Caroline Masters - Piano Teacher


Here are 10 tips for Piano Sight Reading Grade 1 - 5 (taken from the January 2019 EPTA magazine article by Karen Marshall)

1. Each exam grade adds a new skill

  • As you go up the grades, additional key signatures are introduced and new hand positions are required.  
  • Watch out for two Treble or Bass clefs, tricky note values or time signatures
  • More expression markings (eg pedalling)

2. Learn to identify intervals in your music - name notes out loud

3. Pulse maintenance  

  • Use a metronome or a keyboard drum-beat to help you keep the beat
  • You may need to miss out a note or even busk to keep that beat going!  No stopping!

4.  Try not to correct yourself

This is really hard but really important for sight reading.  

  • Try 'playing by ear' a simple tune like 'Twinkle, twinkle' and keep going whatever happens!  It can help be really helpful to play along with something or someone, eg. duets or a backing track if you have a keyboard.  

5.  Rhythm skills

Multi-tasking pitch and rhythm at the same time is hard.  

  • Practise clapping rhythms and try walking while clapping those rhythms to get used to this.  

6.  Key awareness

Get to know which sharps/flats belong to which key signature.  

This helps you to map your way around the keyboard more efficiently.  

7.  Try not to look down at your hands

  • If you are looking down, you aren't reading what's next in the music or looking ahead!

8.   Bass Clef Reading

   Everyone finds reading the Bass clef more challenging than the Treble clef.  

  • Playing the bass past in a duet can help with this.  

9.   Expression and articulation

Before you start, look through a piece and see if you can memorise or point out on the page the dynamic markings on the page before you start playing.  

10.  Play anything!

The more you pick something up that you haven't seen before and try to play it, even if it is only playing one hand instead of hands together, the better your sight reading will become.  There are lots of free sheet music websites on the internet. 

Practise makes perfect!