Q&A for How to Practice Sight Reading Piano Music

You can get better by practicing and making sure you have a teacher who is helpful and holds you accountable.

You can practice your sight reading by making sure you are fluent in both treble and bass clefs and then by simply reading simple songs or pieces until those feel relatively comfortable before moving on to more difficult ones.

To sight read is to read and play by sight without having seen the music before.

It's never too late to become better. Sight reading is a skill that can be improved, regardless of age.

Your sheet. Try not to look at your hands that much, only if needed. It's a good habit to start when you first begin to play the piano.

Practice more and challenge yourself as you learn. It's important not to compare yourself to others as well.

Start with just one note in each hand, then build to two notes in one hand, two notes in each hand etc. As with learning the piano itself, it takes practice, and time. Learning the theory of harmony can also help, as you can anticipate the likely notes, then reading becomes either confirmation, or noticing the differences from what is expected.

Learn more challenging songs the same way you learned basic ones. It will take more practice, and quite possibly a slower tempo, but eventually it will be just as easy.

A tone is two semitones. If you picture the notes C, C# and D on the piano, you have two white keys with a black key in between. if you move from C to C#, then you have moved a semitone, and if you move from C# to D, then you have also moved a semitone. If you move from C to D, then you have moved a tone, which is two semitones.

If you mean your graded music exam then yes, sight reading is one of the four skills tested (three practised pieces, scales, aural and sight reading).

This depends on whether there is an octave sign above the notes to indicate this. It also depends on whether the octave sign is pointing upwards or downwards at the end of the long broken lines. At the end of the octave line (usually broken or indicated by 8va for one octave and 15 for two octaves) is where the instruction to play an octave higher or lower ends. After this, you must go back to where you were originally playing. Sometimes the word loco is used to mean one should return to the original playing position as the notes require.

It is a bit difficult to play the guitar using a keyboard as there are totally different techniques for both. Just using the piano to help you tune your guitar and maybe identify notes and chords is all the help you could expect. Conversely, using a guitar to help play a keyboard is more useless.

Once you've learned both hands and can fluidly play each, you should be able to start playing them both together.

Just keep practicing. You could make flashcards for hard-to-read chords.

The black notes are the sharps and flats (the in between notes). The three black notes next to each other are F sharp (G flat), G sharp (A flat), and A sharp (B flat). The two black notes next to each other are C sharp (D flat) and D sharp (E flat).

As cliche as it sounds, practice is what you need. Whenever I practice a difficult song, I make it a habit to practice the melody with my right hand first and then the left hand. Once each has become well-rehearsed and fluid, I put them together at a slow tempo and slowly build up speed as I get better. Just take your time and be patient with it!

It is usually the ornaments and musical directions (coda, etc.). It can also be the chords of the note, usually for guitar.

Indeed, you can. For instruments like the piano, the treble clef and the bass clef form the grand clef, which you should play together. It is made so sight reading for both hands is easier, and they are meant to be played at the same time.

The stave has the clef depicted upon it. If it is the treble clef, the C that is on the first leger line below the staff corresponds to middle C on the piano. If it is the bass clef, the C that is on the first leger line above the staff corresponds to middle C on the piano.

Tell him that if he doesn't read the music he won't be able to play. If that doesn't work, tell him that you will take away the piano and get a refund if he keeps refusing to read the music.