PPP268: Christopher Oill shares the value of sight reading

What is a good definition of sight-reading?

A textbook definition would be the ability to read a piece of sheet music on the spot and to be able to play it as you’re reading it. Another aspect of sight-reading is the ability to use your eyes to track the music on the page while your hands find the notes without having to look at them.

Just as you want your child to be able to read a book off a shelf, they need to be able to read music by sight.

Why is this such an important skill for musicians?

The ability to sight-read gives you the opportunity to pull out random sheet music and play for fun and to entertain your friends at parties.

Professionally, the ability to sight-read affords you the opportunity to play with other musicians on the spur-of-the-moment, to accompany vocalists and instrumentalists, and offer a wider variety of skills.

Share your experience sight-reading as a student and I’ll share a bit of mine.

Though Chris had a strong foundation in music theory and understood how sheet music worked, sight-reading was always treated as a supplemental exercise. The focus was more on mastering the next hardest piece. Sight-reading was used more like an assessment under pressure than something to be enjoyed.

In contrast, I (Shelly) feel like I am glued to the page, and to play something off the music used to terrify me. I am grateful for my experience playing for church as a student which taught me to keep going and play through mistakes because the congregation isn’t going to stop and wait for me.

How do you think students who are weak in sight-reading compensate in other areas?

Chris memorized. I’ve had students who memorized and others who preferred to play by ear to avoid sight-reading. I prefered to play only what the music told me to.

We all tend to do what is easier. If a student has great listening skills, they might prefer to play by ear rather than to slow down to read the music. If a student is a strong reader, they may be intimidated to try to improvise or play their own music. Balance is key.

Why do you think some students struggle with sight-reading?

Some students might believe sight-reading is something you either have or don’t have. They have a fixed mindset and don’t think their reading can improve with attention and practice.

Some students might not see the value or need to improve their sight-reading. If they depend on their strengths, they can compensate for weak reading skills – up to a point.

If a child is not sure of piano geography, they will not be able to read music fluently. It’s impossible to look at the music and your hands at the same time and going back and forth from the music to the piano is too much work for your brain and your eyes.

Tell us about your personal journey to build your sight-reading skills.

Chris says a few years ago he came to a place where he knew he needed to improve his ability to sight-read. Having enough bad experiences made him want to improve, both for his own ability and to be able to help his students.

Chris determined to sit at the piano and read music. As he struggled with reading, he took notes on what he was noticing. Where was his attention? How was his body moving? What were his eyes focusing on?

I struggled with sight-reading and taught myself to get better, taking notes on what really helped. I’d like to discuss these tips!

Chris compiled his notes into a blog post that you can read here.

Let’s highlight a few of Chris’ sight reading tips.

Make it fun: THE most important tip is you have to read for fun.

I have a lending library of music for my students. Since we are in the Christmas season, I give them Christmas books to read. My thought is to give them music that is a level or two below their current skill level. Chris recommended (and I think I’ll give it a try) to give them music that is slightly more difficult. If a student is motivated to play a piece of music, they will learn so much going through the process of trying to read it.

Look up: keep your eyes focused on the sheet music. Avoid the temptation to look down at your hands. If you look down at your hands and try to look back at your music, you have likely lost your place. Finding your place in the music slows down your playing even more.

(Piano Parent Pro Tip – use a kitchen towel to cover your piano kid’s hands while they are playing to help them learn to trust their brain and fingers to find the correct piano keys.)

Isolate: give attention to different components of the music. Reading music is a very complex activity. Focusing on one element at a time will help with processing and fluency.

1. Find the pitches on the piano without worrying about rhythm.

2. Close the piano fallboard and play the rhythm on a steady pulse without trying to find the correct piano keys.

3. Study a small section. If the same mistake keeps happening in the same place, isolate that small part and figure out what the problem is.

(Piano Parent Pro Tip – when your piano kid is frustrated working on a piece of music, isolating one aspect can help them feel less overwhelmed.)

Track your music: use one hand to point to each note while the other hand plays the notes. Tracking your music helps you maintain your focus on the task at hand. Sometimes when we play the piano our minds wander and we zone out, For very young piano kids, parents can help track the music just like you would track words on the page in a book they are reading.

(Piano Parent Pro Tip – watch your piano kid’s eyes to see if they are tracking the music. You can also determine if they are squinting and having trouble seeing the music.)

Improvise: trust your ears and your fingers. You don’t have to play every note on the page and you certainly don’t have to play them perfectly. The ability to improvise or edit on the fly will help you maintain a steady pulse and keep going without feeling the need to stop and perfect each note.

Blast through recklessly: be comfortable with the idea of letting go of mistakes. The point of sight-reading, in addition to being fun, is to keep going. Don’t stop to fix anything, just keep going.

Make your own tip list: be present in your own practicing and notice where you tend to stall out on reding music. Rather than getting frustrated with mistakes, be curious about them. Why did my fingers decide to do that? Why are my eyes missing that accidental?