how do i become better at sight reading piano music?
Hi-
I’ve been taking piano lessons for five years, and the lessons were unconventional…meaning the teacher taught me to play by finger numbers and using my ear before reading sheet music. i can play songs such as bach’s 1st invention and i’m learning grieg’s notturno, but to make a long story short…i SUCK at reading sheet music. my question is, am i behind on my piano abilities…should i be able to do more than i can at this stage? how do i get better at reading sheet music? thanks so much =]
The key to better sight reading is to keep learning unfamilliar pieces that don’t take too long to finish. Obviously, you’ll need to use the sheet music and not just rely on your ear. If your piano teacher is spoon-feeding you the correct notes or finger numbers instead of helping you figure it out yourself from the music, you may need a new teacher.
My suggestion is to get a book songs that aren’t too difficult for your ability, and just start learning them. You don’t have to learn them perfectly. In fact, once you sort of know a piece, practicing it further won’t improve your sightreading much, so just move on to the next song.
Of course, it’s good to also be working on a harder piece that you plan to learn thoroughly, because this will advance your playing ability and technique.
Comments
there is no easy way to do this. It takes years of practice. You should consider getting an instructor who teaches in a more conventional manner.
References :
G.I.T. grad 30+ yrs playing/teaching
practice songs that are easier than u usually play. basically you should play songs that are easy enough that you can play them for the first time. i dont mean like you schould play them perfect but just okayish and it doesnt need to have ariticulation and it could be slower. but just keep doing that with random easy songs until you can do it with harder songs.
References :
thats wut i did
Sadly, the only way to get better is practicing. Start out slowly and work your way up!
References :
Buy a book of sight reading pieces for the level you’re at then practise random pieces so you don’t know the pieces. Learn which notes go where. Make yourself a quiz or something fun to do that will help you learn to read the notes and press the keys as quick as possible. Hope you find that useful, Good luck. xo
References :
The only way to get better is to just keep taking sheet music and practicing and playing it.
References :
If you can find an old church hymnal, 4 voices, so usually four stacked notes per beat get it and use that to practice. Go painfully slow. Do not allow yourself to play one wrong note. Also see this site for tips. Good luck.
References :
http://www.pianofundamentals.com/book/en/1.III.11
Get the complete 360-whatever Bach Chorales. We used these at school for learning to read faster. 3-4 part harmonies kept me working at it, and got me learning faster.
References :
personal experience
The key to better sight reading is to keep learning unfamilliar pieces that don’t take too long to finish. Obviously, you’ll need to use the sheet music and not just rely on your ear. If your piano teacher is spoon-feeding you the correct notes or finger numbers instead of helping you figure it out yourself from the music, you may need a new teacher.
My suggestion is to get a book songs that aren’t too difficult for your ability, and just start learning them. You don’t have to learn them perfectly. In fact, once you sort of know a piece, practicing it further won’t improve your sightreading much, so just move on to the next song.
Of course, it’s good to also be working on a harder piece that you plan to learn thoroughly, because this will advance your playing ability and technique.
References :
I’m a piano teacher
check out http://www.SpeedyMusicReading.com. They have a few things that can really help you get better, especially if you want to be able to do it on stage.
References :
Leave a Comment