"How to Become a Better Sight-Reader!"
If you are like most people, your performance of a piece of music "at first sight" could probably stand some improvement.
Oh, to be able to breeze through a brand new piece without all the stops and starts! What you may not realize is that sight-reading is an art in itself, separate and apart from pianistic ability.
Many convervatory musicians, even many soloist, are not the great sigt-readers you might expect. Sight-reading is a special craft within the art of music that won't come automatically. You must work at it just as you work at technique, or interpretation. You could have the technique of a Horowitz on the keyboard, or a Segovia on the guitar, but still be a laughable sight-reader.
There are many tricks to the sight-reading game, no matter which instrument you play. If these tricks can be used properly, and with regularity, two things will happen:
1) your sight-reading improves, of course, and 2) your over-all technique automatically improves. And if you regiment yourself to a daily sight-reading program, even just fifteen minutes' worth, your entire outlook on your instrument will change drastically in a matter of days!
If you practice scales, for example, you only improve your ability in playing scales. Nothing more. However, with sight reading practice, you improve your scale playing technique, your octave technique, your arpeggio technique, because you are using actual pieces which can encompass all of these techniques and more.
Oh, to be able to breeze through a brand new piece without all the stops and starts! What you may not realize is that sight-reading is an art in itself, separate and apart from pianistic ability.
Many convervatory musicians, even many soloist, are not the great sigt-readers you might expect. Sight-reading is a special craft within the art of music that won't come automatically. You must work at it just as you work at technique, or interpretation. You could have the technique of a Horowitz on the keyboard, or a Segovia on the guitar, but still be a laughable sight-reader.
There are many tricks to the sight-reading game, no matter which instrument you play. If these tricks can be used properly, and with regularity, two things will happen:
1) your sight-reading improves, of course, and 2) your over-all technique automatically improves. And if you regiment yourself to a daily sight-reading program, even just fifteen minutes' worth, your entire outlook on your instrument will change drastically in a matter of days!
If you practice scales, for example, you only improve your ability in playing scales. Nothing more. However, with sight reading practice, you improve your scale playing technique, your octave technique, your arpeggio technique, because you are using actual pieces which can encompass all of these techniques and more.
posted by Ron Worthy at
2:41 PM
