Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum At exactly what level does one need to start sight reading?

It has been said that one needs to practice sight reading material around two grade levels below them.

Suppose you start learning piano for the very first time.
You are on book one. The first pages aren't even songs yet. They are just random assortments of the notes you've been introduced to.
Obviously at this point you can't practice material two levels below you. So does this mean you can't practice sight reading at all yet? You would just practice your current material then right?

If someone who knows nothing is starting to learn by only practicing this limited material, why can't more advanced learners continue in this fashion? When and why does sight reading practice ever become important? I'm not complaining or against it. I like discussing psychological aspects. I'm curious. I find theory fascinating.
Is sight reading useful solely for review? To keep note recognition sharp because as one advances, they end up spending more time on less pieces and as a result their sight reading ability suffers because their exposure to new material goes down? One needs to always be bombarded by fresh and new material to test and keep the reaction time as fast as possible?
Whereas beginners are being bombarded by so much new stuff that they don't need to practice sight reading yet?

If someone is using material that is AT their level, they are merely just "practicing" at that point?

I'll admit, I have gone through books (such as pop books) that had materials at an assortment of levels. I would try to just play that stuff anyways page by page. I found my sight reading was improving because I was constantly being bombarded by new and fresh stuff that I hadn't memorized yet and it was challenging and my mind had to work some if it out more than others. My mind was constantly being tested.

As with flash cards. I'm sure people shuffle theirs. And flash card programs I have used always display the notes in a random unexpected fashion. What is the purpose of flash card? To test your memory speed and try to get it faster. When I play new piano pieces, I believe it is still following the concept of flash cards. It is an arrangement of notes in an unexpected order and you are saying those notes and hitting them on the keyboard.

I noticed, when I stopped playing different stuff every day, regardless of the level, my sight reading level went down. I am now back to playing new material every day and I have noticed my note recognition ability and reaction speed increasing again.

At level 1 we can sight read level 0.

Playing something from the score is not sight reading yet. Sight reading is when you set the metronome at a specific tempo, start playing, and don't stop no matter what. You can leave out notes or make mistakes but you never loose the beat. It's incredibly difficult at first.

There are tons of beginner materials you can use to train that ability.

https://www.sightreadingfactory.com/app
http://gmajormusictheory.org/Freebies/freebies.html
http://makingmusicfun.net/m/free-piano-sheet-music.html

^After reading a few of his posts, I'm afraid the Op is so confused about piano playing, that any further advice such as this will just make things worse. He needs tutoring asap.

But it does contribute to improving one's sight reading ability does it not? I think I was just calling what I was doing the wrong thing and that was probably confusing people.

Is it ok to practice (not sight read) stuff higher than your sight reading level to improve your sight reading ability?

A tutor would just tell me what to do, which anyone here can also do. A tutor is one person, here I can get the point of view and ideas and knowledge from many people. Even if I had a tutor I would still ask the same questions here to get more people's opinions. A tutor can't always be with me. I took lessons once a week for 30 min. That was so short it was a joke. I'd like an hour every day. That would cost almost $1000 a month.
I would be spending so much money and time on a tutor just talking. I don't want to spend money just to talk about stuff all the time. I can do that here. I want a tutor who knows me well and my history and all my thoughts and then start to shape me. My old piano teacher could have never reached that point. She only saw a small part of me for a short time per week. It was very impersonal.

I have a crazy schedule. I can't even play piano every day. I do what I can. I ask questions about theory here. I have learned a lot by doing so already.
When it come down to it, no matter what a teacher tells me to do, it really comes down to me. Am I a fast or a slow learner? I know I'm a slow learner. You just got to plug away at it as much as you can. I'm probably making myself look dumber than I am by my questions and the way I ask them. You've never actually seen me play. Believe it or not there are many songs I can play well. It's just the way I ask questions is in such an obsessive manner. I'm obsessed with details. I try to ask my questions in detail to get a lot of different answers. Some people don't ask questions, they just do as they are told. I like to ask a lot of questions about details. I like understanding the deep theory behind stuff.

thanks. Those are pretty cool links.

You do not need lessons daily, but you need good lessons once a week. You are not getting here what you need. The evidence? You are asking exactly the same questions you did three months ago. .. and claim to still be at level one. That is not progress. Teachers do 'shape' you including how you look and sound.

Yes, students, depending on their goals, can learn without a teacher, but they are disciplined and systematic in how and what they learn. You are hurting your own progress with your approach.