I practice sight reading and over all reading in general with the second concerto from rachmaninof and its so hard to play for me, but I can not really feel the fun about learning sight reading over a pice that you do not really want to play only because it would be easier. For me its best to practice on a piece that you for example really love playing. Btw Mariya, I love to see you play and you also helped me a lot with your tips and recordings❤
This has to be by far the most inspiring video on piano site reading that I have ever seen. I recently bought a beginners 88 key piano three days ago. Now I’ve been producing music rap music in particular for over 20 years now but that has nothing to do with actually playing an instrument correctly. The way you site read that piece just really put more drive in me to learn. I would love to be able to do this , amazing job.
I think that sightreading should start with even simpler (as simple as possible) exercises, like "Schmitt Op.16 Preparatory Exercises" or Bartok Bela - Mikrokosmos part I, etc.
Oh, scary memories of college and college-prep! We had to know ALL the Beethoven Sonatas in drop-the-needle listening test format, sight-read Baroque-era SATB with all C-clefs, and transpose Schubert Waltzes while sight-reading them. I think the professors were just being mean. Maybe it helped when I accompanied a bunch of instrumentalist studios all the time, but all I have now are frightening memories!
Stop stop I am still in it!!! 😱☠️ I’m half joking (music school is amazing) but I feel you with the memorizing and transposing on the spot 😅 It’s a struggle but worth the lesson!!
@@WithMariya most people don't understand how exhausting being a music major is except past music majors! Then our "competition" in the job market are people who have no formal training whatsoever! :D
"...sight-read Baroque-era SATB with all C-clefs, and transpose Schubert Waltzes while sight-reading them" Really? That's just seems impossible - were there people who could actually do this?
@@thearm95 ya, it was a college prep program. Everyone in the program was a prodigy except me, so I was left feeling so dumb all the time. But most people could do it, including the people running the classes. All 100% true. You should have seen the THEORY classes, oof.
Really enjoyed watching this. I'm teaching myself to sightread and play piano. I'm 56 and I have decided to follow ABRSM initial exam. Honestly, it took me 2 days to read and play a very simple 8 bar exercise. I hope in one year I can read and play something a bit more complicated. 😊
I love to hear that!! Glad you enjoyed this video 🙏 We all start at the zero, so it’s really about consistency and determination, and it sounds like you’re doing amazing already! Keep it up 👍🤗
3 tips I think of are: 1.Don’t look at your hands. 2.Look ahead. 3.Use peripheral vision. Many aren’t aware of this, but you can keep your eyes on the sheet music and still see your hands and the piano. Since it’s peripheral vision, it will be out of focus, but it’s more than adequate for your brain to make use of. Also it’s not something you have to work at, in terms of contracting on it, so much as just being aware that this is a thing. Your brain will figure this out if you let it, but if you look at your hands, that will mess it up.
4th major tip: practice your work memory, so you can store more notes in one glance. I'm practicing sight reading Godowsky études, but sometimes it's a bit harder eg. #4 #13 or #25, I dare you to sight read it ;) . I'm also quite challenged by sight reading Stravinsky's Sacre du printemps (the orchestral score), especially because of ut 3 and 4 keys and transposing instruments (I think I need more memory --'). Any recommendation about that ?
Great sight reading tips Mariya! Thank you. You are an amazing sight reader! I often have to sight read for our church choir. It is easier than playing a Beethoven sonata, but I am often faced with Gb major or 12/8 time with 12 unbarred 8th notes in a measure, which I think makes it confusing. Always good to have some more good tips to learn to sight read better. :)
Excellent tips, and thank you! I need to do more of this, and I do need to add some Clementi to my library. Focusing on tempo is crucial, and something that I need to work on. Lately I've been warming up by sight reading from Philip Glass's Etudes, since I'm preparing one for a recital. Some of these work very well, with Glass's typical repetition, harmonic shifts, and rhythmic shifts. The etudes with polyrhythms are good practice - but not for sight reading! I've also been working my way through Bartok's Mikrokosmos (near the end of book 3), and starting each new piece there typically means sight-reading it in my lesson. It's not for the faint-of-heart, but I do love Bartok! For the jazz-oriented, some of Chick Corea's Children's Songs are good, with an ostinato in the left hand while the right takes on melody and development. Good for hand independence. And your sight-reading is excellent! That's an inspiration!
@@WithMariya Philip Glass Etudes are not as scary as Chopin or Liszt Etudes! Some of the Glass Etudes are playable at an intermediate-advanced level, for non-professionals like me. Another good choice for sight-reading is Bartok's "For Children" volumes; they are based on folk songs, closer to his ethnomusicology studies.
You’re really good at this. First time I’ve seen your channel. You have such a natural manner and great teaching style. Liked and subbed. Thanks for the tips!
Erm, yeah. I can play 3 blind mice. But only with one hand. That's my current sight reading ability. I'm using a drills app to learn other notes on the treble clef and will move onto the bass clef next. After that, going to use a rhythm drills apps. What would be the next step after this? I can play songs after listening a few times, I know where the notes are, but it's all done by ear. I spent 30 years completely ignoring sight reading and music theory.
Dear Mariya, my teacher says, and i agree, that im "auditory skewed" as opposed to more visually skewed (dont know how to name it). Most of the time i learn a piece by heart/ear instead of reading at least some parts from the scores. This limits me when learning larger pieces and i want to give sight reading a prominant place in my daily routine, but do you think that ill be able to become a better sight reader even with the audio thing?
Was there ever a time when you had way worse sight reading compared to your level of repertoire? A lot of people, including me, have moved too fast and skipped some steps which included learning to sight read properly. Also, not sure if you’ve mentioned before but how often do you sight read?
I didn't come of the womb sight reading, so it's definitely been a process 🙏 In undergrad, I took a lot of accompanying gigs and sometimes got overwhelmed with the amount of material, which helped me learn to simplify as I went, and sight read better (sometime I had no choice!). Not saying that your journey needs to be as stressful, but it's good to have some perspective 🤗 With the accompanying and preparing for performances that I do now, sight reading is pretty much a daily part of my routine as it is!
... sight-reading has two halves, yes? 1) looking at the page which includes all the tonal, rythmic, accidental, pattern, etc analysis then 2) find the note on the keyboard and play it. If you agree.... ...what about the magic sauce to not look at the hands? This is first pass recording, true sight reading
I think these tips still work for beginners. Basically practice every day (even if just for a couple of minutes), keep an even tempo (even of it is super slow), and read notes ahead of what you are playing. This last one I have the most problems with, but basically as you are playing the first note you should be looking at the third or forth note and thinking how to play that. This takes practice so it's better to start sooner than later.
i feel this is really dificult and to do that you need to have a very goods basics about de piano, how long you have been playing the piano? and when you stared? (age)
i've been playing the piano for 5 years('m starting my 6th year)and ive alway sbeen lazy with my sight reading because I prefer improvisation. And I have to make sure I get better at sight reading because my playing level is above my sight reading level :/ and I want to be able to read harder pieces
If it makes you feel any better, one’s sight reading level is always below one’s playing level ☺️ I will never say no to more sight reading practice, though!!
I'm not a jealous person, but for this I make an exception :) I would LOVE to be able to sight read like that and play those beautiful Beethoven sonata's on sight ... still sightreading lvl 2-3 with some struggles for the moment though
Hey, thank you so much for this video. What type of material, from your own experience, would you say can be attainable with consistent daily sight reading? I just cannot even imagine what type of grade difficulty can be played for an average person who isn't necessarily talented at sight reading. Thanks so much for your time :)
@@WithMariya I had been sight reading Scarlatti since seeing your video. I find all the hand crossing to be challenging. One reason I never thought to read Scarlatti is my teacher never assigned any of his works. The style of the Scarlatti sonatas have a really different feel than the German Baroque composers I am used to playing.
Im trying to figure out how to best explain it. I guess with different intervals. An example would be a half step interval with 2 fingers close together. Something on the lines of that. I'm sorry it may not be clear. I've just been struggling with sight reading.
@@jasonedgecombe3468 Oh I think you mean knowing what fingers to use before you actually play, just by looking at the score? ABSOLUTELY!!! That’s super proactive and helpful when it comes to sight reading!
@@jasonedgecombe3468 If I understand you, you're asking about fingering, and that's a huge topic. To start, there are no right answers, and everyone's hands are different - different size, different finger length, different comfort levels with one stretch or another. The fingerings that an editor puts in sheet music are simply suggestions, that may or may not work for you. Ability to land good fingering while sight reading can only come with a lot of practice, and familiarity with similar music. I usually work on fingering after sight reading. So what does work? Start with scales. To play scales smoothly, you learn to shift hand position by moving your thumb under to pick up the next note, and to do it smoothly. (With practice, you can do this with the fifth finger shifting under the fourth.) There is the finger slide, where you land on a note with one finger and shift to another finger without letting up on the key. Repeated notes don't have to be played with the same finger; you can switch on repetitions. For a sequence of chords, you can try fingerings that put you in position for the next chord - for example, 1-2-3 then 1-2-4 then 1-3-5. For large finger spreads, such as a tenth or eleventh with notes in between, it's OK to roll the chord. For adjacent keys played simultaneously, the side of the thumb works just fine (useful in Debussy and Bartok). For power, you may use two fingers at once on a single key. It all takes practice, trying different things until you feel comfortable, and playing a lot of different music. Finally, when watching another pianist play, watch their hands. You will learn things this way.
Hi Max, thank you so much for watching! In terms of sight reading, the RCM Four Star books are an amazing resource to practice. They go all the way from Prep A to Level 10, which is wide enough to cover all levels. Once you get to around a level 5, you can start to sight read your favourite pop song covers, which can help make things more interesting. Hope this helps!
My problem is the ledgerline notes. Sure there are methods but I'd prefer to know them all photographically. To some extent, I do. However, two or more ledgerline notes played in the same hand fluster me. Too much information crammed into a small space.
Hi! Thank you for this video; super helpful. I’m not sure if you’ll ever see this, but I was wondering if you could explain what you meant by “2 2” or something like that at the beginning of the first example? After you mention c and f sharp i think. What is that mean or where is it on the sheet? Thank you ❤
Heyy thank you for watching and for your comment!! 2/2 just means the TIME signature: 2 half notes in a bar. F and C sharp are referring to the KEY signature, or the accidentals in a tonality. Both of the signs for these are found at the beginning of each score, beside the treble or bass clef. Let me know if there’s anything else I can help with!
Thanks for this, looking forward to part 2 as well. Do you have any opinion about piano marvel? I've used the trial version. The thing I like about it is the instant feedback. When I try sight reading for example, sometimes I'll notice a hand is shifted by a note or two and as such the past few bars were technically wrong. As I remember with this software, you get immediate feedback even mid-playing that you're on the wrong note. The potential drawback I can see is that you won't have this when returning to paper. On the flip side, the feedback allows me to correct immediately and as such probably learn to feel I'm shifted off. So I'm not sure whether it's a crutch or not.
Thank you so much for watching!! I've actually never heard of it, but downloading the trial now as well... I know for me when I start out on the wrong note it might even sound decent for a few bars, until it doesn't 😅😭So it's great learning experience to try to find the exact place where I went wrong (because that's what most of practicing is anyway). I'll try the app out and let you know, but my initial thought is that the app is a great eye-opener, but ultimately try to find/fix your mistakes yourself!! You'll be a better musician for it!! Hope this helps 😊
I can definitely see both sides of the argument. People have been able to do this without technology for hundreds of years,so it's certainly a more tried and trusted way, but that doesn't preclude the possibility that tech like this can't get you there quicker. Happy to be part of the channel at this early stage before you get 100k+ subscribers and this kind of one-to-one interaction becomes too tough to maintain :]
@@Tclack You're totally right, you never know!! Tech might be the way to go :) Aww that's very sweet of you to say!! I will definitely always try to read and reply to all the comments!
Hi, Mariya.... I know about intervals but have trouble with knowing what fingering to use, if not If starting with thumb on the first note. Would you be able to offer some tips on this issue.
Love these sight reading tips!! I have been working on improving my sight reading for a long time but still have trouble. You are an amazing sight reader!!
Hi Diane, thank you so much for watching! I would say if you see a large interval and it’s going up, use the thumb on the first note. If it’s going down, I would use the fifth finger 🤷♀️ But these are generalities, please use your discretion!!
Thanks for sharing these tips. On Tip 3: I was always told "look ahead" and no-one really explained what that meant until it occurred to me what you're doing. Let's say you are looking two bars ahead. What that means is that you are playing bars 1 & 2 from memory while simultaneously memorising bars 3 and 4. Then playing bars 3 and 4 from memory while simultaneously memorising bars 5 and 6. and so on. So not only do you "chuck" the music as you point out (seeing B dominant 7 rather B, D# F# and A for example ) but you have to coordinate this with playing the previous bit of music. This is why genuinely good sight readers (as apposed to bluffers like me!) have my utmost respect!
That’s a pretty accurate description of what happens!! I didn’t realize I should have been wording it this way 🙏🤗 Thank you so much for this helpful comment! And I’m so glad that it clicked for you as well :)
You don't need to look ahead a specific amount. With sight reading, *look ahead as much as you need to stay in time.* Whether that be one note, or one bar ahead.
I'm new to all this and find it fascinating to watch someone sight read. It seems like a mix of black magic and supernatural ability!!! But I guess it is 'only' a question of a few thousand hours practice!! Do you improvise much? For example, would you ever play the left hand of a song you are familiar with and then just make up a new melody with the right hand? I learned to 'play' by ear and sometimes do this. (I then pretend that I am a 19th century composer in a castle and just invented the piece!!) But I have met some properly trained piano players that never do this.
Thank you so much for your comment, Jon! I didn't grow up improvising, but started to play around more with it thanks to the journey learning jazz series. It's definitely a different mindset and a whoooole different skillset. Hats off to you!!
you know what sucks? Being an advanced player bwho can only sight read at level -1 lol. it's such a hindrance in my progress, i just feel stuck. i want to do it right, but by doing it right and sight reading appropriate pieces for my SR level makes me want to die
I would say it's a combination of up and down and side to side... You have to keep track of both hands (which is the up and down), and you have to keep reading horizontally to look ahead as well as check for key signatures. Hope this helps!
Ahh that’s true!! I always try to spot hand positions/patterns/chords/scales by looking ahead, but if the fingering is very tricky, it will just be extremely awkward - no solution unfortunately 🙈
Heyy did you mean to compare speed readers to regular readers? 😊 Also, if it helps you, try imagining different speeds of reading to understand my point better. Cheers!
@@WithMariya To be clear, I used ‘normal’ from a purely statistical point of view (see normal distribution). The point is I don’t think this analogy does the job.
LEAVE ALL YOUR PRACTICE QUESTIONS BELOW ⬇️⬇️⬇️
Very helpful video !
How can you read two clefs at the same time
@@barbarasemedo barely
I practice sight reading and over all reading in general with the second concerto from rachmaninof and its so hard to play for me, but I can not really feel the fun about learning sight reading over a pice that you do not really want to play only because it would be easier. For me its best to practice on a piece that you for example really love playing.
Btw Mariya, I love to see you play and you also helped me a lot with your tips and recordings❤
This has to be by far the most inspiring video on piano site reading that I have ever seen. I recently bought a beginners 88 key piano three days ago. Now I’ve been producing music rap music in particular for over 20 years now but that has nothing to do with actually playing an instrument correctly. The way you site read that piece just really put more drive in me to learn. I would love to be able to do this , amazing job.
I think that sightreading should start with even simpler (as simple as possible) exercises, like "Schmitt Op.16 Preparatory Exercises" or Bartok Bela - Mikrokosmos part I, etc.
Oh, scary memories of college and college-prep! We had to know ALL the Beethoven Sonatas in drop-the-needle listening test format, sight-read Baroque-era SATB with all C-clefs, and transpose Schubert Waltzes while sight-reading them. I think the professors were just being mean. Maybe it helped when I accompanied a bunch of instrumentalist studios all the time, but all I have now are frightening memories!
Stop stop I am still in it!!! 😱☠️ I’m half joking (music school is amazing) but I feel you with the memorizing and transposing on the spot 😅 It’s a struggle but worth the lesson!!
@@WithMariya most people don't understand how exhausting being a music major is except past music majors! Then our "competition" in the job market are people who have no formal training whatsoever! :D
@@seancregomusic Right?? But it forces us to be even more creative!!
"...sight-read Baroque-era SATB with all C-clefs, and transpose Schubert Waltzes while sight-reading them" Really? That's just seems impossible - were there people who could actually do this?
@@thearm95 ya, it was a college prep program. Everyone in the program was a prodigy except me, so I was left feeling so dumb all the time. But most people could do it, including the people running the classes. All 100% true. You should have seen the THEORY classes, oof.
Really enjoyed watching this. I'm teaching myself to sightread and play piano.
I'm 56 and I have decided to follow ABRSM initial exam. Honestly, it took me 2 days to read and play a very simple 8 bar exercise.
I hope in one year I can read and play something a bit more complicated. 😊
I love to hear that!! Glad you enjoyed this video 🙏 We all start at the zero, so it’s really about consistency and determination, and it sounds like you’re doing amazing already! Keep it up 👍🤗
good job
Eve
Your sight reading is crazy I’m jealous
3 tips I think of are: 1.Don’t look at your hands. 2.Look ahead. 3.Use peripheral vision.
Many aren’t aware of this, but you can keep your eyes on the sheet music and still see your hands and the piano. Since it’s peripheral vision, it will be out of focus, but it’s more than adequate for your brain to make use of. Also it’s not something you have to work at, in terms of contracting on it, so much as just being aware that this is a thing. Your brain will figure this out if you let it, but if you look at your hands, that will mess it up.
Tooootally agree! Peripheral vision is a MUST and such a game changer!! Thanks for adding that ☺️
4th major tip: practice your work memory, so you can store more notes in one glance.
I'm practicing sight reading Godowsky études, but sometimes it's a bit harder eg. #4 #13 or #25, I dare you to sight read it ;) . I'm also quite challenged by sight reading Stravinsky's Sacre du printemps (the orchestral score), especially because of ut 3 and 4 keys and transposing instruments (I think I need more memory --'). Any recommendation about that ?
Wowww that sounds intense! Thank you for this comment, lots to thinks about and try!!
wow this comment makes me want to practice
Great video. The last part where you put this into action was inspiring!
Thank you so much for watching!! 🙏
Great sight reading tips Mariya! Thank you. You are an amazing sight reader!
I often have to sight read for our church choir. It is easier than playing a Beethoven sonata, but I am often faced with Gb major or 12/8 time with 12 unbarred 8th notes in a measure, which I think makes it confusing. Always good to have some more good tips to learn to sight read better. :)
Hey, I love this comment! Sight reading is everywhere 😅 Unbarred is so scary, I got anxiety reading that 😱 Thank you so much for watching!!
Excellent tips, and thank you! I need to do more of this, and I do need to add some Clementi to my library. Focusing on tempo is crucial, and something that I need to work on. Lately I've been warming up by sight reading from Philip Glass's Etudes, since I'm preparing one for a recital. Some of these work very well, with Glass's typical repetition, harmonic shifts, and rhythmic shifts. The etudes with polyrhythms are good practice - but not for sight reading! I've also been working my way through Bartok's Mikrokosmos (near the end of book 3), and starting each new piece there typically means sight-reading it in my lesson. It's not for the faint-of-heart, but I do love Bartok! For the jazz-oriented, some of Chick Corea's Children's Songs are good, with an ostinato in the left hand while the right takes on melody and development. Good for hand independence.
And your sight-reading is excellent! That's an inspiration!
Thank you so much for watching!! I am so happy to find a fellow Bartok lover
@@WithMariya Philip Glass Etudes are not as scary as Chopin or Liszt Etudes! Some of the Glass Etudes are playable at an intermediate-advanced level, for non-professionals like me. Another good choice for sight-reading is Bartok's "For Children" volumes; they are based on folk songs, closer to his ethnomusicology studies.
@@dianewilson7415 So interesting!! And yes, gotta love Bartok’s folk tunes ❤️
You’re really good at this. First time I’ve seen your channel. You have such a natural manner and great teaching style. Liked and subbed. Thanks for the tips!
Yaaaay welcome to the family! Glad you enjoyed the video 😊
Thanks. Last part was so impressive for me
You've got amazing sight reading skills! Common sense tips.
Thank you so much for watching!! Glad you found this video useful 🤗
Erm, yeah. I can play 3 blind mice. But only with one hand. That's my current sight reading ability. I'm using a drills app to learn other notes on the treble clef and will move onto the bass clef next. After that, going to use a rhythm drills apps. What would be the next step after this? I can play songs after listening a few times, I know where the notes are, but it's all done by ear. I spent 30 years completely ignoring sight reading and music theory.
Dear Mariya, my teacher says, and i agree, that im "auditory skewed" as opposed to more visually skewed (dont know how to name it). Most of the time i learn a piece by heart/ear instead of reading at least some parts from the scores. This limits me when learning larger pieces and i want to give sight reading a prominant place in my daily routine, but do you think that ill be able to become a better sight reader even with the audio thing?
Was there ever a time when you had way worse sight reading compared to your level of repertoire? A lot of people, including me, have moved too fast and skipped some steps which included learning to sight read properly. Also, not sure if you’ve mentioned before but how often do you sight read?
I didn't come of the womb sight reading, so it's definitely been a process 🙏 In undergrad, I took a lot of accompanying gigs and sometimes got overwhelmed with the amount of material, which helped me learn to simplify as I went, and sight read better (sometime I had no choice!). Not saying that your journey needs to be as stressful, but it's good to have some perspective 🤗 With the accompanying and preparing for performances that I do now, sight reading is pretty much a daily part of my routine as it is!
... sight-reading has two halves, yes? 1) looking at the page which includes all the tonal, rythmic, accidental, pattern, etc analysis then 2) find the note on the keyboard and play it. If you agree.... ...what about the magic sauce to not look at the hands? This is first pass recording, true sight reading
th-cam.com/video/c4lbsmWko3s/w-d-xo.html
Actually you can get better at sight reading by watching a score and hearing it, and trying to follow the music.. it does help
Hmmm that’s an interesting point… I’m sure you could practice reading ahead that way, which would translate into better sight reading!
Wow you’re so good !
I needed a beginner video on sight reading, this had some good ideas but too advanced to understand all of it (just a beginner)
I think these tips still work for beginners. Basically practice every day (even if just for a couple of minutes), keep an even tempo (even of it is super slow), and read notes ahead of what you are playing. This last one I have the most problems with, but basically as you are playing the first note you should be looking at the third or forth note and thinking how to play that. This takes practice so it's better to start sooner than later.
i feel this is really dificult and to do that you need to have a very goods basics about de piano, how long you have been playing the piano? and when you stared? (age)
amazing. You're very talented.
Great tutorial thank you 🙏🏻🎹🌷
Thanks Maryia,
I can sight read hands separately. But I am struggling reading both cleffs at the same time. Please assist.
Great tips.
Thank you for watching!! Glad you found it helpful 🙏
great video! just found out your channel! i think you're underrated! keep it up! greetings from barcelona
Awww thank you so much!! Welcome to the family 🤗More awesome videos to come!!
i've been playing the piano for 5 years('m starting my 6th year)and ive alway sbeen lazy with my sight reading because I prefer improvisation. And I have to make sure I get better at sight reading because my playing level is above my sight reading level :/ and I want to be able to read harder pieces
If it makes you feel any better, one’s sight reading level is always below one’s playing level ☺️ I will never say no to more sight reading practice, though!!
I'm not a jealous person, but for this I make an exception :)
I would LOVE to be able to sight read like that and play those beautiful Beethoven sonata's on sight ... still sightreading lvl 2-3 with some struggles for the moment though
Hey, thank you so much for this video. What type of material, from your own experience, would you say can be attainable with consistent daily sight reading? I just cannot even imagine what type of grade difficulty can be played for an average person who isn't necessarily talented at sight reading. Thanks so much for your time :)
5:13 When you try to give an example of not sounding good but youre too good to play poorly
Thanks, wish I could read notes that fast
Great! Thank you. Well, I am no where near your standard yet but I will keep trying. I think it will come quickly.
Thank you for watching!! Happy practicing!
Thank you, Sister, 🙏🌺😇
Thank you for the tips. So glad I found your channel!
Aww thank you so much for watching!! More videos to come 🤗
Interesting that you mentioned Scarlatti. That's a composer a would have never thought of to sight read.
So many patterns (scales and broken chords) in his music makes it perfect for practice!
@@WithMariya I had been sight reading Scarlatti since seeing your video. I find all the hand crossing to be challenging. One reason I never thought to read Scarlatti is my teacher never assigned any of his works. The style of the Scarlatti sonatas have a really different feel than the German Baroque composers I am used to playing.
Keep up the great work, Maria! What app do you use again on your ipad?
Thank you so much, Steven!! I use ForScore 🙏
You're tips are so useful! When sight reading, Is there a way to see notes and know how they are usually played?
Hey thanks so much for watching! Not totally sure what you mean... could you pls clarify? 😊
Im trying to figure out how to best explain it. I guess with different intervals. An example would be a half step interval with 2 fingers close together. Something on the lines of that.
I'm sorry it may not be clear. I've just been struggling with sight reading.
@@jasonedgecombe3468 Oh I think you mean knowing what fingers to use before you actually play, just by looking at the score? ABSOLUTELY!!! That’s super proactive and helpful when it comes to sight reading!
@@jasonedgecombe3468 If I understand you, you're asking about fingering, and that's a huge topic. To start, there are no right answers, and everyone's hands are different - different size, different finger length, different comfort levels with one stretch or another. The fingerings that an editor puts in sheet music are simply suggestions, that may or may not work for you. Ability to land good fingering while sight reading can only come with a lot of practice, and familiarity with similar music. I usually work on fingering after sight reading.
So what does work? Start with scales. To play scales smoothly, you learn to shift hand position by moving your thumb under to pick up the next note, and to do it smoothly. (With practice, you can do this with the fifth finger shifting under the fourth.) There is the finger slide, where you land on a note with one finger and shift to another finger without letting up on the key. Repeated notes don't have to be played with the same finger; you can switch on repetitions. For a sequence of chords, you can try fingerings that put you in position for the next chord - for example, 1-2-3 then 1-2-4 then 1-3-5. For large finger spreads, such as a tenth or eleventh with notes in between, it's OK to roll the chord. For adjacent keys played simultaneously, the side of the thumb works just fine (useful in Debussy and Bartok). For power, you may use two fingers at once on a single key. It all takes practice, trying different things until you feel comfortable, and playing a lot of different music.
Finally, when watching another pianist play, watch their hands. You will learn things this way.
Thank you guys for taking the time to give me advice!
Just like that
Great video
you have an amazing talent!
just wondering, maybe you can make recommendations for beginners
Hi Max, thank you so much for watching! In terms of sight reading, the RCM Four Star books are an amazing resource to practice. They go all the way from Prep A to Level 10, which is wide enough to cover all levels. Once you get to around a level 5, you can start to sight read your favourite pop song covers, which can help make things more interesting. Hope this helps!
My problem is the ledgerline notes. Sure there are methods but I'd prefer to know them all photographically. To some extent, I do. However, two or more ledgerline notes played in the same hand fluster me. Too much information crammed into a small space.
Hi! Thank you for this video; super helpful. I’m not sure if you’ll ever see this, but I was wondering if you could explain what you meant by “2 2” or something like that at the beginning of the first example? After you mention c and f sharp i think. What is that mean or where is it on the sheet? Thank you ❤
Heyy thank you for watching and for your comment!! 2/2 just means the TIME signature: 2 half notes in a bar. F and C sharp are referring to the KEY signature, or the accidentals in a tonality. Both of the signs for these are found at the beginning of each score, beside the treble or bass clef. Let me know if there’s anything else I can help with!
To add on to this question… what key what it in after finding it has c and f sharp ? Thanks for video btw
gonna practice so I can be as good sight reader as you are!
Omggg 🙈🥺😍 Once I figure out how to livestream we will do sight reading parties!!!
Thanks for this, looking forward to part 2 as well.
Do you have any opinion about piano marvel? I've used the trial version. The thing I like about it is the instant feedback. When I try sight reading for example, sometimes I'll notice a hand is shifted by a note or two and as such the past few bars were technically wrong. As I remember with this software, you get immediate feedback even mid-playing that you're on the wrong note. The potential drawback I can see is that you won't have this when returning to paper. On the flip side, the feedback allows me to correct immediately and as such probably learn to feel I'm shifted off. So I'm not sure whether it's a crutch or not.
Thank you so much for watching!! I've actually never heard of it, but downloading the trial now as well... I know for me when I start out on the wrong note it might even sound decent for a few bars, until it doesn't 😅😭So it's great learning experience to try to find the exact place where I went wrong (because that's what most of practicing is anyway). I'll try the app out and let you know, but my initial thought is that the app is a great eye-opener, but ultimately try to find/fix your mistakes yourself!! You'll be a better musician for it!! Hope this helps 😊
I can definitely see both sides of the argument. People have been able to do this without technology for hundreds of years,so it's certainly a more tried and trusted way, but that doesn't preclude the possibility that tech like this can't get you there quicker.
Happy to be part of the channel at this early stage before you get 100k+ subscribers and this kind of one-to-one interaction becomes too tough to maintain :]
@@Tclack You're totally right, you never know!! Tech might be the way to go :)
Aww that's very sweet of you to say!! I will definitely always try to read and reply to all the comments!
Thank you for the useful tips!
Thank you so much for watching!!
Thank you teacher❤😊
Hi, Mariya....
I know about intervals but have trouble with knowing what fingering to use, if not
If starting with thumb on the first note. Would you be able to offer some tips on this issue.
Love these sight reading tips!! I have been working on improving my sight reading for a long time but still have trouble. You are an amazing sight reader!!
Hi Diane, thank you so much for watching! I would say if you see a large interval and it’s going up, use the thumb on the first note. If it’s going down, I would use the fifth finger 🤷♀️ But these are generalities, please use your discretion!!
Wow. Amazing tutorial. Nice amazing lesson.. Great job.. I also play piano on my channel
Thank you for watching!! Neat!!
May I know the application that you use in annotating sheet music on your iPad?
Absolutely! It’s called ForScore and I highly recommend it!!
You’re wonderful 💞💞💞💞
YOURE wonderful ❤️❤️❤️
@@WithMariya But I’m still getting it difficult to understand the rhythm
These are tips for pianists who are already really good in sight reading.
That’s an interesting thought!
The way you pronounced "Rachmaninoff" and "Tchaikovsky" reveals your ethnical background:)
Either way I pronounce it, I will get comments from one side or the other 🤗 It’s true, I speak Russian!
nice
Missed your show Thursday
Ahhh I’m doing every two Thursdays now! 💖🙏 Thank you so much for supporting the channel!
Thanks for sharing these tips. On Tip 3: I was always told "look ahead" and no-one really explained what that meant until it occurred to me what you're doing. Let's say you are looking two bars ahead. What that means is that you are playing bars 1 & 2 from memory while simultaneously memorising bars 3 and 4. Then playing bars 3 and 4 from memory while simultaneously memorising bars 5 and 6. and so on. So not only do you "chuck" the music as you point out (seeing B dominant 7 rather B, D# F# and A for example ) but you have to coordinate this with playing the previous bit of music. This is why genuinely good sight readers (as apposed to bluffers like me!) have my utmost respect!
That’s a pretty accurate description of what happens!! I didn’t realize I should have been wording it this way 🙏🤗 Thank you so much for this helpful comment! And I’m so glad that it clicked for you as well :)
@Patrick 😭😭💀
You don't need to look ahead a specific amount. With sight reading, *look ahead as much as you need to stay in time.*
Whether that be one note, or one bar ahead.
You're so good
Thank you for watching!
Merci.
I'm new to all this and find it fascinating to watch someone sight read. It seems like a mix of black magic and supernatural ability!!! But I guess it is 'only' a question of a few thousand hours practice!!
Do you improvise much? For example, would you ever play the left hand of a song you are familiar with and then just make up a new melody with the right hand? I learned to 'play' by ear and sometimes do this. (I then pretend that I am a 19th century composer in a castle and just invented the piece!!) But I have met some properly trained piano players that never do this.
Thank you so much for your comment, Jon! I didn't grow up improvising, but started to play around more with it thanks to the journey learning jazz series. It's definitely a different mindset and a whoooole different skillset. Hats off to you!!
The not steady tempo example was actually very pleasent, it was a kind of poly rhythm experiment 😅😂
you know what sucks? Being an advanced player bwho can only sight read at level -1 lol. it's such a hindrance in my progress, i just feel stuck. i want to do it right, but by doing it right and sight reading appropriate pieces for my SR level makes me want to die
After watching so many videos of sight reading piano Nobody explains about how to actually read the notes like down to up or vice versa??
I would say it's a combination of up and down and side to side... You have to keep track of both hands (which is the up and down), and you have to keep reading horizontally to look ahead as well as check for key signatures. Hope this helps!
I love the fact the you aren't just smart but also beautiful' luck him the gat you marie
Never played a bass clef w lay hand...
The hardest thing is how do I plan my fingering instantly? Sometime with not good fingering it become a very awkward hand position.
Ahh that’s true!! I always try to spot hand positions/patterns/chords/scales by looking ahead, but if the fingering is very tricky, it will just be extremely awkward - no solution unfortunately 🙈
I hate 2/2 time 😢 it’s like 4/4 but counting the pulse on the half notes instead of the quarters... who invented it?? 😡😣
Ughhh ya I don’t even know… I literally count it in four always anyways
...and why you are so beautiful ???
As an aside, speed reading is not a thing. Research have shown evidence that speed readers’ comprehension is inferior to normal speed readers.
Heyy did you mean to compare speed readers to regular readers? 😊 Also, if it helps you, try imagining different speeds of reading to understand my point better. Cheers!
@@WithMariya To be clear, I used ‘normal’ from a purely statistical point of view (see normal distribution).
The point is I don’t think this analogy does the job.
По тому как ты сказала фамилии русских композиторов понял, что ты русская)
Спасибо что посмотрели мое видео!
To much in talking about other pianist.😢
Your Tipps are not really helpful
Because you repating already what have been said
Heyy thanks so much for watching! Sorry you feel that way. I guess your search for the perfect sight reading tips continues! 😊