Piano Music Sight Reading Tips

Music sight reading can be compared with skimming through a book. It gives you the general idea of a story, understood (performed) more or less well, but you have not yet studied the book.

Learning a piece well, however, means you have to go deeper; you need to study the book, and give it more work and time in analyzing it and even to memorize it.

The easier it is for you to sight read, the more you are able to try out pieces, and play from a piano book or sheet music as if you were reading loud from a book. And ultimately, the more fun you will have being able to test an unlimited amount of repertoire!

With some stubborn effort from your side, and by setting aside a few minutes a day, you can learn to sight read notes well.

For some people it might come very easy- and yes, it is true, some people just naturally are able to decode and extremely quickly translate note patterns to movements (which is how sight reading works).

For most though, learning how to sight read piano music is a skill that needs to be practiced. You get a great bonus in the process – it is very good for your brain- a real “brain-gym”!

When to start with sight reading practice:

When you you have reached the level where both hands are playing at the same time - the time has come for extra sight reading practice.

So, how do you practice sight-reading?

To quickly learn sight reading you need to choose very easy small pieces, and then gradually increase the difficulty. The easiest way to do this is to use one of many sight-reading books available. This is absolutely the most time effective since you don’t have to waste time trying to find pieces at the appropriate level.

You also need to learn how to not look down at your hands when you play, and keep your eyes moving forward in the music. Sight reading is a lot about learning to "discipline" your eye movements so that you "lead" your hands and fingers to perform the correct movements.

Piano practice techniques for sight reading music:

1. Set aside 5 min. a day.
2. Preferably, use a sight reading method, like Sight Reading & Rhythm Every Day, Book 1A a method to practice music sight reading that I really recommend and have used very successfully with my students. (Mikrokosmos Volume 1 (Pink): Piano Solo (BH Piano) is also good for sightreading practice, starting with book 1.)
3. Before actually playing each exercise, play on top of the keys without pressing them down- “finger” your way through the piece- as it also helps to prepare your “inner ear” and makes it easier to play.
4. Just do it. Follow all the instructions, and after the first three books with only a few minutes a day, you will notice a huge improvement in how you can sight-read piano music as you play.
5. When you sight read, you can’t really think as you play. You have to train yourself to just move along- and not to stop or replay a wrong note.
6. If a piece you sight read has too many mistakes- it is not simple or short enough. I tell my students that one mistake is OK, two is not OK- otherwise an easier piece is needed, or the tempo needs to be slower.
7. Force yourself not to look at you hands when you sight read. You simply do not have the time! You have to always look a few notes ahead from the ones you are playing, and just go, go, go!

Other Tips:

• Learn how to use a metronome and start by playing extremely easy pieces with a metronome on slow speed- as slow as you need to play all without mistakes- and then gradually increase the speed.

• Playing super easy duets, or together with play-along CD’s is also great to train your eyes to constantly move forward in the notes, and not to linger anywhere, as you are pushed forward by the music and you have to follow somebody else!

• If you have a keyboard with different drum style accompaniments- it is also a fun alternative to play with a piece instead of a metronome- go wild with the wrong style, like Bach’s G major minuet with jazz waltz accompaniment! Fun- and the more fun your brain has, the easier you learn how to read piano music and practice music sight reading!

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