# Learning To Read Music



## Pianoforte (Jul 27, 2007)

Yesterday I finally got hold of a copy of Mozarts Piano Sonata 16. K545 which is a piece I have always wanted to learn. My reading skills are very bad and this is something I want to improve on. Can anyone offer any guidance and do's and donts. With a combination of listening to the music and following the notes I'm able to make reasonable progress but there is notation I do not understand. I can't run before I can walk so to speak so what is an effective learning programme? Is there a standard teaching structure? I have been given lots of shet music some of which (especially by Debussy) looks incredibly technical. Eventually I would like to be able to play it. Perhaps not sight read but be able to grasp the basics to form a framework to build on.

Thanks!


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## Oneiros (Aug 28, 2006)

IMO sight reading is overrated. You can get through any piano piece by memorising it, with minimal music-reading skills required. It's good that you're listening to the piece - that helps a great deal. Overall, I would suggest practising short passages at a time, each hand separately, until you have memorised the whole piece, then combine the hands. This will give you faster progress than practising hands together straight away, especially if you aren't such a great sight reader.

If there's some notation you can't understand, scan the score and post the image up here, and you will find assistance very easily. 

As long as you can work out which notes on the staves mean which keys on the piano, you'll be fine. Fluid music reading comes solely from more practise - but if you learn better by memorising, then stick with that for now.

Btw, don't forget to check the key signature! (This was the bane of my early attempts at piano )

Good luck and enjoy.


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## Pianoforte (Jul 27, 2007)

When playing up and down a scale are there any hard and fast rules for fingering or is it very much down to whats comfortable for the player? I want to avoid any bad habits.


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## artisan (Nov 19, 2007)

You sound a little like me. I can play by ear, but I can't read very well. For me, It's not a problem of not having enough knowledge so much as it is a problem of not recognizing what I am seeing quick enough to play it. But if you have an ear for music and you are able to recognize sounds and find the correct notes on the piano, then you should learn to sight read! You can jump levels ahead when you can do both. Here is what I have been doing, and I have been improving quite well with this method. First I memorized the notes. Then I began familiarizing myself with the intervals. Then I began reading, and reading, and reading. When you read, you should read from the bottom up, not the top down. you should focus on the baseline first, since once you are able to read the baseline well, the rest will fall into place much quicker. As you advance, you will get to where you can read measures ahead. Your ability to recognize what you see will become quicker as time goes by, and someday, you will be so glad you learned! 
Also I would comment on what Oneiros said about memorizing. He is right about playing separate hands, and with short passages at a time. If you are memorizing a certain piece, I would keep that separate from sight reading.
If you are having trouble with knowing what all those weird things you see on a sheet of music are, just ask, and someone would surely be glad to help.
I hope this is helpful, especially for those who might stumble on the "sight reading" thread, and hope to find something helpful about sight reading here.


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## Michael Ferris (Oct 25, 2007)

The best way to learn to read music is to do it without an instrument. Music is nothing more than a language. When you learned to read English for example, if you still remember, there were all of those little "Dick and Jane" books(That is if you learned in the US). Well, your teachers did not have you play tennis at the same time you learned to read these. No, you had to study how to read them alone until they got "tablaturized" in your mind. Now, when you see an English word, you don't even have to think about the spelling, you just see it right away and know exactly what it means.
This concept can be applied to musical notes and reading them. Learn to read them seperately, just thinking. Then take the next step and while reading them, imagine where your fingers have to be on the keyboard and where and how to move them. You will find this process strenuous on account of the fact that you are learning quite intensely. Yet, the whole process will bear its fruit. THEN, and only then, should you attempt to play the piece. You will see that reading and playing lose a lot of their difficulty in this manner. Give it a try. Best of luck!


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## Oneiros (Aug 28, 2006)

Michael Ferris said:


> The best way to learn to read music is to do it without an instrument. Music is nothing more than a language. When you learned to read English for example, if you still remember, there were all of those little "Dick and Jane" books(That is if you learned in the US). Well, your teachers did not have you play tennis at the same time you learned to read these. No, you had to study how to read them alone until they got "tablaturized" in your mind. Now, when you see an English word, you don't even have to think about the spelling, you just see it right away and know exactly what it means.
> This concept can be applied to musical notes and reading them. Learn to read them seperately, just thinking. Then take the next step and while reading them, imagine where your fingers have to be on the keyboard and where and how to move them. You will find this process strenuous on account of the fact that you are learning quite intensely. Yet, the whole process will bear its fruit. THEN, and only then, should you attempt to play the piece. You will see that reading and playing lose a lot of their difficulty in this manner. Give it a try. Best of luck!


Whilst the away from the keyboard approach is helpful, it should only be part of the training. If you want to learn to read music for the purpose of conducting or theoretical analysis, then you could focus on this method, but for instrumental playing, practise will serve you better.


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## Frasier (Mar 10, 2007)

Pianoforte said:


> Yesterday I finally got hold of a copy of Mozarts Piano Sonata 16. K545 which is a piece I have always wanted to learn. My reading skills are very bad and this is something I want to improve on. Can anyone offer any guidance and do's and donts. With a combination of listening to the music and following the notes I'm able to make reasonable progress but there is notation I do not understand. I can't run before I can walk so to speak so what is an effective learning programme? Is there a standard teaching structure? I have been given lots of shet music some of which (especially by Debussy) looks incredibly technical. Eventually I would like to be able to play it. Perhaps not sight read but be able to grasp the basics to form a framework to build on.
> 
> Thanks!


Whichever route you take, it's time and practice. The more you read and play, the easier it gets. Familiarity with the work (from listening) is always a good start when you start out as you can spot mistakes in your playing easily and have an interpetation to lean on - it may not always be the best interpretation but it's something.

I personally think that sightreading, over- or under-rated is good practice and always worth a try even if you mess up a lot at first. You don't have to go for two hands together - just pick a couple of bars and try to sightread the hands separately. Sightreading is more about recognising shape and outline than reading indiviual notes. It's hardly different from reading words. When first learning to read, people labour over each word, then they read word by word. Then as they get more familiar, they take in phrases at a span.

So, just practice. Have the passage you're about to play fresh in your memory from listening.


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## LFcatface (Nov 21, 2007)

I thought it might be helpful if I posted a link to a very helpful website
http://www.musictheory.net/

Ricci Adams' Musictheory,net contains lessons, trainer and utilities that explain and teach basic notation and theory. It is like having a tutor and a study partner to assist you whenever you want to increase your music skills.

If you are a beginner or even not such a beginner check it out.


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## Krummhorn (Feb 18, 2007)

I've used that musictheory site too ... School was a very long time ago for this advanced keyboard musician ... the ability to have this as a resource when composing or arranging is quite helpful at times.

The other site I like is the Dolmetsch Music Dictionary that is another valuable resource.


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## Pianoforte (Jul 27, 2007)

The posts here and in the scales and fingering thread have been invaluable to me and given me motivation so thanks so much. I was struggling with my learning mainly because I was concentrating on the right hand but its so true that its best to learn the base part first as it all 'gel's mush easier and quicker. I've also found that when I was just practicing the right hand I was having to concentrate on what I'm playing but since I've been playing both hands together they act as prompts to each other and it comes much more naturally. The trills I feel are very insightful of a composers frame of mind so I'm not worrying about not really getting them at the moment as I know they will fall in to place eventually when I have a kind of eureka moment.

After getting confused with the base part becasue I was using the note layout from a treble cleff to learn it (doh) I finally learnt the base notes last night and its like a new chapter. I'm surrounded by piano teachers where I live so I'm going to start getting tuition because there are still a lot of notation I don't understand. 

I've also put the notes above each key so I can visualise them easier. Just like in the film A Beautiful Mind where he can 'see' numbers and decipher patterns I can with music to a very limited extent because my knowledge is limited and this is something I would love to expand on.


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## LFcatface (Nov 21, 2007)

Thanks Krummhorn, for the dolmetsch link. Glad to know about that resource.

Pianoforte-- please make sure not to become dependant on having the notes above each key. A crutch can improve immediate results but slow down your progress in the long run.

It is excellent that you have your choice of piano teachers, ask around and find out which teacher has students that sound the best, and then you know you will have a good teacher.

Good luck!


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## Krummhorn (Feb 18, 2007)

You're welcome ... it's one of the best I've found over the years on the net.


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## luigi.di.violini (Dec 11, 2007)

I think if you really want to learn to read music, you should start at the beginning, not with a Mozart piano sonata. I suggest getting a few basic, beginning piano books and working your way up, first with right hand/treble clef, then left hand/bass clef, then putting them together, all the while playing slowly and increasing tempo as you gain familiarity with each piece. As you said yourself, you can't run before you can walk. A Mozart sonata is definitely "running".

Sight-reading, while not a vital skill, can be very helpful. And being able to read music well is crucial to playing classical music accurately. Starting with fundamentals takes time and patience, but you will benefit more from it in the long run. Piano lessons are highly recommended if you really want to play classical music, as there is much technical knowledge required in executing the passages of that piece (Sonata Facile K. 545), and other "classical", or rather impressionistic, pieces such as Debussy.

I've been playing piano since 5 and still find Debussy and Mozart Sonatas challenging to play well. I can sight-read many pieces quite well, but playing them accurately and as intended by the composer requires many hours of technique practice.


If you live near a college, many music majors offer lessons at reasonable rates. You might be able to find someone to help you with your technique.

Good luck.


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## Pianoforte (Jul 27, 2007)

Just to update you I've finally go to the 1 minute mark on the Mozart piece:






Here is a rough sketch of something I first played 2 weeks ago and have been developing it ever since. I'm secretly very exited about this 'un:


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