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How well can you sight read? (1 Viewer)

acemusic415

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Like the title of the thread says: How well can you sight read?

As for me, I'm a dread in sight reading, my piano teacher and the Head Music Teacher at my school reinforce that sight reading can be improved to such an extent but in the end is ultimately a gift, or something which is natural.

I can play music seperately fairly well, but whenever it comes to putting together, I bomb out which is so lame. But oh well, I don't hate Music or anything, but I wanted to know your capabilities.
 

missanonymous7

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I am virtually musically dyslexic, myself. :( I cannot learn anything purely by reading the score; I have to hear it, and then either learn it using both hearing and the sheet music, or just using the score as a rough guide and picking out most stuff by ear.

Therefore, if someone puts previously unseen sheet music in front of me and asks me to play it straight away, I am basically completely hopeless :eek:

(On the other hand, I have almost-perfect pitch, and can pick stuff out by ear pretty easily.)

Curious to hear what other people say!
 

kotodama7

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I am so jealous :( Perfect Pitch! So unfair! I'm so accustomed to sheet music, because I've been playing for 8 years on the piano, and I've been using Sheet Music so I don't really depend on my ear. When I try to use my ear - I'm completely hopeless!
 

chuboy

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I'm about in the middle, I can sight read music to a point, but I can't really PLAY it without knowing how the piece goes first.

Once I know the tune I really only use the score as a guide and usually make my own LH up and usually just fiddle with the right hand to make it easier for me to play XD I read especially fast with a leadsheet and chords for a piece I know - I can pretty much play it on the spot from that.

Naturally with classical music I play what's there but it takes me longer to learn.
 

boo92

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im ok. its basically sorting out the rhythm and the notes but after that im fine lol.

for all those music 2 people out there (if they are listening) more importantly how is your sight singing? mine's shocking. i sound like a dying cat with sinus. ewww.
 

xxstef

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i think i'm pretty good at sight-reading/sight-singing (i think its a natural thing too, and also coz i do a lot of last minute accompaniemtn work), my problems are mainly after learning a piece, getting the details down well.
 

Chicobo

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My sight reading is abysmal. On every AMEB exam sheet under the sight reading section, it's always a negative comment. =[ Whenever I get a note wrong, I stop and try and get it right.. which isnt what we're meant to do =\
I also agree on sight reading being a natural gift. I obviously didnt receive it.. lol.
 

pman

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used to be able to sight read, gave up piano and forgot how, picked up guitar heaps later, never really got the hang of sight reading again so use tabs instead
 

ekdownie

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dont even get me started on how bad i am at sight singing
my teacher said it was 'bizzare' and 'shocking' (btw how rude of my teacher!)

i dont know how to get better either

i just have to keep practising m intervals or what??
 

typo

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Like the title of the thread says: How well can you sight read?

As for me, I'm a dread in sight reading, my piano teacher and the Head Music Teacher at my school reinforce that sight reading can be improved to such an extent but in the end is ultimately a gift, or something which is natural.

I can play music seperately fairly well, but whenever it comes to putting together, I bomb out which is so lame. But oh well, I don't hate Music or anything, but I wanted to know your capabilities.

That is the biggest bs i have ever heard.
Sight reading is nothing natural. I used to be sheeet.
The trick is to basically sight read LOTS every day. Usually i just sight read like 2 grade 3 books in and hour and the next day half of a grade 4 and etc. i just get all my previous grade pieces and open them and just sight read the pieces. that is all there is to it. It's all in the memory of seeing the note and being able to immediately play what you see, and with practise that comes along.
 

typo

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I suck at it :(

I can sight read LH or RH ok, but both together is a no go.
i'd blame your teacher for that.

when i started piano, my teacher refused to teach me seperate hands style. so i kinder got the hang of it. (although some may say, it's better to learn one hand and perfect it and the other hand and perfect it and combine to make perfection...etc.etc.blah blah blah. but who cares? you are wasting more time. rather perfect to hands in one go :) )
 

Absolutezero

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I can sight read everything in the treble cleff for guitar. However, once it begins to go above a high A or below middle C I get confuse. Singing-wise, I getting better at pitching the notes in my head, though I still need work.
 

chichichip

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Sightreading in orchestra's okay, unless it's like *massive semiquaver runs which aren't appegios/scales whatever*
Ameb sightreadings i'm severely shite at ;P
And sightreading is NOT a gift. Do some babies learn how to read by themselves? no. thus the same for music/sightreading I believe.
 

chichichip

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Sightreading in orchestra's okay, unless it's like *massive semiquaver runs which aren't appegios/scales whatever*
Ameb sightreadings i'm severely shite at ;P
And sightreading is NOT a gift. Do some babies learn how to read by themselves? no. thus the same for music/sightreading I believe.
 

Arowana21

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My sight reading is abysmal. On every AMEB exam sheet under the sight reading section, it's always a negative comment. =[ Whenever I get a note wrong, I stop and try and get it right.. which isnt what we're meant to do =\
I also agree on sight reading being a natural gift. I obviously didnt receive it.. lol.
agreed.
+..i am 8th grade, but still my sight reading is the worst. I think i go with some others above. I use my ears more often, and then attempt to read the music. If i cant listen to it...then it is more difficult for me.
:)
 

ekdownie

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hang on. i thought we were taking about SIGHT-SINGING!?! well im pretty good at sight reading, i always get really good marks for it in exams, and thats how i pick up music so quickly.
but im SHOCKING at sight-SINGING
 

evilelmo_2005

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I can sight read grade some grade 3 and 4 pieces, I can play some pieces pretty fluently in 2 to 3 goes but that's not what I want.

WHAT I WANT IS PERFECT PITCH! HOW DO U GET PERFECT PITCH? THOSE PEOPLE WITH PERFECT PITCH TEACH ME HOW OBTAIN THAT SKILL plz. I want perfect pitch, I have perfect pitch for my right hand for the piano since it's the melody but I can't get the left hand right. I want to know how to listen to a piece and play it by both hand just from listening not just my right hand:hammer:

sorry for my long reply:guitar:
 

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