How to Take Your Sight Reading to the Next Level

Last week we talked about what sight reading is and the best tips you can apply to your improving your sight reading skills when you are first starting to do this type of playing.

Today, we’re going to look at some specific ways to take that sight reading to the next level.

• One of the things that were mentioned last week was working on your sight reading in each of your practice sessions. This is important to continue doing and not limit that to just when you are first learning to sight read or trying to improve it. Piano music gets more difficult as we advance in our playing and incorporating sight reading into our regular practicing will keep us on our toes, so to say, about being able to sight read more difficult music. So make it a part of your daily practicing…not just something you do when you want to be a little better at it. If you put it at the beginning of your practice session, then you won’t forget to do it or run out of time before you can get to it.

 

• Sight reading in different keys is a must if you want to be able to fluidly read through a new piece that is more advanced. Don’t stay in those familiar easier key signatures that you learned when you first started playing. Allow yourself to explore reading through keys that have several or more sharps or flats to challenge and strengthen your skills.

 

• Play through music that is different from your normal type of music. If you are studying classical music try sight reading some pop tunes or even jazz pieces. The more you step out of your comfort zone in terms of the genre of music you typically play, the better you will become at being able to sight read any kind of music that someone might ask you to play, or that you simply want to try and play.

 

• At a certain point, you’re going to want to challenge yourself to play more difficult music than you might currently be playing. It is always important to challenge yourself, otherwise you won’t really grow. Classical pieces such as Beethoven Sonatas are a great resource for getting you to “play up” and learn how to read through more complicated music without too much difficulty.

 
You don’t have to read through the whole piece at first if it’s too hard – but try reading through the first couple of pages to see how you do.
 
Just to review – there are specific things that you want to look at when you first sight read through any piece.

• Look through the notes and look at the key signature to see which notes have to be played sharp or flat.
• Look at the time signature and look for any surprise rhythms that are in the piece.
• Check to see what articulations, dynamics, or difficult sections might be in the piece just so you have an idea of what is coming before you get there.

​In the following video I do a lot of examples of sight reading different types of music at the piano so you can get a good practical feel of how to apply this information. Remember to always go slow, be patient, and incorporate sight reading into your daily playing and practicing as it will enable you to do a lot more on your piano and play just about any kind of music that you want to. Have fun!

If you like my tips and lessons, you will love the courses over on my website. Whether you are a beginner looking to get a solid foundation to build on or you are looking to take you existing skills to that next level, the online music courses on my website https://www.pianolessonsontheweb.com will help you do just that.