I found this short article on sight reading the other day and with the permission of the author, Howard Richman of Sound Feelings Publishing, Tarzana, California , here it is for your enjoyment.

  1. Develop Your “Relative” Sense of Touch.
    Acquire the skill of playing so that you don’t need to look down at your hands. Without looking at the keyboard, glide your hands so you feel the two and three black keys (like Braille.) When you need a C, D, or E, feel for the “2s.” When you need an F, G, A, or B, feel for the “3s.”
  2. Develop Your “Absolute” Sense of Touch.
    Always sit in the same place. Middle “D” is recommended because it creates a symmetrical pattern in both directions.
  3. Practice Finger Technique Without Looking at Your Hands.
    A creative way to do this is to play your scales and arpeggios in the dark. This will add confidence to your sense of touch.
  4. Learn the Four Groups of the Lines and Spaces:
    Lines in the Treble “E G B D F” Lines in the Bass “G B D F A” Spaces in the Treble “F A C E” Spaces in the Bass “A C E G”
  5. Practice Only the Rhythmic Information.
    In a composition you are working on, ignore the correct pitches.
  6. Practice Only the Pitch and Fingering Information.
    In a composition you are working on, ignore the correct rhythm.
  7. Play Easy Pieces up to Tempo.
    Force yourself to keep going no matter what. Don’t worry about mistakes. This helps you to look ahead.
  8. Play Difficult Pieces Super Slowly.
    Don’t dare make even one mistake. This helps to develop accuracy.
  9. Look For Patterns in Music.
    Don’t be afraid to look way ahead for a second just so you can anticipate what will be easy or difficult. Patterns are easy. If you detect a pattern then you can devote your concentration to other things.
  10. Study Music Theory.
    Professional sight-readers never read every note! They get a sense of the overall chord and “fill-in” the blanks. With a solid knowledge of music theory, this becomes natural and immediate.

Related Articles


Fatal error: Call to undefined function related_posts() in /home/improve/public_html/wp-content/themes/StudioPress/single.php on line 23