How can people find sight reading easy?
Is their any tips that enyone could give me on sight reading? I always get low marks!

Some people are gifted, just as some can read a page in a book in 20 seconds where I'm struggling for 5 minutes!
But the only way to make it easier is KEEP practicing it. ALWAYS try to sight read any new piece you get in your hands. If for k/board - if it's too difficult with both hands, try to sight read just the RH or LH separately. It will get a tiny bit easier every time - but it is practice.

Also, study what you play almost from a "theory" type angle. Music is very visual - this is why we have double-sharps and -flats, so that the music printer can "preserve the shape" of chords and scales. .. Take 3 chords: G minor, D major, G minor. .. They will be exactly the same shape as Eb minor Bb maj Eb minor. So you get to recognise shape and outline in the end, you don't look at the notes individually all the time - but it's practice and observation that gets you there.

Good luck.

Every time you practise, pick out a short piece that you haven't played or looked at before. Look at it for around 30 seconds (that's the time you'll get in the exam) and then play it straight through. Don't stop or go back to correct mistakes, just keep going.

Things to take note of during the 30 second observation time are; tempo/style, time signature, key signature, and any awkward looking bars or accidentals. If you like, you can try playing some of the bars during that observation period.

It will probably help if someone else does the 30 second clock watch for you.

Try to make your attempt as musical as possible, if you make a slip don't worry, accuracy is obviously important, but you will also score marks for musical shape too, so whatever you do JUST KEEP GOING.

The more sight reading you do the better you will get. It's as simple as that.

Good luck

QUOTE (theory is interesting @ Dec 20 2004, 09:16 PM)

I find sight reading the hardest part of exams.(piano) Can anyone give me any tips on how to improve my sight reading.

I recommend playing chamber and other ensemble music as a painless way to practise sight reading. I have posted several times on various aspects of this. A way to acquire the "press-on-regardless" attitude is in the last post of a thread in this forum called "Sight Reading Exam". I started a thread specifically for pianists getting into chamber music in Viva Piano. It was called "Getting Started in Chamber Music"

I used to be absoloutely dreadful at sightreading, and i probably still am, But what had helped me, was just basic PRATICE PRATICE PRATICE.
Just pick a piece that looks hardish, and try and play it, even if its wrong, just try, and you'll soon pick it up

I used to absoulutely Rubbish at sight reading. But, I joined a band where half the arangements we sightread as we are practising.

If you can't join a band, Get a book and pick songs which you haven't played before. Give yourself 30seconds to look at it. Then play it. If you go wrong, keep playing at the same tempo.

Set a routine for looking at sightreading. Mine is:
-Time Sig.
-Key Sig.
-Accidentals
-Rthym
-Reapeating Sections
-Dynamics
-Play any hard bits

Hope this helps

thanks 2 all of you!!
I have been practicing but my mistake was going back and correcting things.
I always slow down at hard bits, I can't keep the tempo.

thankyou for replying, and for the great advice

Because this topic comes up so often. People always say practice and practice and that's true. it's the only way.

V

You seem to have asked this question on Teachers forum.

QUOTE

I have been practicing but my mistake was going back and correcting things. I always slow down at hard bits, I can't keep the tempo

Try to play at a speed that gives you your best chance of keeping going - ie really slowly! If you can't find all the notes, keep the pulse going and miss out something - even if you can just keep one hand going for a bar or two, you give a better overall impression of the piece than slowing up and losing the pulse.

Keep at it - it will improve.

Maggie

Hi Rhapsodin,

You're correct - the forum topic has been posted twice - so we've merged them both into one.

Best regards

Christine Morris
Forums Administration

Sight reading is hard