Did you know you were reading at first sight right now? You have learned, as a child, to quickly recognize the shapes of letters and to read a book without thinking too much about it. It makes life easier, doesn't it? Learning to read piano music at a glance is a discipline that will greatly improve your skill in playing the piano or keyboard. Like learning to read words, it will take time and practice, but it is a skill you will be able to enjoy throughout your life. We give you some pointers on how to get started.
Steps
Method 1 of 2: Access a Wide Range of Resources
Step 1. Train online with those sites that are updated often
You always need new material, renewed regularly, so that the training materials do not become stale. Also, you need to look for a site that offers exercises of increasing difficulty, so that you don't get bored when a level becomes too easy for you. Yes, as difficult as it may seem, this skill can be learned! We suggest some sites, although you can find others with a Google search:
- SightReadingMastery professionally offers various reading exercises for many different instruments, including the piano. They are organized by level, each with the audio reproduction of a correct performance, to be used to evaluate that you have played the song correctly.
- The Sight Reading Project offers a large variety of exercises and a search function to select those exercises that best suit your needs. Plus, they have a metronome and downloadable MIDI files! It's free, even if donations are required.
- Piano Music Sight-Reading Practice is another free site that starts from reading one note at a time, and then gradually gets to the most difficult exercises. You can also go further by customizing the settings. One downside is that it requires you to have a MIDI keyboard or interact with the on-screen keyboard.
Step 2. Buy a "method" book
There are a number of books specifically designed to teach sight reading that will guide you methodically - each exercise builds on the previous one and adds something new each time. Here are some highly recommended titles:
- 'Improve your sight reading! Piano, Level 1 'by Alfred Music Publishing. There are eight volumes in total, ranging from beginner to advanced.
- 'First Level Reading at First Sight' by Hal Leonard Publishing. For more advanced readers, there are two more volumes.
Step 3. Exercise
The biggest key to being successful at sight reading is simply reading and playing the music. You can purchase several music books, borrow them from the library, or print piano sheet music from a website. They are all fine, but the learning process may become haphazard.
Think of it this way: when you learned to read, you started with a nursery rhyme … you didn't immediately jump to the lines of an ode! For best results, focus on the music within your skill range
Method 2 of 2: Practice Reading and Playing
Step 1. Sit in front of the piano and open the score on the first page
Try looking at the notes, say them aloud and try to understand the piece without playing it.
- From the very beginning, it is helpful to practice the rhythm before turning to the melody. Tap your foot or use a metronome to mark the beat. Keep practicing sight reading and don't stop if you make a mistake.
- You should be able to internalize rhythmic reading fairly quickly. Once you get through the basics, you better integrate rhythm and melody.
Step 2. Write down the details
Look at the key, any key changes and dynamics of the piece. If you can, research the agreements and determine what they are.
- Look for the more delicate part of the piece, for example sixteenth notes (sixteenth notes) or a point with a lot of accidentals that are difficult to learn, and look for a speed at which you think you can play even the most complex parts. It is very important to 'don't stop and start again when you make a mistake': just keep playing.
- Look for patterns while you are playing and always try to read at least one measure forward.
Step 3. Play the piece
After reading the exercise, it's time to play. Count the tempo aloud and make sure you are counting slowly enough that you can play all the notes realistically.
You may miss a couple of notes, but it's more important to keep the rhythm accurate
Step 4. Keep practicing this way as often as you can
Feel free to go back and study the pieces you've already played, but in more depth. The more you practice, the more proficient you will become at sight reading.
Advice
- To read it first, you need to learn how to recover quickly when you make a mistake. It is inevitable to make some mistakes, but the secret is not to fidget and keep playing. Furthermore, if the listeners are not familiar with the piece, it is likely that they will not notice the mistake; if you don't betray yourself, they will never know.
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Use the STARS method to help you remember what to look for before starting to play a new piece:
- S = (Signature) Key signature
- T = Time
- A = Accidentals (sharps and flats)
- R = Rhythms
- S = Style
- Don't judge your skill as a pianist by the way you read at first sight. Remember that you are only trying to improve your reading skills. Sight reading forces you to play without stopping (because it is not a practice to improve the piece), so you have to concentrate to the maximum. Anger and frustration will only get in your way, distracting you from the main goal. Smile, relax and play while maintaining focus.
- The main difficulty in sight reading is the execution of the right rhythm. Counting "one and two and three and four" aloud can be of great help. Obviously, the numbers to be counted will change according to the time of the piece.
- Train your eyes to read before your fingers. The aim is to look at least one measure forward, starting with just one and then continuing to increase the distance.
- Check for sharps and flats, clef changes or tempo changes. If you have to perform challenging jumps (for example, octave jumps) be careful. Check the notes outside the staff several times.
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Learn the intervals. A musical interval is the distance between two notes. For example, the interval between Do and D is second, between Do and Mi of the third and between Do and G of the fifth. It's simple, looking at the staff:
- When two notes are both on the lines, the intervals are third, fifth, seventh, etc. Count the lines and spaces if you are unsure: two notes on the lines separated by a space = third; two notes on the lines separated by two spaces and a line = fifth; etc.
- The same is true when two notes are both in spaces. They result in the same intervals - odd. The difference is that you count the lines that separate the two notes in spaces: one line gives an interval of a third, two lines and a space give an interval of a fifth, and so on.
- When one note is in space and the other on a line, the intervals are even. If the two notes have no lines or spaces in between, it is a second interval; if they are separated by a line and a space, it is an interval of a fourth, etc.
- Intervals are a little more complex than that, but to get familiar with sight reading, these basics will get you started.
- Another great (and much more enjoyable) way to practice sight reading is to play with a friend: in this way, you will both be forced to play while keeping time and without stopping, concentrating on the right notes so as not to ruin the performance..
- If you don't have a piano at hand, you can practice reading sheet music even without playing them. Look at the position of the notes, try to recognize them and remember their appearance. Use your memory!
