[thebas2560]

Just wondering if any piano players on here are good ear players who worked at, and got good at sight reading. How did you do it? Did you use your ear to help this? Any particular techniques? (I guess I'm being lazy and looking for short cuts... )

[Xkcer Man]

Anyone can be good at reading music if they do it enough. Being able to play by ear shouldn't be used as an excuse. Force yourself to read music. There are no shortcuts except to go very slow (which is technically a longcut). Going slow gives your brain time to process the music.

I guess another thing that would help is to know the rhythms are a lot like words. The same groupings of rhythms tend to pop up repeatedly in music. You just have to be quick to recognize and apply them.

[Nate]

Don't be afraid to leave out notes or even entire chords or phrases. Most people won't know the difference. Like most things in life, you'll get better only with practice.

If you're sight-reading something like a hymn from a hymnal for congregational singing, focus on the bassline and the melody line, throwing in the inner voices when it's convenient or easy. If you can't follow the arrangement exactly, it's no big deal, because most hymnals have terrible arrangements anyway. Change the inner voices to something easier to play to fill out the sound, and don't worry if you can't play everything written on the page at first sight.

If you're sight-reading something like a classical piece to show off or to audition, don't be afraid to play it more slowly than you think (or know, if it's a piece you're familiar with) it should go. People would usually rather hear the piece played accurately at a slow tempo than sloppily at the correct tempo. If you see that you are approaching a section that seems too difficult to play at sight, drop out one hand or simplify the accompaniment so that you can focus on playing the melodic line correctly. Don't change anything, but no one can really fault you for leaving a difficult section to iron out in the practice room while you play a simpler version for show.

If you're sight-reading something like a jazz or pop piece from a piano/vocal/guitar book or a lead sheet, ignore almost everything written on the actual sheet music bars on the page (unless it's a really really good transcription) and follow the harmonic changes using your ear to guide you. Ignore the intricacies of the rhythms on the page unless they're obviously intentional, and focus on the distinctive parts transcribed in the melody or bassline or other "hooks" of the song. It's more important to get the correct mood and the correct progressions down than it is to play the song exactly as it's transcribed.

In general, practice your scales in all keys so that you know at least what notes you're likely to be playing and at least what general fingering patterns you'll need just by looking at the key signature before you start. Also, before you start, look through the piece and note any tricky spots (usually rhythmic twists, difficult scalar passages, unexpected accidentals or key changes, and generally anything that doesn't look like what you'd expect to see) so that you'll be aware of them and can prepare yourself to focus more heavily when you approach them.

Remember that sight-reading is generally a time to show off and hone your skill rather than delve deeply into the nuances of any given piece; accordingly, focus on playing well more than playing perfectly (this means focus on phrasing well, and not allowing a false note to break your line of "thought") and use all of the skills at your disposal to interpret the piece as well as you can. Make sure your hands and posture are correct, your movements are fluid, and your overall technique at least is good even if your ability to get all the notes in on first pass isn't quite up to par yet.

Pay close attention to dynamics and articulation written on the page, as these are generally easier to read and interpret quickly at first sight than specific notes or rhythms are. If you play all of the articulations and dynamics correctly, people will overlook a few missed notes or phrases. Also, it will set you up better to practice the piece to perfection if that is your intent, as you won't have learned sloppy articulation and ineffective dynamics before you had time to correct them (I find that it's much harder to correct a mislearned articulation than it is a mislearned note, strangely enough).

[Gwenny]

I play by ear mostly. I taught myself how to play piano when I was 17 playing only chords. I can pick out the melody fairly easily by ear and just incorporate them.

Since then, I took three music ed classes, because they were required for my degree. I am much better at reading music now, but I still don't play by sight reading, because it takes me a good 10-15 minutes longer to figure it out that way. I'd much rather just pick the melody out by ear and put the chords with it.