I have been playing the piano for three years now. A mojor problem that i have is trying to read the music that i play while playing the piano. I am so used to just trying to memorize the music and just focusing on making sure i play the right notes on the keyboard. Is there any particular way i can practice reading music while playing the piano or will it develop in time

-- Greg (gh6_1999@yahoo.com), January 29, 2002

Answers

Reading is something that does get better with practice. You must do lots of it. Here are a few hints to help you become a better reader (not necessarily in order of importance, either).

- Know your scales and chord progressions thoroughly. You hand will recognize the patterns when you are reading.

- Read every day.

- Read different kinds of music. Sticking with one style is very limiting in developing reading skills.

- Develop your ear. Learn to sight sing. It will transfer into better eye-hand coordination because your ear helps your hand predict.

- Try some blind playing exercises. Close your eyes and try to feel your way around the keyboard. Can you jump an octave? 2 octaves?

- Learn how to improvise. You will discover a lot about patterns that way.

- Don't feel bad about looking down at the keyboard every now and then. Just try to stay primarily focused on the page and looking ahead a bit. Use your peripheral vision.

Hope this helps! Be patient.

-- Arlene Steffen (asteffen@fresno.edu), January 30, 2002.