My daughter tends to play from memory, which means she finds sight reading difficult. She has her Grade 2 piano exam next Monday, her pieces are great, as are her scales, the sight reading though is very hit and miss

I know its probably too little too late, but is there anything I can do to help her.

Before she plays, I ask her, 'what is the key signature, are there any sharps and flats (look along the stave for those sharps/flats if any) I get her to look at the time signature and the type of nots, (crotchets, quavers etc)'. If I don't ask her the questions though she seems to just stare at the piece and panic!

I am trying to get her to ask herself these questions in her head, but she just seems to go blank. Is there anything that I can do to help her at this stage. I must admit I am getting frustrated - with myself as much as her, as I can't seem to make a difference for her.

I'm not a musician at all, so all I know is what I hear in her lessons (we are allowed to sit in on the lessons, which I find invaluable as I wouldn't be able to help at all!).

Thanks!

A simple 'prompt tool' for sightreading ast this level is TRaK :

T time - how many beats to count AND remember to make the first beat of each bar to sound a bit more important;

R rhythm - what sort of note lengths are there and how do you make them fit the steady counting;


(and)


K key - what scale is the tune written in? Try to spot the bits that are scale and chord/arpeggio patterns. (calling the key signature the 'scale code' can help here)


Showing differences in louds and softs may help gain a couple of extra marks but concentrate on remembering TRaK first.


As you progress through the grades more letters can be added as pupils get used to - and need - to look out for more detail.

Remind your daughter that in sightreading it is getting the overall feel and shape of the tune correct that is really important rather than just hitting the right keys notes. So time and rhythm are MUCH more important than getting every single note right. If your daughter is fairly comfortable with playing and reading scales and scale patterns and keeps counting she should be ok.

Yes, the 'trak' order of preparing a sight-reading passage is a useful one.

I always get my pupils to look at the time-sign and tap the rhythm first, before looking at key or finding the first note - which amounts to much the same thing.

I'm sure your daughter's teacher has reminded her to try to keep going - and ignore the odd slip, rather than going back to correct a mistake, which only interrupts the flow.

Yes, her teacher has told her that, although she does have a tendancy to go bar to the start of the bar, which I keep to tell her isn't a good idea as the examiner is not a mind reader and not going to know that is what she has decided to do!!

The TRaK order does sound like it will really help so we'll have a chat about that when she gets home from school today

Thanks again, I am not musical, (although I am picking bits up and can hold a little tune now!) and I sometimes worry that I come on here and post ridiculous questions because so many of you are so, so musically talented I must say though that everyone is always very helpful, and I have never been made to feel I am asking anything silly or that I am inadequate (well only by myself!).

Thank you

As parents we can't be expected to know everything and the best way to learn is by asking. I'm sure no one minds at all and the information is all you need.

Another non-musical parent The thing is once you star on the learning curve it's steep and difficult to get off

At this late stage, I think the 'keep going' point is the most important.

Don't go back and repeat bits endlessly
Don't get thrown because you've played a wrong note.
Look forwards and concentrate on getting the next notes/start of the bar right.
And never dry up completely !!!!

It's very hard for some children who are perfectionists. I tell mine 'however bad you think you are, the examiner has heard a zillion times worse, just keep going !'.

I know some pupils (not mine) who've played 3 bars beautifully then stopped and not managed to get going again - they've failed the sight-reading with very low marks.

On the flip side, I've inherited some who are dreadful sight-readers (my regulars aren't great either). Their sight-reading is often no better than completely random notes but they get through to the end (though sometimes it's difficult to tell!) and the worst mark ever was 12 which is only 2 short of passing and lots have got 14s which I reckon is very generous, and they often got merits and distinctions overall despite it.

It's not really to do with the examiner being a mind-reader, more that music happens in time and that once the third beat of bar four (for example) has passed, it's gone and you can't go back. Tell her to imagine she's playing with other people and they're not going to wait for her so she has to keep going no matter what - otherwise effectively everything she plays will be wrong (that's not meant to sound negative, but if you're at a different point in the music to everyone else it doesn't matter how beautifully and accurately you play, it's probably going to sound terrible!). This might make some sense of why it's important not to stop or go back.

Possibly a bit late to do now, but worth a try for another time, if you also read music: take a piece of card and hold it over the music, covering up what has already been played, as she works through. I was amazed at how well this worked with my two memorisers to show them what keeping going actually meant - it is though something you'd need to keep doing to get the habit ingrained, and at first I did find that they went back to their old habits on removal of the card.

That's a good idea.

I think it's always the most important!

A couple of useful thoughts from other people:
"Every wrong note is history" (my late friend José Marshall, amateur clarinettist). Think about getting the next note right - we all know you can't change history.
"A right note in the wrong place is a wrong note." (Walter Bergmann "Rules for Ensemble Playing")

I hope your daughter's exam went well Rhian.