[soureel]

Willie,
I took classical piano for 6 years as a child. I have never forgotten how to look at sheet music and read the correct notes, but applying what I see to the piano is a very slow process. I can read "easy play" sheet music fairly well, but for more complicated music, I have to count most measure out loud, especially if there are dotted notes and 1/16 against 1/8 notes involved. I often have to look between my fingers and the keyboard.

Do you have suggestions for improving sight-reading skills? Is it just a matter of keeping on with it? Should I practice left and right hands separately? Should I always practice with a metronome? My strategy has been to start playing with hands together, but very slowly, and gradually build my speed. Sometimes I play with a metronome but typically not.

Any hints/tips you have would be greatly appreciated!

Lee

[sunfly]

Here is a link to a great piece of free software that i have been using for just 5 minutes a day for about three years now and it really does work to get you reading those basic notes on the staff and over time you will really see your scores improve and note recognition speed up.When i started i was the absolute beginner and this has definately helped me tremendously and once you learn your notes on the staff it keeps you alert at sight readingThanks for reading have a nice day.Steve and here is the link
http://www.jaydemusica.com/

Depending on the pace of music you are reading you might get away with not using a metronome, but it does help to keep you on track. I am still in beginner stages of learning certain areas of the piano & the metronome definitely helps at the start of a piece. I don't keep it on all the time because it is very unforgiving & annoying at times. If you have a keyboard with backing rhythm sets & tempo adjustment then that can be easier on the ear.

Learning new music is always hard for me because I am not a good reader. I am an auditory learner. Unless music is super easy I have always relied on listening to it many times in addition to reading. A challenge for me is the combination of vertical and horizontal reading.

But, I got much better at sight reading when I took piano classes at our community college. Just trying to play a lot of pieces improved.

This is what has helped me. 1) Get a book of pieces that are below your ability, easier by about 1 year. Then TRULY sight read them, meaning just start and go to the end no matter what. 2) Play the pieces MUCH slower than you want to, slowly enough to play them with as few errors in notes and rhythm as possible 3) Work on 2 or 3 pieces of music at once that are at your level...it is good to practice hands separate at speed and hands together very slowly