Questions tagged [sight-reading]
Playing or singing a piece directly from sheet music, without prior rehearsing or studying.
179
questions
0
votes
1answer
30 views
While reading Sheet music, Shall I read with respect to relative intervals or with respect to the names of lines and spaces? [duplicate]
I'm a beginner in reading sheet music. I want to know the better way to read. Shall I read with respect to the relative interval of Current note from previous note? Or Shall I remember the line and ...
0
votes
1answer
58 views
How do you play this notation [duplicate]
I am studying to play a piece and it has this:
How do I play the eighth notes with the whole numbers? What does that mean?
8
votes
3answers
984 views
Sight reading piano - How far ahead do you look?
When you are sight-reading, how far ahead in the music do you look?
Do you somehow look at the treble clef and bass clef at the same time? Or, do you even have to think about it at all? Perhaps, it's ...
25
votes
9answers
6k views
Why don’t piano teachers teach the chord method of playing to young children and adults?
I have been playing piano since I was 10 and now I am 43. I have never really been good at sight reading sheet music. I have recently been researching alternative methods of learning songs fast as ...
8
votes
5answers
210 views
Plateau while learning piano sight-reading
As a 12 year old I had piano lessons for several months until the teacher retired due to ill health and I never kept going with lessons (which I've regretted ever since). On the plus side I've always ...
0
votes
2answers
118 views
How do you "think of" notes in groups which consist of a sequence of repeating notes which are in separate beams?
The title sounds awkward (please feel free to modify it); what I mean is: When you see the bars such as Bar 40 below (similarly Bar 37), do you think of it as DDD AAA FFF DDD (orange marking, grouped ...
2
votes
2answers
83 views
Have I sight read these IΔ7 hymn chords properly?
After sight reading The Scottish Hymnal I am now sight reading The Revivalist and played this one today...
...I ran into a bunch of surprises and I just want to check that I've identified things ...
9
votes
3answers
954 views
Should I do the repeat sign when there is a fine
I stumbled upon this piece, Lágrima by Francisco Tárrega, and I would like to know if I should do the repetition sign when doing da capo al fine or just end the piece.
6
votes
3answers
606 views
How Do I Know Which Piano Hand Position in the Following Exercise?
In the book "300 Progressive Sight Reading Exercises for Piano", we're taught to put our right thumb on "middle C" and the left pinky finger on "lower C". But exercise #...
0
votes
1answer
246 views
Do we unconsciously favour one eye when we sight-read?
If you were to make a musician wear an eye patch over one of their eyes as they sight-read a piece for the very first time, would you expect their accuracy to be different depending on which eye was ...
3
votes
3answers
205 views
How to self teach myself sheet music reading (for piano)?
I am a self taught pianist, I play mainly by ear and I look for tutorials or synthesia on YouTube. However, sometimes some pieces do not have a synthesia and are really subtle to play by ear (ex. ...
8
votes
3answers
625 views
Can a singer sing a song from its notation if he/she has not heard the song before? [duplicate]
Is it possible for a singer to sing a song just by reading its musical notation? A song which he/she has never heard before?
2
votes
2answers
171 views
What is the duration of chords shown on top of a measure
In the image, there is an A Major over the first measure. Should it be also played over the 2nd, 3rd and 4th measures even though the chord is not written on top? Until the D chord in the 5th measure?
3
votes
3answers
140 views
Piano sight-reading confusion [duplicate]
everyone. I am a beginner pianist and I am to improve my technical and sight-reading skills. I have been sight-reading Primavera - Ludovico Einaudi for the past week and I came across something odd. ...
21
votes
5answers
2k views
Notation - when to use staccato vs rests
I'm arranging a piece of music I wrote for string quartet, and I'm not sure what the most practical way of notating the following rhythm is. I'm self taught and rarely use written music, so I'm not ...
3
votes
2answers
561 views
Acquiring advanced level sight reading
Beyond the basics of sight reading that everyone talks about, what are some of the skills you need to learn to sight read advanced and complex pieces?
What are the nuances and techniques that not a ...
1
vote
1answer
119 views
How do people deduce symphonies from the sheet music?
Now being an aspiring musician, I've heard of people who can deduce entire orchestral scores and seemingly hear symphonies on the spot — like they can hear them while they are reading it.
But what ...
2
votes
0answers
60 views
How Do Guitarists Sight Read? [duplicate]
This is such a basic question but an answer to this would solve a lot of mysteries for me. Basically, how the heck do guitarists sight read?
I have experience in woodwind instruments where there is ...
3
votes
1answer
50 views
How do i keep track of the rhythm and read the note at the same time? and reading both the treble and bass clef? [closed]
I have 2 beginner questions with sub questions for (sight) reading.
The first question (this might be a rather dumb question), but i've been struggling with this for a while now.
How do I count the ...
3
votes
2answers
164 views
Exercises for 21st century piano sightreaders
There is already a large body of technical exercises for pianists based on common-practice music, such as major and minor scales and arpeggios or the books of Czerny, Hanon, etc. These exercises are ...
7
votes
5answers
2k views
How do I read bars with only one or two notes?
In this sheet there are some bars that only have one or two notes, instead of four. How do I read them? Do they last 1 unit of time as well?
In the case of the bars with only one note, does that note ...
4
votes
3answers
98 views
do singers do sight singing/improvisation?
what I mean is do singers sight-sing on the first run say on a gig, and sound relatively good, equivalent to sight-reading a piece for musicians? like in a gig, the accompanist has to play sight-...
3
votes
1answer
155 views
standard notation and the numbered notation
So I have been playing piano for 1.5 years and my biggest obstacle for learning piano is definitely to play both hand, I’m still struggling right now, maybe I improve a little bit, but still very much ...
1
vote
1answer
96 views
What is the Best Way to Learn to Sight Read Chord Symbols on Piano?
(I don't know what the proper term is for instant playing of chord symbols... is sight right correct? Anyway, here I am using the term "sight reading chord symbols" to describe the ability ...
20
votes
12answers
5k views
Should sight-reading be emphasized less for piano instruction with new developments in technology [closed]
I realize this post may be controversial. I've been playing for about eleven years. I'm somewhere at the amateur/intermediate level. When I started sheet music was the only medium available. Since ...
1
vote
1answer
139 views
Need help with reading this fragment from piano sheet
I'm a beginner in playing the piano and I came across these signs that I don't know. What do they mean and how should it be played?
Second measure, first notes for the right hand:
the three dots ...
0
votes
2answers
72 views
what are some good practices for sight reading sheet music? [duplicate]
I'm teaching my self to learn the piano, currently I've started learning sheet music. I feel as if I'm not progressing as fast as I'd want and I'm hoping to find some practices to make my sheet music ...
2
votes
4answers
154 views
How to get better at sight reading and what are the benefits of being good at it? [duplicate]
I've been practicing my sight reading for a while and was wondering if anyone had any techniques that I can use to improve at it. I'd also like to know if there are any bad habits to avoid. Also, what ...
4
votes
5answers
3k views
How do you count quarter note triplets in 4/4 time?
In 4/4 I would count 8th note triplets this way:
1-tri-plet 2-tri-plet 3-tri-plet 4-tri-plet
But in 4/4 you only get 6 quarter note triplets so how would you count this?
2
votes
5answers
276 views
Reading and playing sheet music without actually understanding the notes
I'm learning to read music. I'm at the point where I can sight-read basic tunes on the treble and bass clefs (I've almost finished Alfred's Vol. 1). However, I've noticed that my mind always wants to ...
1
vote
1answer
80 views
Is there another instrument in this piano score? How to tell when it's ambiguous in some parts? [duplicate]
This is the beginning of Mendelssohn's Song Without Words, Op. 19, No.1. Are the orange-circled parts another instrument or voice? What about the bold red-circled parts---how to tell if they belong to ...
6
votes
6answers
1k views
Sheet music reading and cognitive process? [duplicate]
I have a question about practising reading in different clefs.
I know the treble clef well. When I read a note in the bass clef, I mentally add 3 semitones to it, so I get the note name in the treble ...
14
votes
8answers
3k views
When you read sheet music do you read the notes or the intervals?
I have found myself doing both but not sure which is the right way. Sometimes I see a note then I can see the next note is a 4th above it so I play it but I actually don't know what note I just played ...
1
vote
3answers
421 views
How do people become proficient at sight-reading in keys where there is no material in those keys suitable for their sight-reading level?
On a mission to improve my piano sight-reading, I've been systematically working my way through all major and minor keys, 'living' in a given key for a few weeks before moving to the next.
Whilst ...
10
votes
11answers
5k views
What's left for musicians to learn if they can sight-read?
It seems skilled musicians can can sight-read even advanced pieces.
What's left for musicians if they can sight-read advanced pieces? It seems to me there must be something left to do - otherwise ...
4
votes
2answers
561 views
Practicing jumps in piano without looking: Is there any progressive method?
This is kind of a common question here, but one point I haven't seen addressed in detail:
While sight-reading, it is recommended to practice jumps (over an octave) without looking, which is difficult,...
2
votes
2answers
142 views
Note Reading Newbie Issue for piano
I'm new to piano and I'm working with Michael Aaron's Grade 1 piano book. I have question with respect to the following "Note Reading Tests":
Why is it that in the exercise above, they identify the ...
0
votes
3answers
81 views
Problems regarding reading music [closed]
I am self learning music(Piano) right now from various sources:
Youtube
Books (John Schaum mainly)
I am having trouble in reading sheets a few times. How would you recommend me to go about it? Any ...
0
votes
4answers
175 views
How do you interpret this in sheet music?
I am new to reading sheet music and how do you interpret this? I did not understand why is there a rest in the middle of the beamed notes. Thanks in advance.
Edit : The time signature is 6/8 and its ...
2
votes
2answers
97 views
Is there a system of writing scores where people write down the key and the scale degrees instead of black dots?
Is there a system of writing scores where people write down the key and the scale degrees instead of black dots?
edit for clarification:
What I mean is that each note in a standard diatonic key has ...
1
vote
4answers
4k views
How to sight read piano sheet faster in any key?
So I learned this trick from youtube that you can read notes relatively.
I can see that the first 2 notes in this piece is a G4, instead of figuring out what the third note is, I just press the key a ...
0
votes
4answers
427 views
Sight reading outside the piano
It is hard for me to practice lately the piano. But i really want to sight read well and keep advancing, even if it is outside of it.
Is it possible to sight read outside the piano by reading piano ...
0
votes
6answers
120 views
recipes of piano sight-play for a self-learner
Are there any recipes/shortcuts that can train a piano self-learner into being able to sight-play, at least simple pieces? How to overcome the difficulty of constantly checking the keyboard while ...
10
votes
4answers
3k views
Should I always use scale fingering when sight reading?
I'm practising sight-reading using https://sightreading.training/ which randomly generates notes for practice.
If I'm practising in the key of C Major, should I stick to C Major scale fingering/hand ...
12
votes
10answers
3k views
How do I improve in sight reading?
Preparing for my Grade 8 AMEB examination in piano but my sight reading is atrocious. For keys within the bass and treble clef staves, I can recognize and locate their positions fairly well but for ...
6
votes
3answers
1k views
How should I write this passage to make it the most readable?
Been writing something and was wondering how I should notate these measures to ensure readability.
These three ideas are floating around in my head but if anyone else has input please send it my way.
8
votes
4answers
1k views
Is the beaming of this score following a vocal practice or it is just outdated and obscuring the beat?
The source is c.1770...
https://imslp.org/wiki/Scots_Songs_for_Voice_and_Harpsichord_(Bremner%2C_Robert)
...first book.
I can see that the beaming matches the words of the vocal part. But it ...
3
votes
2answers
848 views
How to arrange a song written on piano for guitar?
I am starting to learn classical guitar, and one of my goals is to learn how to sight read standard musical notation. However, I am beginning to notice that it's hard to find guitar sheet music for a ...
10
votes
8answers
7k views
Is the purpose of sheet music to be played along to? Or a guide for learning and reference during playing?
When I'm learning new songs on piano (about to take grade 1 for an idea of where I'm at) I use the sheet music to learn what notes to play.
Once I've learnt the song, I tend to no longer be so much ...
8
votes
3answers
2k views
Should these notes be played as a chord or one after another?
A fairly basic sight reading question coming up... Are these notes (highlighted) intended to be played as a single chord or one after the other? They are so close together that they could be played as ...
