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Sightreading involves a complex set of subskills which are fundamental to the music learning and music making process. Yet, teaching effective sightreading skills remains one of the most difficult endeavors in all of music instruction. It is one of the most written-about issues in music magazines and most music teachers will acknowledge that many students fail to achieve an acceptable level of sightreading skills during piano study. Many teachers hypothesize (as we do) that failure to attain adequate sightreading skills contributes significantly to early dropout rates in piano.
We use a combination of factors to teach effective sightreading so that our students master the basic skills of signtreading by the end of Level 1. From there, their skill set is automatic and they have a good approach to learning a new piece. Through weekly sightreading assignments, we are promoting their autonomy and effectively raising their self-efficacy.
The following table is a list of the most common issues in sightreading we've seen over the years and what we do about them:
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Sightreading Issues |
What We Do |
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Certain teaching systems postpone sightreading, or they avoid it completely. |
We introduce sightreading concepts on the very first lesson using age-appropriate materials. Reading subskills involve understanding and mastery of pre-reading notation, learning finger numbers, and chanting note values. The concepts are further reinforced with weekly use of computer-based music learning software. |
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Often students are much better at treble clef than bass clef, even after being in lessons for years. |
We utilize the Robert Pace™ teaching method, which is designed to teach reading equally in both staves. We also use computer-based music instruction software to target specific areas that require greater attention. |
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Many students cannot sightread well in keys with more than one sharp or flat. In other words, they can only read pieces written in the key of C, G and F. |
Again, we use the Robert Pace™ materials because it is a multi-key system which teaches students to read music in all 12 major and minor keys from the beginning. After going through these materials, our students master the ability to play pieces in any key. |
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Students will sightread pieces by "sounding out" notes or guessing as to which note should be played, resulting in a high error rate. |
Throughout level 1, we teach students metacognitive strategies using Think Aloud Problem Solving (TAPS). This is a self-regulatory skill which aids the student in defining, focusing and self-correcting during sightreading. The end result is the increased accuracy and consistent concentration on the sightreading task being performed. TAPS has been shown to be incredibly effective in other populations of school-age chilidren for other classroom tasks.* |
*Manning, B. H, Glasner, S. E. & Smith, E. R. (1996). The self-regulated learning aspect of metacognition: A component of gifted education. Roeper Review, 18(3), 217-223.
DEFINITIONS
Acceptable Level of Sightreading Skills: While there is no established consensus among teaching systems, the Zinn Piano Program defines it as being able to play a piece at a certain tempo with all notes and rhythms correct. Pieces at early beginner level are about 8 measures in length, with about 20 to 40 notes arranged in various rhythmic patterns, making 100% accuracy rate plausible. However, pieces at the late beginner and early intermediate levels contain about 200 to 300 notes arranged in much greater rhythmic complexity. In addition, higher level students will be asked to read higher level music elements such as note articulations and dynamics resulting in slight decrease in total reading accuracy.
Early Dropout Rate: Again, there is no established consensus, but we believe students have to reach the early advanced level before stopping lessons and still function well autonomously. Piano is tremendously complex, and even when taught conceptually, it takes many years to master. Of course, the time it takes is due to a number of factors, such the amount of daily practicing and the conditions of the home practicing environment. |
