Are there any tips you could provide me with for learning how to read music better?

6 Comments on Are there any tips you could provide me with for learning how to read music better?

1. emo_mcr_addict says:

   August 4, 2010 at 10:42 am

   learning to read music

   Of course you need to make sure that your vision is well enough to see the sheet lines and the notes clearly.
   Practice, and make flash cards.
   Realize what note your playing when you strike a key, and make a hand position on the piano every-time you go to play in a certain key (for example, put your right thumb on middle C when you go to play on key of C, and have your left thumb 2 spaces down from your right, on G)
2. Alberich says:

   August 6, 2010 at 2:17 am

   Learn How to Read Music Notes

   I believe that the two prime factors in learning any new skill, are practice and concentration.

   What can one say about practice? It’s simply the attempt, repeated over and over, to master a technique. To obtain the best results: dedication and perseverance.

   One can best concentrate on any goal, the fewer distraction there are. When and where you practice is most important; make every possible attempt to avoid all interruptions, intrusive sounds, attending to the miscellaneous chores, details, of everyday living; and try to set a definite time for regular, daily practice.

   Good luck,

   Alberich
3. Lisa says:

   August 7, 2010 at 10:42 pm

   Learning to Read Music

   I just answered this question so I’m going to recycle my answer.

   What do you do before you sight read? Here’s what I do:

   1) I look at the beginning of the piece checking for tempo markings, stylistic directions, key signatures and time signatures. Take a look at the first and last chords of the piece to determine the key (in many pieces this will tell you or, the title will).

   2) Remind yourself of the basic chord progressions in that key, normally the I, IV, V and I.

   3) Skim through the music noting phrases, phrasing, dynamics and patterns.

   4) Take note of any accidentals throughout the sight-reading excerpt. You can finger any particular nasty looking parts.

   This should all take about a half a minute to a minute which is usually the amount of time they give you to look over a piece in auditions. Before you begin, hear the tempo and the first notes and rhythms in your head.

   The purpose of knowing the chords is so you can keep going and not stop as much. If you drop some notes, just keep going. That’s the point of sight reading. The more you practice, the better you’ll get. The more you’ll be able to memorize a measure ahead so that you can keep moving.

   I hope that’s helpful.

   ~Lisa
4. Chinese Cowboy says:

   August 9, 2010 at 11:59 pm

   Sight Reading Music

   Sight Reading – There are several ways to improve sight reading… the first is quite simple… Read music. Never look down at the keys. You have to get use to reading music and moving your hands and fingers accordingly. You can’t sight read if you can’t read music. But you’re thinking “I can read music”…. truthfully, you can’t… Let me explain. You can read music as in read the notes, rhythms, dynamics. Sure, but when you read it is either hands separate or slow. Once you learn the music and begin to memorize people tend to look at their fingers. A way to test memory. When you have the music in front of you, you are not truly reading, you are looking at it while your fingers move due to muscle memory.

   Reading music means actively telling yourself what to do. Commanding the fingers. Try it, put something in front of you and verbally tell yourself what to do. You will find it not so easy. Always be conscious about your practice. Constantly tell yourself notes, patterns, if you see scales, fingerings, countings… etc.

   Second – read piano four hands or two piano four hands music with someone who is better than you. This way you will be forced to keep up with the other person. In sight reading we tend to go slowly and slow down when things get hard. Well when you read with someone who is better than you, you will be force do read faster and react quickly to what is going on. You can’t stop… if you make a mistake, you have to learn to jump or if things get tricky, learn to reduce, leave out a hand until you can get it back in or play chords.

   Third – recognize patterns. If you see a scale in sight reading, quickly glance the rhythm, starting/ending notes, any accidentals. If it is a C scale, then you know the fingering, just keep the rhythm and then focus on the other hand. Do this will all patterns you see

   Four – Use your ear. Most of the time you can predict where the melody is going. Trust your ear. Music is about listening. Try to be proactive by listening for resolutions and predicting where the music will end up.

   Five – Reduce – drop notes, drop a hand if you have to. It is more important to keep going than to stop and correct mistakes! You are sight reading. The goal is to always move forward. Leave out challenging parts if you have to and play the other hand. For example: You may see an alberti bass using tonic and dominant triad while the R.H. is doing some crazy runs. Focus on the R.H. runs by playing a solid tonic and dominant triad. You still keep the harmonic inflections, so you lose the pattern in the left, but at least you can keep going without stopping.

   Again – practice reading! That is the most important thing. If the music is in front of you, don’t look down. When you look down it takes time to look up, find the music and then look down to find the notes. Keeping your eyes on the music will also train your hands to learn the keyboard geography. And tell yourself what you are playing. Always be conscious and direct your hands to where they have to go.
5. padfoot1001 says:

   August 13, 2010 at 9:10 am

   How to Read Music Notes

   For sightreading,
   When you get the piece follow these steps:
   1. look at the time signature (so you know how to count in your head as you play and if it’s cut time or 6/8 then you need to know that)
   2. Look at the words above the music if there are any, they will be Italian usually but will give you some idea of how to play it, like misterioso of course means mysterious. Sometimes they will have a metronome marking, try to learn how fast they mean.
   3. look at the key signature, remember all sharps and flats.
   4. Look at the music itself. Look for accidentals, articulation, fast parts/sixteenth notes, hard rythms and otherwise hard parts.

   So, accidentals, articulation, fast parts, rythms, tempo, time, key, style. If you want to make up a sentence out of the first letters of each word to help you remember, you can try.
6. aznpride78327 says:

   August 15, 2010 at 8:12 am

   Learning to Read Music

   I’ve noticed that sight-reading just takes time. When you’re playing a piece, watch the notes as you play it. Make your eyes follow along with your fingers as you play. Even if you memorized the song, look at the sheet music. This will help you better recognize notes and chords. And after a while, it’ll get easier.

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