It’s audition season at my university and, if this year is like previous ones, very few of the applicants will be strong sight-readers.
Without question, it’s challenging for most teachers to regularly incorporate sight-reading during lessons, what with technical studies, theory, musicianship, and repertoire—let alone harmonization, transposition, improvisation and other keyboard skills. But since one of the most important things a teacher can do is to guide her students toward, in effect, becoming their own teachers, I am convinced that sight-reading is a vital skill that can facilitate—or even liberate—other aspects of music-making at the piano.
One pre-college teaching paradigm favors having students study three or four pieces over an entire academic year, usually in preparation for a competition and/or a recital. The study of ‘the music’ is stressed, and the student’s repertoire may become considerably more refined over the course of many months. Certainly, I have heard students present fine performances after following this routine. Others, however, do not respond as well to working in this manner.
In either case, this way of teaching does not encourage sight-reading. Without this skill, the student can rely too heavily on the teacher for musical ideas. This dependence can make it difficult for the student to become self-reliant, reticent to approach new music or to experiment and venture into unfamiliar territory.
This is where sight-reading assessment relates to the upcoming auditions at my school. It’s common for my colleagues and me to hear potential in an applicant’s playing and then to observe the same applicant stumble through an unfamiliar piece of music. Sometimes we take a chance on the student who sight-reads poorly and sometimes we don’t. Although anyone can improve, our experience has shown that students without this skill struggle to learn music at an acceptable pace. This, in turn, hinders musical and technical development.
Most pre-college piano students do not have vocational designs and will pursue other, non-music fields. But all students benefit from including sight-reading into their daily practice.
An approach I’ve found to be effective features three ways of working with piano music: blocking, earnest study (that may or may not be leading toward a performance) and sight-reading.
Blocking: Using unfamiliar repertoire that is not difficult–but too hard to sight-read easily—pianists may ‘block’ a piece or a section of a larger work by reading more deliberately, analyzing the harmonic and formal structure, planning effective fingering, and choreographing efficient technical gestures, to familiarize themselves with new music. For beginning and intermediate students, the pieces may be only one to two pages long. Advanced players may expand their knowledge of repertoire by budgeting more time to blocking every day—as opposed to the common practice of playing only those pieces that are being studied with a teacher, or those that are scheduled for performance.
Earnest Study: This is a more detail-oriented activity, where many pianists spend most of their practice time. Depending on what individuals find most stimulating, serious study may involve isolating technical problems, singing parts, stimulating the imagination through extramusical means, and innumerable other practice techniques to improve one’s playing. (For those with performance goals, I differentiate a fourth category, “Refining Toward Performance.” This is an extension of “Earnest Study,” but recognizes the additional effort required to bring repertoire to the highest-possible level. Usually, this involves memorization, as well as physical, emotional, and psychological demands that exceed those required for “earnest study.”)
Sight Reading: Determine your or your student’s ‘level‘ by finding music that is a stretch to play well the first time*. After a quick review of the score (meter, key, expressive markings, articulation, accidentals, registration, etc.) start by playing just one short example or a one-page piece all the way through, without stopping. For this exercise, it’s important to keep going forward, no matter what happens. I tell students to imagine that they’re accompanying dancers who rely on them to keep the music flowing–that these dancers don’t care about mistakes but do not want their dancing interrupted by stops and stutters!
When a student (usually a conscientious one) ‘stammers,’ by continuing to try to fix mistakes, I have him begin again, but this time I hold a piece of paper up to his music while he plays, advancing the paper to cover up the music just played so that the student’s eyes must keep moving forward. Even if he stops to ‘fix’ a problem, I keep advancing the paper. This invariably causes some anxiety, but the point gets made quickly. Despite some discomfort, this exercise puts students into a heightened state where they become more willing to take chances.
This kind of sight-reading is one activity in piano-playing where mistakes are accepted as a necessary part of the process, and the payoff is considerable. By playing more repertoire, we and our students are presented with many more aural and kinesthetic possibilities. Gradually, pianists become more courageous and feel empowered to tackle increasingly difficult repertoire.
Every musician is on a sight-reading continuum, meaning each of us has a ‘level’ from which to improve. Incorporating sight-reading into our practice and pedagogy can yield impressive benefits and, ultimately, greater joy in music-making, for us and our students.
9 Comments
The most important way to improve sight reading is to cover the student’s hands so that their entire visual focus is always on the music. I invented a device that covers the entire keyboard while allowing the student’s hands to function. When they can’t look down and glance at the keys but focus only on the music your method of moving the paper will work fine but first – cover their hands.
Great point, Arno. I agree completely; if this element is not established (usually with a beginner) I will hold a score or magazine over the student’s hands until it is. As sight-reading progresses with more difficult repertoire, it’s possible that some pianists may integrate momentary glances at the hands (e.g., for jumps) without losing the pulse or any score details.
Playing along with a student is another way to keep them moving and get the feel of going with the rhythm instead of dwelling on the notes. Band and orchestra students have this experience all the time. It is helpful to pianists too.
Absolutely, Cheryl! Regular ensemble playing with another musician (including with the teacher, as you described) has countless benefits–and should probably be the subject of a future article. Thanks for highlighting this element in relation to reading and ‘flow’.
What a fantastic article! I especially appreciate the idea of using a sheet of paper to progressively push the student to move forward. Thank you also for the beginning and intermediate sources for teaching site reading. In my own career site reading has been THE most important skill to have.
I totally agree! Sight reading skills are absolutely necessary if a student is to grow in confidence and in the joy of making music! I sometimes use books like “I Can Read Music” to be sure regular opportunities to sight read are included at the appropriate level for beginners. I do have students participate in Guild, Festival, etc., but never at a level that requires us to stop all other music and just practice toward events. It takes experience and care to choose event music that works well within the overall student’s goals of making music over the course of a year — and not not choose event music that is far to challenging — thus tying up all practice and lesson time in order to just play for that event! I too, have gained may transfer students over the year who can’t make it through easier material than they audition with because of this. Most of them relax, play with more accuracy and enjoyment down the road once they are given lots of variety of material at the correct level that has just enough ‘push’ to keep them focused and not bored. Thanks for the great article!
This is a very tricky topic. One should not jump to conclusions. Great care must be used and students must be given different samples. For example I can read something with alot of block chords such as the Chopin c minor polonaise quite well but sometimes can make no sense the first time at bat with certain classical period sonatinas. A student might do quite well with certain textures and be poor at others. Also I find slow movements of Haydn sonatas harder to read than a barrage of Liszt’s diminished arpeggios, etc.
May I share your article with my music teacher friends? I am first a flutist, then a pianist. I taught myself to sightread at the piano and have worked hard as a teacher to get kids past the “stammer” stage. In our local student music festival, we offer sightreading as an option for earning points. Very few actually enter – perhaps because of their teachers’ fears from college sightreading exams where quite difficult music was presented. We always choose music for the students that is two levels easier than their solo performance level. This is an important aspect because it helps build the student’s confidence level. It is really hard for kids to learn to play through mistakes; so it is important that they learn their sightreading skills on easy music.
Elizabeth,
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