How to improve a pianist's most frightening skill (sightreading ft. Huangci, Cheli, and more!)

[@tonebasePiano]

How do you tackle the difficulties of sightreading?

[@ddgyt50]

Heavy use of the damper pedal. :D

[@Ja.pheth_]

slow pratice

[@jeffreygreen7860]

Practice it as much as I can, once each practice session if possible, play down a few grades, and look at (ie read) the music and not look at the hands (I'm a looker rather than a reader as one presenter phrased it).

[@pjbpiano]

@@jeffreygreen7860, the solution is to always play with a cloth covering your hands. It cures the looking.

[@jeffreygreen7860]

@pjbpiano yes, another content creator provided that suggestion. I would imagine that it works though it is something of throwing a person into the deep end of a pool to teach them to swim, ie for me a few downsides. Thanks for the suggestion, I do inch towards better sightreading as time goes on.

[@Stevie-Steele]

The biggest misconception about sightreading is the idea that it's completely separate from memorization of repertoire. It's not - they're highly mutually beneficial! In fact - the ease with which you can sightread is all about the patterns you have already accumulated in your "pianistic vocabulary". Recognition of patterns changes how you read - think about the way you read WORDS - you don't focus on individual letters when you know the words already - you just read the full word and it's automatic. The same is true of sightreading - it's sped up massively when you're dealing with patterns you've encountered before. That's why learning as many pieces as you can is automatically going to give you a headstart when it comes to sightreading because it makes you familiar with many of the recurring patterns there are in classical piano.

[@pjbpiano]

There is a faster way to get to this point than through learning repertoire first.

[@HUGEFLYINGWHALE]

I completely disagree. Learning infinite repertoire won't make you a good sight reader if you never actually sight read. I'm a pretty good memorizer and a terrible sight reader. I learned some debussy pieces i like this week for fun - reverie, doctor gradus, doll serenade and girl with flaxen hair. I needed about 5 days to remember all of them by heart and play them reasonably well. However I pretty much can't sight read anything proficiently

[@MariaMaltseva]

@@HUGEFLYINGWHALE That's because you're relying entirely on your muscle memory to memorize. It's very much related if you're memorizing pieces mentally, as well. But yes, quick muscle memory can lead people to read poorly.

[@pjbpiano]

@@MariaMaltseva how do you know he is using muscle memory? That was quite a leap.

[@durap02]

​@@pjbpianoHow else? kindly advise

[@jonathanwingmusic]

I've been playing piano for many years, but my sight-reading always lagged far behind. Early this year I've decided to force myself to not look down at my hands, not allow myself to stop and analyze, and to also play a large variety of music, including Bach Chorales in keyboard style which have a huge benefit in training your muscles and eyes in following individual polyphonic voices. I wasn't even intense about this, I'm talking maybe 10-15 minutes a day. Here we are, in October, and I'm not going to say I'm a speed-reader of virtuosic passages by any means, but I am honestly blown away by the difference these past 10 months, how much easier I am finding it to sit down at most music and play a first pass slightly under tempo, with fewer and fewer mistakes or stopping. For the first time ever I'm really starting to see chunks of notes as "words" and "phrases", rather than slogging through individual notes one at a time. Amazing what a difference just not looking down, not stopping, and reading lots of different music can all make. The added bonus of not looking down at my hands has also revealed itself regardless of sight-reading, for example when playing music I have memorized or simply improvising, it's becoming a lot easier to find the notes even with my eyes closed, by simply trusting my muscles. When you let your body do its thing and remember to breathe, it honestly feels like magic ✨

[@fortissimoX]

Self-taught "piano player" here. I've managed to learn technique at a quite decent level for amateur pianist, but sight reading was always my weak spot, until the last year. I finally took some pieces and decided that I'll sit with them, and play as slowly as it takes, but I'll read through the end. Also, I tried not to look at hands as much as possible, and to rely mainly on the feel of the keyboard. The experience was quite painful and frustrating, but after only one week of such drill, which included 2-4 pages daily, I finally made a significant breakthrough.

[@tonebasePiano]

Thanks for sharing your experience! It is great to hear that through consistent work you made progress!

[@whcp1742]

66 years old. Studied a lot of piano until age 17. Became quite adept at sight reading-or, rather, “faking,” i.e. simplifying a score on the fly. This is a great ability, that people generally appreciate. But now, for the first time in decades, I’m making a concerted effort to learn ALL the notes in some pieces for an upcoming performance with professional musicians in my town. SO HARD. I honestly didn’t think my body-brain could do it, but it is finally coming, albeit very slowly. The moral: don’t just become a good faker and let your other skills atrophy!

[@maraldus]

On the subject of pattern recognition, another helpful thing is to recognize shapes of chords. For example: seeing the third at the top would be 2nd inversion, as opposed to 1st inversion for the third at the bottom.

[@uufruity]

I’ve always known that line-line-line/space-space-space is the root chord, but I’ve never considered how to recognize patterns for inversions..thanks for this!

[@gabelonguinhos]

No-choice sightreading, in a live collaborating context, is a great way to get better. You can't stop, because you're engaging with someone else - it's almost rude to do it, and there's just a magnetic pull towards keeping it going at all costs, not drop the ball. So the system just mobilizes all its resources, and is encouraged by the momentum and magic of it. Not only the notes get better, but you just get a reasonable feel (tempo, general vibe, etc) of the music by glancing at one or two bars.

[@smalin]

One thing people who say "I wish I could sight-read piano music" sometimes don't realize: if you couldn't play a particular piece of music without looking at your hands, you wouldn't be able to sight-read it. For example, if you couldn't play the scales, arpeggios, counterpoint, etc. that are in a piece without practicing them (that is, you don't already have the skill to play them), then having other sight-reading skills (like being able to read rhythms, recognize chords, follow multiple lines) isn't going to be enough.

[@Rickettsia505]

When younger, my memory was great, and I would look at my hands. As an adult, my memory is not great, and as an elder i can remember the things I learned when young, but must sight read the things I learned more recently. I have become a very proficient sight reader, starting in my 30's.

[@aelfrice]

I started piano 24 years ago as an adult. If I knew how much time and effort it would eventually take to become a competent sight reader, I would have given up before I began.

[@smalin]

For me, it was the opposite: if I'd known how much fun I was going to have being able to play the piano as an adult, I would have worked harder at it when I was young.

[@Mira3441]

😂hahaha! I shouldn't have read this. I am an adult just starting! I knew it was going to be tough..., but I still want to work on it, even if it takes that long!

[@aelfrice]

@Mira3441 Isn't it a delightful pain, though? At 42, I'm only just able to take a look at some of my limitations. But also what my truest wants and abilities are. Labor is truly its own reward -- true for musicians, at least.

[@aelfrice]

​@@smalinI couldn't have said it better myself. It's the obsession and love of music that is the thing that makes it _need_ to happen.

[@Mira3441]

@@aelfrice yes! It is a delightful pain! I love it!❤️🎹🎼

[@Michachel]

im a looker and this is the most relatable video ever. when she was looking at the music and back down and back up it was crazy how similar that was to what I do. I also memorize all the notes of a piece before i finish learning how to play them 😭

[@ciararespect4296]

I have eidetic memory. As soon as I see an a4 sheet of music I memorise it all for life 😢 luckily I can play it at the same time

[@imaltenhause4499]

@@ciararespect4296 Is the sad emoji there because that doesn’t feel good? Do you experience that as something of a curse? I’ve never met a person with an eidetic memory, so I have no idea.

[@Wootwootwooton]

So many online teachers encourage playing hands separately, but I find what Leann Osterkamp said (starting at 6:08) to be true - why not learn hands together from the start, instead of learning the piece 3 different times? Scales are a great example - hands together, they become a whole new thing! (Do people play arpeggios hands together? I've only done them separately.)

[@tonebasePiano]

That is a great point! It can be a bit intimidating at first, but it definitely helps in the long run if you approach it slowly and patiently!

[@LearnCompositionOnline]

i never do this. Unless it is an etude or something especial. If you need to do this this means the piece is TOO HARD AND WILL MAKE YOU BANKRUPT soon, like most etudes do...

[@JerryEboy69]

Finding fingerings is typically faster separately. That should be one of the main reasons for it

[@mr2922]

I can identify patterns easier in many cases when hands are separate, but sometimes the opposite. Also, when "these" 7 notes go to "these" 7 notes, I sometimes need to break it down in order to have any type of flow or allow my ear to hear it better. I question if this person may be coming from an unaware level of mastery. Kinda of like saying, why not just play the whole piece through? Well, not all of us can do that yet so we have to break it down more.

[@Wootwootwooton]

@@mr2922 by "this person," do you mean me? I've been playing a little less than 2 years, so "mastery" is quite a stretch! What I was trying to say was there are teachers on KZbin who really encourage hands separate practice, and I've been doing that, but I have to relearn when I put the hands together, if only because the music sounds different. It may only take a few repetitions to do this.

[@kimutronojr4809]

Also, working on your rhythms really helps when it comes to sightreading and maintaining a continuous flow, especially in genres like jazz

[@Roddersville]

I’m sceptical when someone says ‘so and so’ is good at sight reading….but I am prepared to admit there are many amateur and professional musicians who have to be comfortable learning and playing ‘new’ music very quickly. I try and play what I love foremost - that is the inspiration to buy sheet music and practice and in my case ‘parrot fashion’ 3 or 4 bars at a time ! I am very poor at getting it right first time round. So sight reading for me isn’t an issue as learning music is my hobby and NOT a job ! I don’t let sight reading get in the way in learning music at all.

[@maksimivanov5417]

5:34 Well my piano teacher gives me an opposite advice - she says if you keep playing after a wrong note, your fingers will start memorizing these wrong positions in combination with the rest of the piece, which will increase the probability of repeating the exact same mistake in the future attempts and will overall just slow down the learning process. And my experience (admittedly, a limited one - ~1 year of learning piano) kinda supports this theory... So we're more in the "start as slow as possible, but in a perfect way, abort on every mistake, and later connect chunks together and speed up" camp.

[@yahyamhirsi]

Your teacher is right, but he/she is most likely referring to your repertoire practice, rather than sight reading practice, which is a different kind of practice with different priorities. When you practice your repertoire, you need to be prioritizing accuracy and quality, however, when sight reading, consistency is the most important thing, even if that means playing just one hand, or outlining the harmony with the wrong patterns. The most important thing in sight reading is keeping up with the beat, not accuracy or “the right fingering”.

[@maksimivanov5417]

@@yahyamhirsi That's a good clarification, thanks. The video somehow gave me the impression of talking about general practice and performances as well.

[@biggreenlzrd]

there's nothing wrong with listening to a piece to learn it ahead of practicing the score, especially if, like me and some of your contributors here, you have a sense for playing by ear or improvising. better yet, reading along in the score while listening to a performance can help you "decode" some of the areas where the notation may not be so straightforward to sight-read. this is one of the first things I'll do when learning a new piece, and it helps a lot. that said: I guess this doesn't really help when sitting down to sight-read a new piece point blank, but for a lot of standard repertoire, merely knowing the general flow of the piece after hearing it a number of times can help you get through that challenge a little easier.

[@ciararespect4296]

Oh definitely not. I can't help when listening to a piece know exactly how it would look like on the score and I then absorb this into my being

[@jbw53191]

I concentrate on consistently looking AHEAD. It's really important when I'm accompanying a choir or a soloist and I've just received the music. Make yourself look ahead!

[@tonebasePiano]

This is essential!! In my ear training course in college, when we would sight sing, our teacher would put a sticky note over the measure that you were actually singing, forcing you to look ahead to the next. It was frightening but super helpful! -Robert

[@jbw53191]

@@tonebasePiano that sounds like a great technique. Thank you for sharing it

[@shooshieroberts3913]

You asked us to tell you how we practice. I play about an hour of scales, arpeggios and seventh chords in octaves (two hands). Then I improvise for a while until my hands get comfortable and my style feels relaxed, hands loose, just expressing what I feel. That’s when I go to Debussy & Scriabin, Chopin, Beethoven, Grieg, Rachmaninoff, etc. and… Bach. Always a lot of Bach regardless of what else I do. It takes me a good 4 to 6 hours to get what I want out of a practice session. When I start in on the composers, I start with sight reading. Then I go to memorized pieces and pieces I’m learning. At any time during the practice, I may return or skip to any other part of the session (I like returning to things I’ve recently done, because it cements what I learned), but those things are always included to the extent that time allows. Often I have to cut some of those things down in order to do chores, eat, sleep, etc. But over the course of a 24 hour period you can pretty much count on my getting in my 4, and as often as possible, 6 hours. I’m 69, by the way, and have been a lifelong pro-musician, arranger, concert director and concert artist, but on sax, flute and sometimes synths & MIDI. I switched full time to piano when I was 65, and about a year ago bought a Steinway Model D in incredible condition. The sound is its own reward. I could play it all day and night, just to listen to that sound.

[@bertrandcarette9259]

I take a certain number of measures, and organizes them in a time cycle, for instance, 10 minutes right hand, pause, 10 minutes left hand, pause, 10 minutes hands together pause. The second reading (the day after or 1 hour later would be 8 minutes, RH, LH, HT, then 5 minutes , then 3 etc…..Then I start the process again for next amount of measures, and when it’s done,I add them to,the previous measures. This strategy was given to me by a famous concertist. It goes really faster when I act like this, for both mental and physical memories.

[@havenprice]

Would love to hear sightreading strategies from Hamelin

[@batlin]

I got pretty good at sight reading by... failing to practice and learn the pieces for the exam. Now I do more improv and playing from memory, but sight reading is still super useful!

[@danielharris9403]

I've started doing an exercise recommended by a friend, who claimed it was part of Horowitz's pedagogy: find the easiest possible music, set a slow metronome, play as written as well as a semitone up/down. I was skeptical at first, but I recognised a greater feel of intervals within a very short time -- reading by interval is more effective than note-by-note.

[@666dorian]

This is a great idea. I wonder how it was known that it was Horowitz given he didn’t teach any beginners?

[@danielharris9403]

@@666dorian I was told that this came out of the Kyiv Conservatory, where Horowitz attended -- I wouldn't know any more than that.

[@666dorian]

@@danielharris9403 Ah ok. I did my undergraduate with a student of Regina Horowitz, who was intent on passing on all modes of practice she believed helped her brother. I never came across the SR exercise you mention, but happy you have as it's a great idea! Thanks for sharing!

[@kitchu4557]

did you mean to transpose the whole music half step up/down? Thanks~

[@danielharris9403]

@@kitchu4557 Yes, play as written and then transpose up/down. After transposing by a semitone, you can take it through every key if you want to (I particularly like doing this with certain passages to build improvisational vocabulary). As it grows easier, with the shapes and intervals becoming more familiar, you'll eventually be able to transpose and sight-read at the same time.

[@Jacek--Lebioda]

One of the big mistakes a lot of people do is trying to sight-read complicated pieces, way above their level of sight-reading. It doesn't matter that they could play some complicated repertoire. Always start with easy pieces, and only then move to more complicated.

[@Deanguilberry]

If you position your head with a slight tilt toward the keyboard you can look at your hands without moving your head. It's much easier to get your eyes back to the same place in the score if you're only moving your eyes. Try this if you're a looker like me. It changed my reading immensely. And, of course, you should practice without looking.

[@gileskennedy]

👌Great to see this mentioned, sight reading is not magic

[@chrissansum]

Avoid looking at the keyboard as much as possible - focus on the score. Learn about harmony so you can recognise chord shapes. Lots of scales and arpeggios to get the fingers moving the right way. Regularly learn pieces in detail, and in contrasting styles. Slow practice. Regular sight reading. Play with other people so you get used to not moving out of the pulse of the music. Don’t play too fast. Learn to use long notes to scan ahead and get the brain and fingers ready for the next bit. Don’t feel obliged to hold every note down for it’s written value - particularly if there is a hand shift involved shorten the previous note (or pedal it) and move the hand early. Often at the end of a phrase it will sound better to shorten it - good articulation will breathe life into a performance. Probably obvious but perhaps not to a beginner who will try to make every minim (half note) last exactly two beats and then do the jump instantaneously, impossible, and resulting in interrupting the pulse of the music. And keeping the pulse can be even more important than getting the notes right! As a beginner don’t memorise everything - learn to read and focus on the notation first. Memorising can come much later, when you are proficient at reading the notes. Try to do a bit of analysis each time you work on a piece.

[@jessicasheehan2292]

One of my superhero powers is my sight-readings skills. But, I find this superhero power to be a curse for solo piano because it puts me at a major disadvantage for performing music from memory. And before anyone comments about how there are all these strategies for memorization mastery... I know. I can break down a score in multiple ways, analyze the tonal center and modulations that occur, have consistent fingerings that are organic to the passages, and even sing all the voices to you from memory. I can write the notes out on manuscript paper from memory. But, every time I've performed without a score, it has always felt less secure. Put the score in front of me and there's no problem. This could be due to the way my brain processes things due to ADHD. Who knows? But this is why I tend to gravitate toward chamber music where you don't have to deal with performing from memory all the time. I can quickly pick up new music and makes changes without having to practice it over and over. But, I find the expectation of performing solo rep only from memory super limiting and anxiety provoking.

[@Rickettsia505]

I'm a good sightreader, and really love chamber music, too.

[@ciararespect4296]

​@@Rickettsia505same

[@tdijon7]

I’m the same way. I perform almost exclusively with choirs, vocalists, instrumentalists or smaller combos and always with music. I haven’t memorized a piece since I was in high school.

[@ciararespect4296]

@@jessicasheehan2292 that's a shame. I sight read all chamber music but perform most pieces solo from memory

[@MegaDanimal87]

I love to listen to the music that I am sightreading before I play it. Not sure if it's cheating but it help connects the dots between what I'm seeing, what my hands are doing, and what it "should" sound like (what my ears are doing)

[@Joseph-mv3rz]

Organists have it so bad it’s probably their easiest skill. Transposition is crazy difficult

[@ssmith9745]

This video seems to address "sight-reading" as what solo pianists do when playing through a piece they haven't learned -- something I'm not convinced is necessary (especially now that recordings are easily available for so much repertoire) or useful. REAL sight-reading is what accompanists have to do -- are paid to do, in fact -- all the time in the "real world" -- frequently in public, and sometimes in high-stakes environments! When accompanying vocal auditions, for example, a different singer will walk in every 10 minutes or so and put a piece of music in front of you that you may never have seen or even heard before. Your job is to perform it immediately, at whatever tempo the singer wishes, and in a way that assists -- and if possible, enhances -- the singer's performance!

[@tdijon7]

Yes. The pianists who can do this well are some of the most important people in musical theater and opera. It’s an IMMENSELY valuable skill set.

[@lasnadas]

Love music above all

[@nevetsny1]

Finally went through a couple of online theory courses. Learned relative pitch via apps and actual music. Tried transcribing simple pieces. And am always checking out music theory books and apps. Will read 5-10 bars of random pieces as often as I can and reading pop, jazz, gospel helped seeing chords you don’t usually see in classical. The theory courses helped so much with intervals, chord progressions, Roman numeral analysis. I am thinking need to read more unfamiliar pieces more often to read faster.

[@nevetsny1]

Also my teacher said to me, how aggressive are you at sight reading? Thought that was a weird question and just relied more on instinct lately like taking guesses that looks like a seventh. A diminished. Pushing the envelope reading ahead. And I think I understand what he was hinting at should get back to him on that.

[@justintran3265]

Sight reading is more difficult if no one teaches you to build strength in those fingers, which was my case. Finally, I had the right teacher who developed them and I was not frustrated anymore

[@amandawagner916]

My strategy for sightreading? Crying 😂 Jokes aside, this was a great video. Lots of excellent tips!!

[@danielliang9266]

Dominic Cheli's point hit too close to home. I always unintentionally make a face (or even a grunt) when I make more noticeable mistakes and sometimes "cant bring myself to go on" in my practice sessions. The result of this? I suffer greatly when trying to perform through my exam pieces one after the other without stopping, and in a performance everyone knows when I mess up. I guess it's time to try and fix this, as well as improve at one of my worst skills at the same time.

[@chrissosmusic]

Sightreading factory!!

[@luisfernandotapia451]

11:50 That's the deal. Learn harmony and practice it at the piano 😊

[@arryaxx263]

Sight reading takes longer than just flat out memorizing a piece for me. Very glad I'll never have to perform a piece sight unseen.

[@velcroman11]

Reading a musical score is absolutely no difference that learning to read a language. It take time to learn to read a language. Don’t expect learning to sight read will happen with the click of your fingers. You started reading a language with “the sat on a mat”. Sight reading music is no difference.

[@tonebasePiano]

I totally agree. And I would also add that one of the scariest things about learning a new language is the amount of time you have to spend trying and failing to say things correctly. It is humbling, but an essential part of the process. -Robert

[@Diatonic1958]

I agree up to a point but bear in mind that, unless you are playing a monophonic instrument, you have to read both horizontally and vertically at the same time. This is certainly true with all keyboard instruments and if, say, you play for a choir, you might on occasion be reading all the parts at once. I think this sets sight-reading apart from reading text.

[@Ken-rb7gq]

I started learning the piano in my late 30's and the 2 times I had exams for scales, I looked at the keys and my mind went blank, it was a G# harmonic minor and melodic minor scales and I had to start from "C" and count up till G# so I knew what note to start on .. And then I could "see" the scale...

[@ChopinIsMyBestFriend]

What is scarier? Being told read the music and play it now. Or improvise music? Depends on how much you practice each one. That is the answer.

[@LearnCompositionOnline]

I saw an entrance exam for a teacher of harmony at Mozarteum, he read a slow movement of a Schubert symphony . fun fact: to pass the final exam i had to play a fast symphonic movement of Schumann...

[@ddgyt50]

If you want to become a good sight reader, play chamber music or work with singers. I don't mean learn your part then get together; I mean read it cold with your collaborator(s).

[@janicewolk6492]

I started at age 5, and at that age it is natural. I really can't envisage how difficult it would be to start as an adult. Re wrong note: you keep going and blend it into the music. Also pedaling techniques can erase it on occasion.

[@messiahh]

With lifetime access, can you watch all previous (and future) streams and courses?

[@SaccoBelmonte]

Professional composer here: I always hated it (when it comes to a Piano piece). Some people are good, I'm not. I cannot read ahead as my fingers move. Things like dynamics and time/key changes I can't register fast enough.

[@marcfink5712]

I‘m good at it. I used to be bad 15 years ago, then I practiced sight reading almost daily for 10 years. That‘s it, no big secret, just effort.

[@JosephWeidinger]

B-Roll and audio of Hamelin but not him speaking?? Would love to hear him talk about reading.

[@agakhansabzaly]

Richter read without mistakes, and as if it was impossible to play better.

[@clhanon31415]

"I learned Tchaikovsky concerto when I was ... 23, so it was relatively late" nice humble brag

[@robertsilver8924]

I've noticed no one mentions solfege in this video. There are books that teach sight reading. Can the artists mention at least one?

[@kitchu4557]

Would you mind sharing more of your thought about solfege? I am used to moveable do, but that doesn't help sight reading.

[@tdijon7]

The real test of one’s sight reading facility is to accompany vocalists for auditions. You have to play many pieces in varying styles, immediately. There’s no time to look through the music at all.

[@IMN564]

❤

[@pianoprovisation2213]

🎯 Key points for quick navigation: 00:00 *Sight reading at the piano is a skill that can be practiced, even if it feels daunting at first.* 00:31 *There's a misconception that sight reading is an innate skill, but it can be developed with practice.* 01:01 *Thinking deeply about your approach to a new piece can significantly impact your learning process.* 02:27 *Pianists can be broadly categorized as lookers or readers, which affects their sight reading ability.* 02:56 *Training yourself not to look at your hands improves sight reading skills.* 03:23 *Familiarity with intervals by touch is key to effective sight reading.* 04:18 *It's crucial to train to read entire hand shapes to improve sight reading of chords.* 04:46 *Playing through mistakes without reacting can improve sight reading and performance resilience.* 06:13 *Start with small sections when learning, creating familiarity before moving on.* 08:06 *Avoiding repetition from the start prevents only the beginning of pieces from being overly familiar.* 09:05 *Pattern recognition is a critical element for successful sight reading.* 10:58 *Treat sight reading like an actor reading a script, focusing on the overall piece before details.* 12:36 *Listening and familiarity with music can positively influence sight reading proficiency.* 13:06 *Your auditory memory plays a vital role in improving the sight reading experience.* Made with HARPA AI

[@V081WLBlue]

4:46 Are you Hapo Marx's grandson! lol

[@edgarperez8949]

Knowing theory and harmony is essential, understand chord progressions, memorizing not only intervals, but the chords in all their inversions, memorize scales and arpeggios, work your way up from popular method books like Faber, which also teach theory, working on a ton of pieces at one level before moving on to the next.. learn to read an entire hymnbook, starting with one hymn every couple weeks or so (church pianists/organists are the best sight readers), that might take a few years.. then start working on intermediate classical pieces, do a ton of those too.. then move on to large collections of late intermediate pieces such as Mendelssohn's Songs without words.. this is the standard for classical pianists.. it's never really "sight reading".. you work on so many pieces that when you see a new one you can recognize the patterns that you have played a thousand times before..

[@HUGEFLYINGWHALE]

Though it would make sense, it is obvious that understanding theory and harmony is not essential to sight reading. Many including some of my friends became damn good sight readers as teens while knowing almost nothing about music theory

[@edgarperez8949]

Theory is very important for sight reading, starting from being able to identify the notes instantly, as opposed to counting, you need it for example to know which key the piece you are reading is in, how many flats or sharps it has, you have to know the scales for example, so that your fingers automatically know where to move, you have to know the chords so that you don't have to read note by note, rather you chunk everything into chords.. theory is not so important for performing, but when it comes to sight reading it is essential

[@HUGEFLYINGWHALE]

@@edgarperez8949 Hmm how do some good readers have shit theory then?

[@edgarperez8949]

@@HUGEFLYINGWHALE I think they would have basic theory at least I guess..

[@Northseapirate44]

Reading music is the biggest problem in learning piano

[@Greg-kz8ts]

I'm starting to like this guy. I think I'll refer to him as Robert instead of "this guy" from now on.

[@TheSonsofHorusx]

8:07 damn cough artists

[@Norman68623]

👍

[@radoslavdragnev8797]

6:07 You don't want to be playing hands seperately? That's completely wrong LOL. Focusing on a one hand especially on extremely technical sections is a must for advanced pieces. I don't care if this lady is a certified instructor this advice is BS.. Also 11:42 Create chaos and play a bunch of wrong notes? Well that might be helpful for a piece that you have never heard before and to get an understanding of the structure and feeling more rather than focusing on the particular accuracy of notes. But if the piece is well known, has a recording you can actually hear never go for chaotic rush with mistakes this only creates muscle chaotic memory that you later have to repair with double the effort. Go for 100% accuracy if there is a recording or at least some way of hearing the piece prior to trying it.

[@jawshua100]

Give up in SR....probably going to take me 10 to 20 yra

[@kathleencook3060]

Well of course you have to learn Sight Reading: Tip. When starting to learn Piano: Get a Teacher!!!

[@LogioTek]

Don't kid yourself. The most frightening pianist skill is Improv, bro.

[@tonebasePiano]

Definitely a topic for an upcoming video!

[@johnnysun6166]

Wear two watches, you play better.

[@IsacksonStudio]

I’ve just finished my first draft of my new SIGHT READING BOOK! I’d love to get some beginner pianists to try it out and give some feedback! I think it’s going to be the best book series for sight reading ever! Message me if you’re interested!

[@alvodin6197]

but you don't have to. Who are all these people who can sightread Hungarian rhapsodies and Ballades and Piano sonatas? It's a my "&*%* is bigger than yours non sense., Unless you really needi t for some job, it shouldnt be considered some holy grail of piano playing.