The Sight Reading Progress Thread

WieWaldi · 2024-06-25T02:17:55+00:00

This is a collection of recommendations found in this forum, to have it all in one place: Books (paper / digital) WieWaldi Sight-Reading & Harmony (Comp...

Sophia

Lol right on, my girl!

WieWaldi

Okay, my next take.

The first attempt was a disaster, the second one a bit better.
Twelve days of practice and still feeling like a toddler. 🤷

Sophia

Actually, I'm impressed... Even my Alfred book hasn't introduced three flats yet - though it's only two pieces away now. And we're talking the last part of the second book... not really "super beginner's" stuff any longer. I was mentally reading along with you and I don't think I could have played that as "well" as you did.

WieWaldi

Sophia Thank you very much. The problem is that my sight-reading book is going forward too quickly. I started with grade 2, and now I am at grade 3 (last third of book). I can only repeat the easier stuff again and again. Or going forward. The problem about repeating: it isn't sight-reading anymore if you repeat it too often.
Maybe I should get some more books at the easier grade.

Anyway, I am done with sight-reading for today. There is a lot of blues to discover. I am done with the first half of the first lesson of the easy course. And it is more fun than sight-reading, tbh.

Edit: You proposed this John Thompson's EASIEST PIANO COURSE. (I like it if the title says "easy"). I guess I will print and bind it now. Thank you for the link 💖

Edit 2 (15 minutes later 🕒):

Looks weird with landscape binding but it is what it is. And it sits niceky on the music rest.

Sophia

Haha those are the one I just recorded! I'm trying it with a tablet... which is a new experience for me but seemed to work well. I think because of the landscape format!

Off topic to this thread:

I started lesson 5 of the blues course today. I'm liking the sixths! Weirdly enough I assumed that was some grueling rhythm to learn, but it turns out it's just keeping your hands so far apart and bong bong bong, away you go. 😃! Yeah, I'll continue this conversation in the blues thread but you mentioned it first 😃<

WieWaldi

Sophia This is really nice sheet music for sight-reading. Especially the 2nd half of the book was really nice to play. I guess I will do it again and rely on my sieve brain to not remember anything.

Sophia

WieWaldi Especially the 2nd half of the book was really nice to play.

Wow, good for you!!!! I haven't even proceeded to the next piece yet ^_^ But then again I never promised to sight-read DAILY, lol. I'm sure glad I made a start with it though and I look forward to proceed in the book even more now!

thepianoplayer416

I can read through beginner pieces with few mistakes.

Referring to the example above, looks like it’s coming from a more advance piece but an “intermediate” learner like myself can learn it. Reading the first time NO but after a repeats isn’t too bad. Here the LH plays repeated C-chord with the octave note on top which isn’t too bad. The RH plays 2 lines together can throw some people off. I’d learn when notes come in and which ones need to hold longer whiles others are playing. Having some suggested fingerings is helpful.

Playing is not only reading notes but getting through awkward fingerings. Beginner pieces the LH & RH parts tend to be more predictable & simpler. The fingerprints are straightforward.

I’m sure some can read advance pieces the first time with very few mistakes.

Player1

@BartK

You've done this as part of your exams haven't you? Can you tell us what goes on, how long the performance piece is, is it similar to what's been posted here? Etc.

BartK

Player1 @BartK

You've done this as part of your exams haven't you? Can you tell us what goes on, how long the performance piece is, is it similar to what's been posted here? Etc.

No, I never did any exams. I'm terrible at taking exams and don't want the stress.

This is from the RCM Four Star Sight Reading book, level 10. They have these rhythm exercises that you have to tap while keeping a steady beat. I tap along the metronome and once I got the rhythm then I play the actual notes.

Pallas

I've been thinking about recording daily, but I already have a data storage and file management issue. Creating video files every day isn't going to happen. But I'm sight-reading a page every day, and the John Thompson books are very helpful.

I found another one from John Thompson called the Hanon Studies, that help with both sight-reading and the gestures that help make Hanon easier and not terrible on the tendons! I only have an ancient yellowed paper copy that's falling apart that I found in an ancient bargain bin or I would share it!

Thanks, Sophia for sharing the supplementary Thomson PDF. I like it a lot.

BartK

Pallas I've been thinking about recording daily, but I already have a data storage and file management issue. Creating video files every day isn't going to happen.

You can upload to YouTube and then delete the local file.

Player1

BartK
Oh, sorry. I thought you had done all your exams up to certificate level. My bad.

I'm still wondering what happens during an exam when the sight reading part is given and how it compares to the efforts here.

Pallas

BartK Thank you for the idea. I didn't even think of deleting the local copy. I'm a control freak!

candela

ranjit Yes, that definitely increases the difficulty. It's a a bit like meter changes. When they grade the difficulty of band pieces, I know one of the criteria is whether there are any meter changes. They'll take a while for most players to get comfortable with.

candela

Pallas I'm in the stage "conscious incompetence," which is an essential stage for learning stuff!

I doubt I'll ever grow out of this stage. There are so many aspects I can hear that I need to work on. A lifetime does not seem enough! But that's ok. I like learning.

Pallas

candela I feel exactly the same. I'm going to be consciously incompetent forever. But that's ok! I'm enjoying the practice, and that's what counts for me.

ranjit

This is actually not that hard since it's in C major (and because I've heard it plenty of times before!). But it could have been a lot better.

WieWaldi

ranjit But it could have been a lot better.

And it could have been a lot worse, too. There were still some notes with accidentals, the piece was quite fast and your tempo wasn't bad at all. Keep on progressing.

Edit: how many different grands to you have?

rogerch

I recorded myself sight reading today. Watching the playback is painful! Wrong notes, hesitations, and wrong rhythms abound. I have a long way to go!

Here is me sight-reading "The Trolley Song" from The Giant Book of Standards arranged by Dan Coates. Hopefully it's less painful for you to watch than it is for me (we are our own worst critics...)

WieWaldi

rogerch Actually I liked listening to it. But you must admit, you cheated! There was a repeating section in your piece. Then it's not sight-reading anymore. 😂
Joking aside: it was nice to listen and fun watching. Especially you bending over to the right side to get a look into the score.

Sophia

We're sooo brave... normally everyone just shares their "best take and we're not telling anyone that it was the 100th try in 3 weeks and a fluke that it went well at last" and here we are, appearing in unflattering housecoat, uncombed hair and no makeup on our face. You have my undying devotion and appreciation!

Seriously, seeing others (especially experienced players such as yourself and ranjit) struggle a little makes me feel so much better about my own attempts!

Thank you!

Pallas

Sophia we're not telling anyone that it was the 100th try in 3 weeks

Wait. I thought that was implied. Let me make this official: all of my performance videos are the 111th try over a period of weeks. There. Honesty! (And I actually don't care who knows it either!)

rogerch

Sophia Seriously, seeing others (especially experienced players such as yourself and ranjit) struggle a little makes me feel so much better about my own attempts!

I'm glad some good came of posting that video!

For me learning a piece is always a struggle. I've been working on my fast piece recital pieces for almost two months now and a lot of it is repeating some very small snippet over and over again at various speeds until I can get it right 5 times in a row. That would be even more painful to watch than the sight reading!

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