I'm doing my grade 9 Royal Conservatory piano exam in June and I was wondering if anyone can give me some helpful suggestions for sightreading. What do you look for before you start playing a piece that you have never seen before? I'm sure I'm probably the oldest person on this forum that is doing their grade 9 exam as I'm a 61 yr. old grandma!! I guess it is never too late, right?

You're right, it's never late. I mean it.

The best thing to do, and what makes someone become a good sight-reader, is to sight-read loads of things. Don't mind if you miss notes, you're sight-reading. If you get used to this, you'll be seeing soon that your sight-reading will improve.

hi i am very new and no where near your level but my teacher commented that i have exceptional reading ability. i tried to look at it like learning your times tables(too many kids chanting it in the car to school) almost. i amstill not spot on but found this tact useful.hopefullyu i can keep learning that way but i am a rote learner are you? not always the best but for this maybe?

i agree with AQP that you should just read as much as possible. start mostly with pieces below your level. once you pick a pice, then just keep reading and playing it without stopping to correct your mistakes.

after you have read a lot of pieces like that, you'd feel more comfortable reading anything at your current level. it's all about experience.

mollyp:

I play alot by ear as well as by notes. I appreciate everyones advice and I will keep on playing anything and everything! I'm also going to be playing in my FIRST recital (in June) as well so I will definitely be more relaxed when this is all over!!

When I sit down to sightread something, I do the following things:

1) Look at the key sig (how many sharps and flats, what's the time, any other indictations)

2) Scan the score quickly to see if the key sig changes any where, or if there are an accidentals that jump out at me.

3) See if there are an codas, D.S. etc that will mean I need to jump around on the score.

4) Scan the score to see if there are any 4-note chords or other things that I can tell just by looking will be tricky.

5) Use any rehearsal marks (hopefully there will be some!) to get an idea of the different sections.

6) Start playing and make lots of mistakes!

For learning/upgrading/practicing sightreading, the best advice I've heard is

Start with stuff you can read, pretty much without major mistakes *at tempo*, and work your way up.

Yes, it will probably be mildly embarassing (if not horrifying) how simple this music will be. Even if it's whole-note five-finger stuff, if you can't pretty much play it, you're not really practicing your *sightreading*. Remember, everyone sightreads at a much lower level than what they're capable of playing.

Method books are great, because they gradually increase in difficulty. Haunt used bookstores and yardsales to find material you don't know (you don't want to spend a fortune on them as to keep sightreading you have to have new material all the time).

ShiroKuro:

Thanks for you input into the sightreading topic. What do you mean when you refer to "rehearsal marks"?

Bundy

I just dled this software, it's free the first 35 days.

Etude sight reader

but you need a digital piano.

Serge