your hands to play the right thing! Really appreciate you taking the time to respond :smile:
Reply 7
I have grade 5 in two weeks too. And sight reading is the absolute worst

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