Hi, I've been playing piano for a while now but recently I started to learn songs by reading sheet music, the thing is, I am painfully slow at it. I got frustrated so I put learning songs aside for now and decided to learn how to sight read from the beginning.
Looking through this sub I found a document with book recommendations sorted by difficulty and picked the one for early beginner that the person who wrote it recommended "Bartók - Mikrokosmos, Book 1".
I was able to sight read the first nine or so pieces, because both hands were the same, but then I saw an exercise that had both hands play at different times and I couldn't sight read that, every time I read about how to practice people say "if you can't sight read it then it's to hard for you" so what am I supposed to do now? Should I go back to earlier exercises and just do them over and over again? Or should I sight read one hand at a time? Or just beat my head against the wall until I "somehow" manage to do it?
I don't know how to properly practice this things, and I am afraid that I won't be able to learn how to sight read if even the easiest material is too hard for me. Also, I don't know if im doing it right, it feels like Im mostly following patterns instead of really reading the notes.
Thanks and sorry for my English that it's probably pretty bad.
I have been playing the piano for around 3 months now and really want to improve my ability to sight read better. I am currently working through the alfred's book 2 and would like some more resources that could help me improve my sight reading.
Hello Everyone!
I wanted to share a tool I'm writing with this sub. It's a sight reading tool, it's not really a full web app but just a tool that I made for myself to practice sight reading.
You can check it out at https://nlcerda.github.io/learn-sight-reading/. There is a video explaining the features.
The idea is that you can practice with a midi device and get feedback when playing the correct notes. It's free and I'm really not working on making money or anything out of it yet, so I just want to get your feedback and maybe it can be helpful for someone :).
You don't need to install anything! I recommend you use Chrome or Opera since firefox doesn't support WebMidi Natively and I haven't tried it in other browsers.
I only work on this on my spare time, but I'd love to continuously improve it, I want to build an editor so everyone can create their own exercises and and build something that is free and very open to everyone, hopefully some day it will have hundreds or thousands or exercise and could help a lot of people learn to read music in a more efficient way,
That's it, hope you like it!
I'll be reading your comments :)
The skill to read and play any music sheet given to you seens to be a heavenly gift. Assuming perfect study conditions such as
- You don't need to work and have all the time in a day to practice
- Zero stress
- Access to any study material, such as apps, courses, books and etc
- Perfect personal place for studying
How would you study in order to be able to play on sight music sheets in the intermediate to advanced level?
How do i get better at sight reading? I have been piano at an intermediate-advanced for a couple years now, and I have always had trouble sight reading a piece in real time, I always sight read the piece too slowly when practicing repertoire, then memorize it and play without the sheets. I've always found it too hard to focus on both clefs at the same time so I thought maybe piano sight reading is not for me or i'm missing something essential, I've always been more reliant on my hearing to play. Are there any tips for me to get better, any books or material i should look at? I want to learn how to be an accompanist and definitely want to improve my sight reading skills.
already posted on r piano but i found that this sub exists so maybe it's better:
I'm about 2 years into piano, since i'm slow in reading i'd like to get better.
right now the most problematic slow part is pressing the right key based on what i read/knowing where my hand is (not reading the note).
another problem is that i'm reading and playing one note at a time and i was thinking about forcing myself to read one or two measures before hitting a single note, this is the idea:
step 1: read 8 notes
step 2: play 1st note and read 9th note
step 3: play 2nd note and read 10th note and so on...
maybe not with 8 notes but at least 3, i'd like to be in a situation where i know what comes next and where is it, not like "ok i read A let's play A... done, ok now read what is next? oh a C ok where is.. ok C pressed" but more like "ok there is a A followed by a C and a F so after the A i have to move there and be ready to move to the F" than i play the A and read what next so i have "two movements ready" or stuff like that.
i want to do it in this way because i think that is the correct way. i don't want to be always trying to find the next note, i want to actually read... otherwise i think it's a waste of time and i will never get better if i stop at each note and find out what is next, it's like when you practice section A and B of a piece and than you mess up in the junction of the two because you never practiced it, if i keep reading as single notes it is never reading and so i can never get better in reading.
right now:
- if i watch the piano i can immediatly find a key so if you tell me press G i don't need 10 seconds to find where the G is, it is immediate.
- if you give me a score and ask me to read it i'm a bit slow like half tempo but is decent.
- if the score say C than A i might think that i place my hand in 1-space-2345 and press C-A with 1-5 but than if the score say F i'm 100% lost on which finger use to press F.
- another problem is that on normal pieces there are jumps and many things so i usually stop, try many fingerings until i find one that works well and use it but the problem is that a fingering that works well in the first 4 measures might be a problem when going into measure 5 so in normal "slow" study i notice that and i notice that of the three alternatives i found for the first 4 measures there is one that works also in 5th measure or i might change the first four knowing what happens in 5th,
... keep reading on reddit ➡I've been playing the piano for about 15 years, and can play advanced pieces, but my sight reading is still a bit junky since i started playing from hearing once i started playing more jazz than classical music. But now i want to go back to playing classical pieces, and maybe teaching a bit, and for that i want to improve my sight reading abilities. Any good books i can find online to help me learn or practice it?
I'm an independent, private guitar teacher focusing on the Suzuki method for kids and classical guitar for adults.
I'm testing out SmartMusic as a way to give my students sight-reading exercises at home as well as have some graded, non-sight-reading exercises. The interface is incredibly clunky and over-wrought for my purposes. Combined with a plethora of negative reviews of their "new" version, I'm disinclined to use this service.
I've used the EarMaster app and it's limited range selection ability is a deal breaker. Plus, the prices are very high.
It doesn't look like Sight-Reading factory has a free trial or any way to test anything out.
Has anyone experimented with these different options and have any advice?
Thanks
https://preview.redd.it/tp5niz67yiy61.png?width=1077&format=png&auto=webp&s=6c163609413ccf6f04b9f59c536e45eadc974dba
Handy Hints for All Piano Beginners
Sight-reading is the art of being able to play a piano piece at first sight without any prior (or little) preparation. It is an essential technique that all pianists should possess and excel at. In the meanwhile, sight-reading seems to be one of the challenges that either a piano beginner loves or has recurring nightmares about.
Good sight-reading skills are significant because they can help piano students improve the efficiency of practicing new piano works, and expand the piano learners’ repertoire in some way. It takes a long time for most piano beginners to master the skills, but some useful tips can make the whole process less difficult.
So what are the tips for piano beginners to improve sight-reading skills? Let’s dive in.
https://preview.redd.it/nviedpiavux61.png?width=1400&format=png&auto=webp&s=78cf90c456e38bfc7a186cf7f68b3f1a4077d3be
Familiarize Yourself with A Variety of Rhythms before Sight-Reading
No matter what piano sheet music you are playing, you must have a solid understanding of the tempo and the rhythm of the piano piece. Familiarizing yourself with common musical rhythms in different styles of music can make sight-reading more manageable, and will help you get ready to play the piano in any situation.
Once you are sure of the time signature and the beat of the piano work, you can be better prepared for sudden tempo changes, complicated note sequences, unusual rests, and other unexpected surprises in the music’s pattern. With more exposure to different music genres, you are likely to learn to anticipate some rhythms before you start reading and playing the new music score.
Memorize the Key Signatures to Get Prepared for Sight-Reading
For piano students who start piano learning from scratch, it is not easy to read key signatures when playing the instrument. The process of getting to know what a key signature can tell the piano players may be confusing. [To understand how to recognize and memorize key signatures, you are supposed to grasp some certain rules.](https://violy.a
... keep reading on reddit ➡#Journey before Destination - Reading books with no end in sight.
"I won't read series until the last book is published" A decree oft touted here and other places, the waiting for A song of Ice and Fire, the waiting for The Doors of Stone becomes unbearable, it's become a disappointment of the highest order, such that the joy of the books have dissipated into uncaring or sometimes even loathing towards the authors. I don't get it.
I'm not here to tell you how to read, or how you should spend your time and money, we all read differently and what we get out of books is different and its not wrong to do you. This hobby is about enjoyment above all after all, and how you get there isn't up to me.
Neither am I here to make a passionate argument in favour of Authors either, as a reader I don't really care if me not buying a book makes book 3 or 4 less likely to be published, that's not on me. That's between the Author and their publisher. I'm not interested in the finances and publishing decisions of Authors, nor do I have say in any of that.
I buy and borrow books because I want to read the story held within. I commit myself to trying out a book, sit in my chair, or in my bed. nestle myself in the cushion of the train-seat as the dreary grey flat horizon passes by. And I want to escape into something magical, it's a moment not defined by the end, but by the moments where the words turn into sentences, turn into paragraphs and set loose my imagination. The ending is not a concern, the start has stopped being a concern, and with the turning of the last page i'm sometimes wistful for the moment to never end, that I can linger there for just a bit longer, Like a never-ending snooze button. I want to wake up a day later, a week or a few years later and think fondly of that moment where The book and me was the only thing on my mind.
There are no promises of quality, book 2 can be the greatest piece of fiction I've ever read, and book 3 could be the worst, it's happened before. Does that diminish book 2? Not for me, it does give me a bit of melancholic feel of what could have been, but I don't begrudge the book. I read for the experience, not the imagined end point. The characters and the world will leave me whenever I close the book. Do I sometimes wish for the next book to come out already?! Sure, but never to any detriment.
I have to admit, I feel daunted whenever I look at finished series. Oh this series has 12 books? I'm not sure I want that, that f
... keep reading on reddit ➡
I've been practicing sight-reading more advanced chords outside of root position, so triads and 7ths in inversions. Initially I've been training my eye to simply see where the root is and for example if I see stacked E-G-C I see that C at the top and think "ok that's a C major or C/E" or Bb-D-F-G and I see the G and based on the accidental or key signature I can deduce that's a Gm7/Bb. I've actually gotten pretty quick at this, almost instantaneous.
However the problem is, that doesn't mean I play it back instantaneously. There still is that moment where I go "ok that's a Gm7/Bb... let's see ok so that's a Gm7 chord but in 1st inversion with Bb in the bass..." and all of this thinking takes a bit of time.
Anyway my point is I've heard a suggestion for more efficient sight-reading is to always read from the bottom note up, and knowing your intervals just build from there. So I've been testing myself and I find I go much faster if I simply follow this method - I see the notes and intervals (3rds, 4ths, 2nds) and play as written. I've been decently accurate but the downside here is I feel like I lose my understanding of the chord – I often will have no idea what chord it is, I simply play it like a robot. I suppose that's fine but I enjoy analyzing and understanding the chords and their functions in the song.
I hope that all makes sense. TLDR; do you sight-read from the bottom up using intervals or do you sight-read from where the root note is and then knowing the chord place your hands based on the inversion written? (root position is easy and not a problem for me)
Hi
hope you guys are well especially these unusual times
wondering if there is a great sight reading practice app.
I had Tenuto app but it does not have a practice for grand staff option.
any recommendation?
I'm trying to go from bench (aka beginner) to classical sight reader at about grade 4 RCM in 8 weeks (nice to have a goal right?). To give some simple material to try, I made this free, no ad, no-sign app. It's a 'work in progress' to say the least. Acoustic piano or digital keyboard are both fine since it just displays the sheet music- it does not grade you (yet).
Feedback welcome for those who want to join the journey! And yes- grade 4 rcm from beginner could be about a four year journey but I want to push forward basics like just knowing the notes across both staffs and practicing recognizing blocks of notes instead of one note at a time. No matter how far I get, it should be farther than where I am now.
I'm tentatively planning on a Zoom expose for those who want to play the app live to each other in 4 weeks and another at the 8 week mark.
The "song" is variations on Czerny Op 599 No 1, five finger position (and fingerings available for help!), 8 measures. More to come I hope.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.happypennygames.aimusic.sightreader
ps there is only one difficulty level currently- so i just ignore one staff and practice one at a time to make it more manageable. Work in progress remember?
pps. minutes count towards the april practice contest :)
Cheers!
i have this jazz band im auditioning for soon, and i realized that my weakest point is probably sight reading. where can i get music for drum set to practice with?
simply piano and yousician are close to what i'm looking for, but not exactly. i'm looking for an app (android) that just teaches basics of sheet music (doesn't even have to be pieces, just note placements and stuff) that uses your mic to listen to what notes you hit. i am using "clefs" right now and is perfect, other than the fact that i need to plug my phone into the piano and use midi to be able to actually touch my piano and not just hit some buttons on the phone screen. thank you in advance!
Are there any exercises that can improve it?Do i just have to read more sheet music?
Are there any good books on the subject?
Handy Hints for All Piano Beginners
Sight-reading is the art of being able to play a piano piece at first sight without any prior (or little) preparation. It is an essential technique that all pianists should possess and excel at. In the meanwhile, sight-reading seems to be one of the challenges that either a piano beginner loves or has recurring nightmares about.
Good sight-reading skills are significant because they can help piano students improve the efficiency of practicing new piano works, and expand the piano learners’ repertoire in some way. It takes a long time for most piano beginners to master the skills, but some useful tips can make the whole process less difficult.
So what are the tips for piano beginners to improve sight-reading skills? Let’s dive in.
https://preview.redd.it/7joroxybqux61.png?width=1400&format=png&auto=webp&s=051c170ad4ccb9086c6acba28d1798c94f060ea2
Familiarize Yourself with A Variety of Rhythms before Sight-Reading
No matter what piano sheet music you are playing, you must have a solid understanding of the tempo and the rhythm of the piano piece. Familiarizing yourself with common musical rhythms in different styles of music can make sight-reading more manageable, and will help you get ready to play the piano in any situation.
Once you are sure of the time signature and the beat of the piano work, you can be better prepared for sudden tempo changes, complicated note sequences, unusual rests, and other unexpected surprises in the music’s pattern. With more exposure to different music genres, you are likely to learn to anticipate some rhythms before you start reading and playing the new music score.
Memorize the Key Signatures to Get Prepared for Sight-Reading
For piano students who start piano learning from scratch, it is not easy to read key signatures when playing the instrument. The process of getting to know what a key signature can tell the piano players may be confusing. [To understand how to recognize and memorize key signatures, you are supposed to grasp some certain rules.](https://violy.a
... keep reading on reddit ➡Handy Hints for All Piano Beginners
Sight-reading is the art of being able to play a piano piece at first sight without any prior (or little) preparation. It is an essential technique that all pianists should possess and excel at. In the meanwhile, sight-reading seems to be one of the challenges that either a piano beginner loves or has recurring nightmares about.
Good sight-reading skills are significant because they can help piano students improve the efficiency of practicing new piano works, and expand the piano learners’ repertoire in some way. It takes a long time for most piano beginners to master the skills, but some useful tips can make the whole process less difficult.
So what are the tips for piano beginners to improve sight-reading skills? Let’s dive in.
https://preview.redd.it/pnkpvdigqux61.png?width=1400&format=png&auto=webp&s=79cfb1309459cafe283f753aa66c21ecef20992d
Familiarize Yourself with A Variety of Rhythms before Sight-Reading
No matter what piano sheet music you are playing, you must have a solid understanding of the tempo and the rhythm of the piano piece. Familiarizing yourself with common musical rhythms in different styles of music can make sight-reading more manageable, and will help you get ready to play the piano in any situation.
Once you are sure of the time signature and the beat of the piano work, you can be better prepared for sudden tempo changes, complicated note sequences, unusual rests, and other unexpected surprises in the music’s pattern. With more exposure to different music genres, you are likely to learn to anticipate some rhythms before you start reading and playing the new music score.
Memorize the Key Signatures to Get Prepared for Sight-Reading
For piano students who start piano learning from scratch, it is not easy to read key signatures when playing the instrument. The process of getting to know what a key signature can tell the piano players may be confusing. [To understand how to recognize and memorize key signatures, you are supposed to grasp some certain rules.](https://violy.a
... keep reading on reddit ➡Handy Hints for All Piano Beginners
Sight-reading is the art of being able to play a piano piece at first sight without any prior (or little) preparation. It is an essential technique that all pianists should possess and excel at. In the meanwhile, sight-reading seems to be one of the challenges that either a piano beginner loves or has recurring nightmares about.
Good sight-reading skills are significant because they can help piano students improve the efficiency of practicing new piano works, and expand the piano learners’ repertoire in some way. It takes a long time for most piano beginners to master the skills, but some useful tips can make the whole process less difficult.
So what are the tips for piano beginners to improve sight-reading skills? Let’s dive in.
https://preview.redd.it/mxn07gvyuux61.png?width=1400&format=png&auto=webp&s=df940c9d63993ea1aa992eaf9915bdc6eccd4890
Familiarize Yourself with A Variety of Rhythms before Sight-Reading
No matter what piano sheet music you are playing, you must have a solid understanding of the tempo and the rhythm of the piano piece. Familiarizing yourself with common musical rhythms in different styles of music can make sight-reading more manageable, and will help you get ready to play the piano in any situation.
Once you are sure of the time signature and the beat of the piano work, you can be better prepared for sudden tempo changes, complicated note sequences, unusual rests, and other unexpected surprises in the music’s pattern. With more exposure to different music genres, you are likely to learn to anticipate some rhythms before you start reading and playing the new music score.
Memorize the Key Signatures to Get Prepared for Sight-Reading
For piano students who start piano learning from scratch, it is not easy to read key signatures when playing the instrument. The process of getting to know what a key signature can tell the piano players may be confusing. [To understand how to recognize and memorize key signatures, you are supposed to grasp some certain rules.](https://violy.a
... keep reading on reddit ➡Handy Hints for All Piano Beginners
Sight-reading is the art of being able to play a piano piece at first sight without any prior (or little) preparation. It is an essential technique that all pianists should possess and excel at. In the meanwhile, sight-reading seems to be one of the challenges that either a piano beginner loves or has recurring nightmares about.
Good sight-reading skills are significant because they can help piano students improve the efficiency of practicing new piano works, and expand the piano learners’ repertoire in some way. It takes a long time for most piano beginners to master the skills, but some useful tips can make the whole process less difficult.
So what are the tips for piano beginners to improve sight-reading skills? Let’s dive in.
Familiarize Yourself with A Variety of Rhythms before Sight-Reading
No matter what piano sheet music you are playing, you must have a solid understanding of the tempo and the rhythm of the piano piece. Familiarizing yourself with common musical rhythms in different styles of music can make sight-reading more manageable, and will help you get ready to play the piano in any situation.
Once you are sure of the time signature and the beat of the piano work, you can be better prepared for sudden tempo changes, complicated note sequences, unusual rests, and other unexpected surprises in the music’s pattern. With more exposure to different music genres, you are likely to learn to anticipate some rhythms before you start reading and playing the new music score.
Memorize the Key Signatures to Get Prepared for Sight-Reading
For piano students who start piano learning from scratch, it is not easy to read key signatures when playing the instrument. The process of getting to know what a key signature can tell the piano players may be confusing. [To understand how to recognize and memorize key signatures, you are supposed to grasp some certain rules.](https://violy.app/blog/2019/11/violin-teachers-biggest-difficulty-teaching-violin-students-key-signatures/#Violin-Teachers%E2%80%99-Biggest-Diffi
... keep reading on reddit ➡Handy Hints for All Piano Beginners
Sight-reading is the art of being able to play a piano piece at first sight without any prior (or little) preparation. It is an essential technique that all pianists should possess and excel at. In the meanwhile, sight-reading seems to be one of the challenges that either a piano beginner loves or has recurring nightmares about.
Good sight-reading skills are significant because they can help piano students improve the efficiency of practicing new piano works, and expand the piano learners’ repertoire in some way. It takes a long time for most piano beginners to master the skills, but some useful tips can make the whole process less difficult.
So what are the tips for piano beginners to improve sight-reading skills? Let’s dive in.
https://preview.redd.it/kyyovb0fvux61.png?width=1400&format=png&auto=webp&s=d401eb485451083c7c14ee4bddf0f9c752ac5695
Familiarize Yourself with A Variety of Rhythms before Sight-Reading
No matter what piano sheet music you are playing, you must have a solid understanding of the tempo and the rhythm of the piano piece. Familiarizing yourself with common musical rhythms in different styles of music can make sight-reading more manageable, and will help you get ready to play the piano in any situation.
Once you are sure of the time signature and the beat of the piano work, you can be better prepared for sudden tempo changes, complicated note sequences, unusual rests, and other unexpected surprises in the music’s pattern. With more exposure to different music genres, you are likely to learn to anticipate some rhythms before you start reading and playing the new music score.
Memorize the Key Signatures to Get Prepared for Sight-Reading
For piano students who start piano learning from scratch, it is not easy to read key signatures when playing the instrument. The process of getting to know what a key signature can tell the piano players may be confusing. [To understand how to recognize and memorize key signatures, you are supposed to grasp some certain rules.](https://violy.a
... keep reading on reddit ➡