Explaining How I Sight-read Music 📖🤓♫ | Tiffany Vlogs
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- Опубликовано: 29 сен 2024
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Music Theory Books:
For piano beginners: love how cute Alfred's kids series is :)
www.amazon.com...
Alfred's non-cartoon version:
www.amazon.com...
Juilliard Pre-College books:
Back in the day, we used a similar 2nd edition (but that costs way more):
Cheaper edition: www.amazon.com...
Current 4th edition is 3x that price 😮
www.amazon.com...
Rhythm Books:
Basic: We started with this one for the beginning levels of ear-training
www.amazon.com...
Advanced:
www.amazon.com...
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How many times did I say harmonies? 🤔😜 Read the description for some helpful info!
Now I want to watch again, counting them this time.
Hi Tiffany 😊🤭🤭
Should have paid more attention as a kid 🤦🏻♀️ As an adult, do you recommend the non cartoon Alfred book that you listed to learn about harmony? Thanks!
Don't forget the scales 🤭
CC bot: you have said "harmony/harmonies/harmonic analysis" 22 times.
If you include only the instructional section (11:09-24:18) it's 19 times which is _once every 41 seconds_ 🤭 driving important points home!
Pro Tip: just learn every piece there is. Everyone will be amazed at your "sightreading" skills :)
thanks.
super easy :DDDD
😂
Great now I need to “sightread” Beethoven moonlight sonata and Chopin torrent
Super easy, barely an inconvenience.
I used to play classical piano when I was a kid until I was in 6th grade. it was my dream to be a professional pianist but I had to stop learning piano. I haven't touched my piano for about 14 years. one day I stumbled upon your channel and watching your videos makes me want to play my piano again! so I called a technician to clean and tuned my piano (don't even ask how dirty and out of tune it was) and I started to learn again! it feels like going back to when I was 5 and having my first ever piano lesson 😂 I just want to thank you because your videos have encouraged me to pick up and rediscover a passion I once had. I'm now in a whole different career path as an interior designer, but it feels so good to be able to play the piano again! wishing you a good luck ahead ❤️✨
Welcome to the club! Many people were inspired by Tiffany to take up piano, sometimes after many years. I spent 15 years without playing after my (early) retirement from the concert scene, and somehow watching Tiff made me start again. Good luck, and this time don't give up! 👍
Andres Gunther Hi, sorry I just saw your comment! tbh it's been quite hard to find time to practice because i have a full time job. but I'm glad practicing ended up being my quality time with myself and I'm able to clear my mind after a long day of work. I try to practice whenever I can, not that I want to be a professional pianist or anything, but I like the feeling of accomplishment everytime I learn new pieces 😊 also good luck to you for starting again!
@austin M Thanks for the interesting question, Austin... it was neither of those. I am a perfectionist, and my own worst critic, and that inner voice took over my musical life in such a way that I burned out.
In addition to that came my emigration to America. When you come here as an immigrant you have to learn the language, adapt to the culture, get a job, and start out with bare essentials. As things were, I didn't get a job as musician but as technician- my sideline business had been pipe organ repairs; next to music I love to work with tools. I also joined a church choir. So I really didn't give up music; I simply worked from a different perspective. (Still working as pipe organ tech, BTW).
As noted above, I started playing piano again a year ago. I even post on Instagram. But I am not allowing any pressure - from my "audience" or myself - to take over my life again. After all, I am 62 now ;-)
@@andresgunther Could I have your instagram to listen to your playing?
@@alantaylor6691 My handle is @gunther_andres . I was an organist, not a pianist back in the day, so my piano playing is not professional.
Here is the FIRST, and most important tip:
1) Practice playing pieces you already know (memorized)...and play them without looking. Play them with your eyes closed, play them in the dark, play them blindfolded - whatever. Do this A LOT. Because no one ever mentions one of the most important aspects of sight-reading: you have to do it without looking at your hands. Step number one should really be to get comfortable with the *topography* of the keyboard. What does this chord "feel" like, how far does this leap "feel" like? Everybody's hands are different, so get to know how it feels to play the piano without having to look at your hands. Develop this skillset first, THEN we can talk about what you're eyes are looking at on the page. (Perhaps I should make a video about this.)
Yes exactly💫
This is perhaps the most. I remembered when I was still learning the piano that this was one of the things my teacher always told me, especially when learning new pieces.
@@studiosnch This was literally the way I learned to play the piano when I was 5. My teacher would cover up my hands, make me keep my eyes on the music and count out loud while playing. This is basically the essence of sight-reading: the ability to play music, in time, without looking at your hands.
I guess everyone will eventually get this even without any special practice. How could you don’t know the “topography” of the keyboard after spending years with it? So I guess although it might be important, it’s the easiest part of “sight-reading”
@@allenhu1744 It's a good question, but think about it. Playing a piece memorized, where you do you naturally look? Down at your hands, right? Whether it's a recital, competition, audition, the tendency is to look at your hands. When you're actually learning a new piece, probably some combo of looking at music and then your hands. But rarely is the habit to force your eyes to STAY on the music and be able to play without looking at your hands much. That's the skill that needs to be strengthened, in my humble opinion. I wouldn't say it's the "easiest" part, but probably the most overlooked part of the equation.
This video is just what I needed right now! Those rhythm books seem useful, I just ordered a copy.. Ta ta ta 🎶
I saw this video so i did all what you say and my french teacher told me he noticed me more enthusiastic and that i'm more faster reading notes.
Thank you 🤚 you are my inspiration 🙏
I was gonna sleep then the notification popped up
Sleep is just an illusion
Then Tiffany is now responsible for your sleep deprivation.
yeaolon no he is lol
I would like to share that if you are new into sight-reading music
-you may start with reeeeally easy pieces
-using a metronome really slowwww to help you be sure about the rythms
-And be ready to fail because dont take it too seriously. Take it as a warming part in you study routine.
-Slowing increase the difficulty of the pieces you are sight-reading.
this was actually very helpful, as a pianist that’s still growing (almost 4 years) I’m kinda new that classical and getting better at sight-reading, listening to pieces and opening my interests to other things. So this really helped and got some useful tips on things and how I can approach my other future pieces. ps- I’m only 15, so I’m slowly getting there.
I'm 4 years in too and tbh sight reading gives me anxiety attacks😞 Won't stop though
Bruce Erogan I feel like what would help from one pianist to another is that sightreading is/and can be scary but instead of looking at the bigger picture look that the smaller, and just focus on one page at a time. Is probably the best way that helps me personally. Just looking at one page and focusing on that for now and I feel like once you have that done it gets a bit easier.
Also as you progress add another page, so one day you sight read page 1 *and that only!*, then the next page 2 and so on (or how many ever pages the piece your playing has). hope this helped
@@NovaSuperior this is solid advice. Thank you very much
Start by sight reading super simple pieces. Gradually start working your way up to a level lower, to the level your on. Obviously by sight reading on the level your on you might not play it perfectly, but that’s okay! Also if you don’t play one of the pieces perfectly, practice that piece until it is “perfect” and stay on that level the second time you sightread.
I really like listening to you. Thanks 😊
So glad to have you back.
Hey Tiffany, I’ve been playing piano for around 7 years and I aspire to become a concert pianist. I work so hard every day but I always feel like nothing I do is good enough. Was there a time your life when your were like this? I feel like I will never improve and I’m scared about failing so much that I practice probably 8-9 hours a day. I don’t know what to do.
I am at rest knowing the Steinway Piano made it out alive
This is great info Tiffany! Just what I needed to hear actually😊thankyou.
You are such a great inspiration, thank you Tiffany! 🤗
Now I should go to practice with all of that in mind 😉
Thanks for the tips and teaching advices. I appreciate this new style in your videos. Please continue making videos with tips to all level of players (I'm a total beginner:)
13:20 omgggg tiffanyyy yess it helpsss! thank you so much for answering my question T^T
It's not "boring", it's was very interesting, good job
Can u slowly play those runs plssss
Wonderful. Love it.
So.. Harmonies were really important XD
Excellent video!!
You definitely have the authority to give tips!
How come you are such a good pianist after a few years Tiffany and I have been playing on and off for 35 years and still rubbish...I am also rubbish at sight reading :-(
Will definitely miss the old apartment!
And the dog. At least the lamp moved as well.
Wait did u just say “yOu d0n’t hAve AUTHORITY????!” I’ve been wanting to truly hear tips and advice from you most especially on how you interpret your music almost to perfection.
I missed you played this pieces. .
Please make a video of playing "as you wish" by yiruma.
Hey have you ever taught piano? I've been teaching myself for two years now learning my first classical piece minute in g minor i love music i just wish my hands moved right I'm a disabled musician now so it's challenging but I don't let a difficult piece intimidate me
You look Lang Lang from the side..
Thanks for inspiring ...
i think there will come a day when you are a high-class high-flying piano teacher
Moonlight sonata 3rd movement in the title
Conversations under the piano....it should chapter five but, like Tif is in a new place, I should call this Conversations under the piano 2.0 Chapter one 😁😎
my sight reading is to be honest terrible ;D I always struggle to learn a piece, but when I do, playing it right just becomes a matter of time and technice, not to mention it becomes a hell of a lot easier xD
p.s. I would really like to see what it's been like when you sight read Chopin's Ballade No. 1, cuz I'm still struggling :DDD
My piano teacher was hungarian. She could sight-read anything. She used to say it's the same principles that apply in reading words: you've seen them a thousand times, you know how to pronounce them, you dissociate the mouth and the eyes, you decipher a section and anticipate the next. And the more you do it, the better you get. At the beginning you have to read slowly, but time and experience build confidence.
I have never thought of it in that way, but your teacher was absolutely right
Amadeus Radio thanks for the insight
Your piano teacher is actually Franz Liszt
There's scientific research that has shown that different regions of the brain light up when reading music vs reading words. So I think it's disingenuous to say that sight reading music is like a textual language. Neurologically it is not.
@@Igneous01 stfu dude, nobody cares to what is neurologically right, its a good comparison
Moving a harp is difficult, but that intro with moving the piano... oh help
One, two... Three!!!
I helped move family piano (Baldwin Acrosonic upright, 1950s), with Dad and 2 brothers, to 3 different locations. As we had children , several took lessons, at different intervals.....original home had 15 stairs to come down out of front door.....whew!!!!!!
@@ronl7131 oh boy
@@DanielMartinez-nw1pn, yes. One... two... THREE!!!
"it's not rocket science"... HAH. Studying "rocket science" myself, but what goes on in a pianist's mind to process something like this at speed is what completely baffles me. This here is the real black magic. I hope you'll let us pick your mind about the subject further in the future.
Its as simple as reading a novel and typing everything your read on the computer keyboard at the same time. Actually its easier than that because typing keyboards have far smaller keys and you also read a sentence much faster than you can type it. So, if you can read a good book and type on your keyboard, there is no excuse for not learning sight reading.
As a linguistics student, I should quote the sentence about learning music and learning grammar being alike. I may use that during my papers and if I have discussions in the future.
Oh good! I almost edited that part out... 😊
@@TiffanyPoonpianist As someone who does research in multilingual language acquisition, this comparison is indeed rather sketchy. Language acquisition is, if no evil forces like teachers intervene, 100% unconscious process. If you try to memorize grammar rules and turn language into math, you will never be able to use them on the fly. So if during sight reading you never analyze the score consciously, but rather it's all happening at the level of instinct -- then yes, it's similar to language acquisition. If, on the other hand, you are looking for patterns and consciously identifying chord progressions, telling yourself "here comes inverted supertonic of f# minor", then no, it's not at all like language since you are never consciously telling yourself during actual speech that "here comes a inflected verb since my subject was in third person singular and the tense is not progressive or perfect".
i'm not even a musician but you opened my eyes to see the beauty of classical music
floor gang You never know, maybe the right person will come along!!
if it's something you want, you'll find a way. :)
Pray for it! You'll definitely have it one day.
Mine is fresh bought from an answered prayer. Im just started learning the violin. And it was veryyyy fun. All the music theory and stuff. You'll love it, too.
i have a question, if you guys don't mind :)))
i really want to learn playing the violin, without any goals of joining in an orchestra nor to create any career with it. playing classical music on a violin is one of my dreams now. any advice for a 16-year-old me on how to pursue what i want??? :((((
@@floorgang600 oh sure, age is not a hindrance of becoming one. youre still young and with that age you can improve as the years go by. I do really believe that you can make it. with that perseverance... and as i read ur comment it's what you are, u dont know why you wanted it and the uncertainty because deep inside it's ur passion. Its not yet too late. Go for it ;)
mine is for the Lord, i'm praying for it months ago and He answered it. I'm using it for His glory. :)
i pray that you pursue ur passion.
*"Know your harmonies"*
^THIS
... is exactly why music theory is important and can be so helpful with sight reading. Understanding the basics of and
being able to visualize "functional harmony" (Thank you Bach) should be a fundamental goal for anyone that wants to read,
write, and understand musical composition.
It helps with recognizing musical structure by taking visual queues and applying what you know instantly from memory.
You look for structure and markers rather than focusing on every single note and/or every single measure. -just as Tiffany has demonstrated in this video.
In my case, ( I am nowhere at the level of Tiffany) before I sit down and work on a new piece, I spend an hour or so
*JUST LOOKING AT THE MUSIC* before a single note is played. When I do sit down and I am ready for the first note, in my mind ..
_-I already know the key / relative key of the piece_
_-I already know the harmonic scales in said key_
_-I already know the harmonic chords in said key_
_-I already have some structure of the music by noting the 2-5-1, 1-5, 5-1, 1--4-5 ect. progressions in the piece._ (We've witnessed Tiffany herself do this from time to time)
Drinking game: take a shot every time Tiffany says ‘harmonies’
Joking, thanks for all the tips! Helps me sight read better!
I did my lesson and completed the day 400 today 😂😂😂
But what if I play Schoenberg ?
I wish you good luck 😅
Oh God😂😂😂
Lol just make it up no one will no the difference 😉
I feel 'offering your accumulated experience through developed skill' is a better mentality then...'authority' to offer 'tips'. Keep it up tiffany.
agreed, we learn from our past 👍 and become a better me
Love your music and channel , I became a Jazz Pianist after studying classical music for years and still have a lot of “classical” influences in my playing.
The best Jazz pianists I've heard (Art Tatum, Bill Evans to name the top two on my list) had a classical training background. My to this day best kept secret is that I studied to become a jazz pianist, but as my country of origin went under and I moved to America that project "went south".
@@andresgunther What is your country of origin? Keith Jarrett and Chick Corea also have a classical background.Regards from Amsterdam.Mike
@@mikedelferro Venezuela 😭
@@andresgunther That's a difficult situation there....I am friends with Gabriela Monteiro, do you know her?
@@mikedelferro No, "Gabri" was already touring and concertizing abroad when I still was a student. But she surely is a legend, and one of the few concert pianists who is able to improvise. This BTW is a skill that unfortunately got lost in all areas of classical music except concert organ. My theory why is that (classical) music teachers scold their students when they start improvising and say it's taking time from their learning. (I am retired concert organist, and used to improvise quite a lot, that was part of my church job).
I accidentally discovered classical piano music when I stumbled on a Tom and Jerry cartoon episode when the cat was playing the Hungarian Raphsody on the piano. Curious about the music I searched for the whole version and this led me to your version and liked it and that was the beginning. Thanks for inspiring us to discover classical piano music.
This is why i am inspired by you. I am a horrible sight reader and easily discouraged, but this video has helped me alot. I learn to never compared and keep believe and be myself.
14:42 reminds me when you are in a calculus class and the professor says: "So, we have this equation with 7 variables and it is trivial to reduce it into this one small equation here so I won't bother explaining it"
This is incredibly eye opening for an amateur to watch and listen to because it shows how many years of work you need to learn all your scales, recognize patterns so quickly, and so and on and so on. Things that come very naturally for you now seem light years away for someone like me, BUT by explaining your process you actually do make it seem at least possible to get somewhat close to to the same planet of playing that you're on;)
Another tip to becoming a better sight reader is to read lots and lots of music but make sure it is 2 or 3 levels under your normal lesson pieces. Reading church hymns from a hymnal is excellent practice as well as you have to find multiple notes at a time. That is where your interval training will be useful. Always read from bottom to top when reading chords and don't feel like you must play at performance tempo right away. I speak from a lifetime of experience and have been a proficient sight reader from an early age. I have been teaching piano for 51 years now and am only 64. I enjoy all your videos.
Woah you answered my question by actually showing how to do it, thank you!!
Thank you for your question! It inspired this vlog idea 🤗
This is fascinating!
WHY ARE YOU EVERYWHERE?!
Gay
Omg you’re even here???
@@phcamthi Seeing him here feels like seeing Ben Drowned in a completely different game.
since i watch your videos about sight reading, i did all of your tips before this videos is up and those tips really help me get a bigger picture (as you said!) of the piece (I did it for Chopin Etude op 25 no 9 & 12) AND that strived sight reading really gave me satisfaction and more energy and enthusiasm! really change the way I start practicing a new piece and it's a good thing for me. thank you for those tips and for the new ones!! fyi, you are totally qualified for giving tips for us amateurs!
Oooo that's great to know! Woo-hoo 🥳
In _Claire de Lune,_ there's also a 3-chord (actually, in arpeggio form) progression that gets returned to a lot:
D♭ major - F minor - E (F♭) major, 1st inversion
This is something you might not be expected to pick up on, when sight-reading for the first time, but it should become apparent after a full pass through the piece.
It's something that, as a listener, acts as a kind of anchor to pull you back to the same place. It sort of unifies the whole thing. Plus, it's just *sooo* beautiful!
About the polyrhythms in CdL, what I did when first learning this piece, was find the lowest common denominator - 16th notes - and count them out by 6's (three 6's to the measure).
Then every note fell on some count. After enough times through that, I could dispense with the numbers, and just imagine clicks, like from a metronome. After a longer time, I could play around with the tempo to put expression into it.
To your question at the end:
"Does that make any sense?" - YES, it DOES! You put it perfectly, IMHO.
Fred
A genius Juilliard graduate and world class concert pianist telling me that the blood I drop on the keyboard is all about harmonies and chords. I just want to shoot myself. Thank you Tiffany
Absolutely not boring comments. This was very interesting and yes, we need to know our harmonies :) Thank you for the vlog
I love bach - actually, I am obsessed with his music - to the extent that I am doing my best at 64 to live long enough to render some of his Goldberg Variations in an acceptable manner. Do you have any fundamental advice, Tiffany to help me realise this dream? I would like to say that your rendition of Scarlatti's F Minor, K.466 Sonata brought me here.
Practice makes perfect. Your brain will learn all the patterns itself. Just keep on reading.
I started learning a piano a year ago, now I can sight-read more or less quickly. Ok. Not really quickly 😭😭😭
Keep it up.👍
@@Hans-gb4mv thank you! I love playing the piano.
@@eugeniar7101
Cool
This is why it's so important for musicians to practice scales and learn music theory!
I encountered a similar problem in that I was a poor sight-reader even after 11 years of playing.
What it was with me was that when I began playing at age 6 I had a great ear and memorization ability from the start, memorization was instant and easy.
Because memorization was something I didn't have to learn but reading fluently was something I would have to learn, I found at this beginning time that I could learn pieces very quickly by reading once and committing to memory, then discarding the music permanently and practicing/learning the piece without the music. I wouldn't even need to play it through while reading to memorize, I'd just sit at the piano and read the music then throw it away and start learning the piece with it already memorized in my head, it was the fastest way to learn the piece and doing it that way I did learn very fast.
My father was my teacher but didn't see a problem with this due to the fact he was the opposite, a good reader but poor memorizer. He admired my ear and memorization ability and thought what I was doing was good, like a high way of practicing. But it wasn't good as I didn't need to practice playing from memory as that ability was unlimited without practice. But reading was not.
So I got to diploma level without even being able to play with music. Even when I started on a conservatorium full scholarship my con teacher didn't correct me, I suppose because my performing was relatively good anyway and that was all she was interested in. And perhaps also because she was like my father, much better reader than memorizer.
But I decided I wasn't happy, I felt very incomplete as a pianist, for all my natural ability I couldn't do something that virtually every average joe player could do. I could of course sight read to a degree, but it was poor enough that I couldn't perform at all with music. People remark how it is that one can play without the music. For me it was how can one play with music, I admired that ability in others, and especially admired good sight readers.
Anyway I decided that most of my practice from then on was going to be with music and I was going to spend a lot of time sight reading, I started practicing the total opposite of how I used to practice. Just spending time reading improved my reading, the more I forced myself to play with music the better I got at reading. If anyone can't sight read well, then spend more time reading than you have been, practice makes perfect.
Since becoming better at reading I've also found I enjoy my music much more, only being able to commit things to memory is very one-dimensional and puts great limits on what one can practice and enjoy. Because at the end of the day if you can do both, sight reading is a faster way of enjoying music than learning from memory. It was only because I couldn't read that memorizing was an easier way of playing music.
At 0:41 you give the Chinese hand sign for “6”, unconsciously I suspect. Most Americans won’t catch it of course 🤓
Apart from watching a tv series, you inspired me to turn back into the piano. I have played piano since primary 2 but during this pandemic I haven't touched my piano for 4 months. Thank youuu Tiffany :) It really feels nice to be back with my piano
Piano scores should have chord symbols like popular music. Makes it so much easier to identify the notes.
"dont play it like youre farting" lmao
Sight reading tips for those not at Tiffany's level (knowing scales, arpeggios and chords is great, but what if you don't)?
1. Note the key and, even more importantly, the key signature. If there are lots of flats or sharps in the key signature, make a mental note of which notes are natural;
2. Note time signature;
3. Note any accidentals and where they occur;
4. Note any unusual clef changes in left or right hand (also, note any hand crosses);
5. Tap out the rhythm using both hands;
6. Note any scales, arpeggios, chords, cadences and other repeated patterns (e.g., alberti bass) that you recognize;
7. Note any modulations.
That is the list I give my students, anyway. For practice, I have them write these things in before they play and do not limit the time at first.
@13:15 just buy sheet music WITH fingering marks.
Speaking of Moonlight sonata, do you think it would be a bad idea to audition with the first movement for an undergrad music Major? I have a student who really wants to.
I love how you have a soft thick blanket to lie under your piano, like a cat relaxing in a favourite comfy spot. It probably sounds amazing under there with your Spirio playing :D
i just struggled sight reading this afternoon. thank you so much tiffany😭💖
You can do it!! 🤗
Are your friends at Steinway allowing you to keep that beauty longer than originally planned?
My biggest problem with sight-reading is that I'm quite good at sight reading pieces I've heard before, but if I have just the score and know nothing about the piece I'm terrible. Any advice?
You start by sight reading super easy pieces that you feel you can do “perfectly” on. Keep moving up in levels until you feel stuck. Once you find that level then you should continue to learn the piece (even if that means being able to learn it in a day.) After that try to stay on that same level of music and once you can play, idk, three pieces perfectly on the first go, then you can move onto the next level. I hope that makes sense 😅
Asking someone to sight-read chopins 1st ballade is just evil. Satan would be a huge fan
For music theory, as someone largely self taught I would recommend the Keyboard Theory series by Julie Mcintosh Johnson! It's progressive, focused on the piano, and as everything is a workbook you really helpful to have a way to practice when not in front of a keyboard. I would do them regularly as part of my lunch breaks and it was a significant difference.
Remark/request, unrelated to this vlog -
Do you think that perhaps some time after your big, upcoming concert on the 29th, you might be willing to tackle the piano-transcribed version of Gustav Holst's suite, _The Planets?_
I found sheet music for it last year on IMSLP, at
imslp.org/wiki/The_Planets,_Op.32_(Holst,_Gustav)
in the "Sheet Music" section of that page, under the tab, "Arrangements and Transcriptions." It was the one for solo piano (Sigal).
[There's also a version for 2 pianos, if you have someone else who's willing to collaborate.]
Who knows? You might like to make a sight-reading vlog of one of the 7 movements? It's a monumental work!
Fred
Fantastic advice! Love Tiffany’s blogs. 💜🎹🙏🏼
The c minor partita Tiffany talks about I played a few years ago as an audition for Ashkenazy 💜🎹
Got quite some ideas from the basics I learned as a kid from my teacher, and later by trying stuff myself, so the way you describe it makes so much sense :D
Definitely going to read some of the books in the description... Never knew where to start, but I guess this'll be it then :P
ive been playing piano for around 7 years and am about to do grade 8, anyone have any tips on how to ace the exam ? ;)
What I do as a pianist turned bossa nova guitarist turned classical pianist again: I put the guitar notation on the score. It helps me to sight read, to understand and memorize. Example Brahms Intermezzo Op. 118 N° 2: A / D A / D / E7 A D6 / A E A7 / D E6 / B7 B79 / A6 B7 / etc... So when I see B7 I know in a flash that any or all of the following notes must be played: B D# F# A.
Very very very helpful since without school these days, I have sooo many new pieces I want to learn! Thanks a lot!
Btw congrats on the new apartment!
Love you Tiffany🌸
❤️
Wow I literally just went through the whole comment section answering people’s questions.
And you’re a kid, wow! You have some knowledge.
NekoNyan wow thanks 😅. I think it’s because I play an instrument that doesn’t really require competitions and one that requires auditions and competitions (which includes having to sight read). (I don’t really do a lot of competitions for my piano). It’s also hard not to answer a question that you know the answer to. 😅
STOP TALKING AND PLAY PIANO. PLEASE I AM FROM PUERTO RICO AND I SPEAK SPANISH.
JAKDJAKDJAH
Why not summarize the basic essence of music as I do below, noting that all music is simply an application of these basic ideas similarly to building structures out of LEGO’s: The more familiar you are with the building blocks, the easier you build:
1. Music is made of MAJOR and MINOR 8 note scales (C to C, A-flat to A-flat, etc.) with the chords that are build upon them.
2. Major and Minor scales are the series of neighboring notes that climb up and down the instrument (keyboard) separated by single steps that climb either to the literally very next pitch (called a “Half step”) or the next bigger increment (skipping a “half step”), called a “Whole step.” Playing the notes from C to (next higher, 7 notes away, all white keys on the keyboard) C, gives you the C major scale, demonstrating the distribution of Whole (w) and Half (h) steps making a major scale:
C w D w E h F w G w A w B h C.
Thus, the single step intervals making the major scale are: W W H W W W H. MEMORIZE THIS!!!!!
Now practice building major scales on every key (F to F, B-flat to B-flat, etc.).
3. Minor scales work on the same principle, but with different distribution of Whole and Half steps, most importantly that the THIRD note of the scale is LOWER by a HALF STEP (only H between 2nd & 3rd notes, and W between 3rd & 4th notes), and 6th note also USUALLY (but not always) lowered a HALF STEP the same way. But the minor scale has a few slightly different versions (but a) position of 1st, 4th, 5th notes ALWAYS exactly the same as in major scale, b) 3rd note ALWAYS lower as described above c) 6th note in about half the cases, or slightly more, also lower as above. BECAUSE OF THE MINOR SCALE’S INCREASED COMPLEXITY, best learned after getting the basic concepts through the MAJOR SCALE.
4. Each note in the scale is identified by its relationship to the main, FIRST note (called the TONIC) in the scale. In C major, C is the 1st note (tonic), in E-flat major E-flat is the main, 1st note (tonic). The notes of the C major scale are C D E F G A B C. The notes of the E-flat major scale are E-flat F G A-flat B-Flat C D E-flat.
5. Basic chords are built on each note of the scale by skipping immediate scale neighbors and stacking notes separated by one unused scale note in between, so instead of being separated by one whole or half step, they are separated by two (whole and/or half) steps. These intervals are called a “third” because the span from one note to the next used is THREE NOTES: C to E (d is skipped), E to G (f is skipped) B to D (c is skipped) etc.
So examples of basic chords from the C MAJOR scale are C-E-G (c chord), G-B-D (G chord), F-A-C (F chord).
Apply this chord building concept on each of the notes of a C scale, then try the same on each note of the E-flat scale, then do the same on every other MAJOR SCALE you now know how to build based on the principle of W W H W W W H.
6. In a major scale, you will notice that the chords built on the 1st, 4th, and 5th notes have a slightly “brighter” sound than those built on the 2nd, 3rd, and 6th notes. The brighter ones are called “Major” chords and the “darker” ones are called “minor” chords. The difference is that as in the major scale, the interval (span, stretch) between your base note and other note comprising a THIRD, will be slightly bigger or smaller by a half step. When that interval is slightly bigger, it is a MAJOR 3rd, and slightly smaller, it’s a minor third.
In a MAJOR CHORD the interval between the bottom two notes (C-E in a C major chord for example) is slightly big, called. a MAJOR 3rd; between the top two notes in the chord (E-G in the C major chord), slightly smaller, giving you a “minor third”.
The difference between a MAJOR CHORD and a MINOR CHORD is that in a major chord there is a MAJOR 3rd (slightly bigger) on the bottom and MINOR 3rd on the top, and in a MINOR CHORD the MINOR 3rd is on the bottom and the MAJOR 3rd is on the top.
7. Building chords on each of the first 6 notes of a major scale, the distribution of major and minor chords is as follows:
1.M(ajor) 2.m(inor) 3.m(inor) 4.M(ajor) 5.M(ajor) 6.m(inor)
On the 7th note of the scale is a special scrunched up chord consisting of two small (minor) THIRD intervals instead of a big (major) and small (minor) attached together. This is called a DIMINISHED chord. The 7th note on a major scale always gets a diminished chord built on it (and this is nearly always true in the minor scale as well, but not always).
So the chords in a Major Scale are 1.M 2.m 3.m 4.M 5.M 6.m 7.d 8/1.M
Since you learned how to build major scales starting from every note on your keyboard, you can now build chords on each of these notes on your scales, distributing major and minor (and on 7th scale note, diminished chord) chords properly. Remember that in a major scale, the major chords are on the 1st, 4th and 5th notes, the minor chords are on the 2nd, 3rd, and 6th notes, and the diminished chord is on the 7th note.
LEARN THE SERIES OF MAJOR, MINOR (and Diminshed, on 7) chords that go with each major scale.
8. Once you become accustomed to the notes forming each chord (C major chord - C, E, and G; G major chord: G B D; a minor chord: A C E; B flat major chord: B-flat, D, F; B-flat minor chord B-flat, D-flat, f; C-sharp diminished chord: C-sharp E G... etc), you can jumble the notes on the chord (C,E,G in the C major chord for example) to get a different version (called an “inversion”) of the chord you are playing (C-E-G, E-G-C, and G-C-E are all C major chords so long as the notes in the chord are C, E and G). But first you have to get familiar with the chord on its original position, then you can switch the order of the notes on the chord.
9. Now that you know there are 7 notes in the scale, with a chord built on each note, get in the habit of thinking of the chord that goes on each note on the scale, and using a ROMAN numeral (upper case or lower case according to whether a major or minor chord goes on that note in the scale, but use lower case with a symbol for diminished for the 7th note).
I ii iii IV V vi viid (I).
10. Practice playing all these major scales and the chords for each major scale as outlined above. THAT IS MOST OF WHAT YOU NEED FOR MUSIC THEORY!!!!!! THE BETTER YOU UNDERSTAND THESE PATTERNS AND CONCEPTS (anybody can do it with study and practice!!!!), the better you understand music and will be able to sight read!!!!!!!!
11. Once you grasp all of the above, learn the MINOR SCALES built on each note, and the chords that go with the minor scales. It is a bit more complex than major scales, but YOU CAN DO IT!!!! The most important difference between the major and minor scale is that in the major scale the 3rd note is always a half step higher and in the minor scale it is a half step lower. The 2nd, 4th and 5th notes in major and minor scales are the same, but in different kinds of minor scales the 6th and 7th notes change, making the minor scale somewhat more complicated).
12. You will find that in any piece of music, the I, V, IV chords are the most important (in minor key music, i, V, iv). Above all, you’ll find that the music revolves around the relationship between I & V (i & V in minor key music), and all the chord patterns will simply develop on the tension and resolution effect of going between V and I). Like a magnet to steel, V is attracted to I; and just as you can play with the attraction of magnets and steel by putting different materials in between, you can put different chords between I & V (most importantly, IV; in minor key music, the chords are i V & iv).
14. THAT’S ABSOLUTELY IT!!!!! If you learn all these concepts and patterns thoroughly, you know all the music theory you need to grasp to be a professional sight reader!!!!! GOOD LUCK!!!! You need to study and practice hard, but YOU CAN DO IT!!!!! The more you learn these, the better you will understand, read and play music!!!!!!
Tiff, I love you dearly! But towards the end when you kept saying "know your harmony (ies), Chords, Harmony Chord..... you never once mentioned arpeggios, and that's what you were playing the entire time on Chopin's section, I love your simplicity & humbleness ❤️ 🎹 🌹
I love,you(yosefel) life ,and(as see)this is very byden/from song words..done me +comocadz laughing thanks ancel sem(best xofe is Americano!
I can't agree enough with your advice about learning harmony. I used to suck REALLY bad at sightreading. Then as I transitioned to becoming a composer, and analyzing countless pieces - I just look at the page and I'm like "oh it's this." Whether I can actually play it or not, however... :(
Great vid as always~
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There's a video with Glenn Gould practicing BWV 826 at home and struggling with the approach to the fugue; as genius as he was at playing Bach (alla sing-along, per the Gould style). He went over the first few notes of the Fugue section several times, got a bit of the way through, didn't like it, recollected himself, started the section all over again... another spot came up where he thought of how to approach a figure. He removed himself from the piano, he sang through it, and jumped right into it!
why are there people disliking?!
The video was uploaded seven minutes ago. So they came to the video just to dislike it, which is kind of sad
Octave 11th Pianist
i have the feeling that there are kinda groups which just klick the video to dislike..
Dont worry... once she is on stage ... those dislike are just some depression from someone
Give them a hug and thank them for their interaction with the video 🙂
A small minority of twisted jealous people. Everyone else, including myself love Tiffany and her inspirational vlogs. 😘
I play mostly jazz, and the written music also has the chord designation on top (CMin7). If I just ignore the chords and try to sight read it, it is more difficult. Playing the chords first is an enormous help. Perhaps a classical player could write chords on top first then try that technic?
Great tips. ...One more that will help with the first, to simply read.... ...read what you like! In music school they always tell you what to play, that ruins your sight reading, because you simply need to spend lot of time reading, and the best way to do that is simply read what you enjoy. Another point, I like Bach. So when people say to learn to sight read, you need to read vertical music (more chords than melody), well, I understand the idea, but again, if you love Fuge, then just read that. So I understand that some people find Fuge hard to sight read, but not all people are like that. I am very rhythm oriented. So actually, it is much easier for me to sight read Bach Fuge than Bach Choräle.... So read what you enjoy, its music, not sport, not business....
I really get what she is trying to say... as someone who pretty much sight read every single piece and get bored before go into the details...... Once you play enough of music.... You start to know what composer would do and exactly how to interpret that part... The rest is just muscle memory and some detailing... (Most common composers, you always have some composer who want to be special...) I am guessing that this video won't help most audience if they aren't at this level yet, i remembered I had same questions when I started learning and wondering if there is special techniques... Turns out, there isn't, just get your basics right and years of playing.....
Hi Tiffany. In the study developed by Gary McPherson, were you recorded doing sight reading? I am UniMelb alumni, and I remember many examples of performers recorded sigh-reading, with a camera focused in the eyes and then the result overlapped with a the score.
Cheers from Chile, fan of your music since you were 7yo.
Yup, I did a test for fun with a sticker on my forehead 😅 Nothing very formal though
I’ve played since 5 and thankfully, I got the sight reading gene. 😀 if you’re don’t know if you have it, then you don’t! J/K Anyway some of the things that helped me get better: practice hymns. Buy an old hymnal off eBay or whatever. Don’t steal from your local church! 😂😂 then you start paying attention to the notes that move within the chord. So if the soprano and bass notes stay the same, but the alto and tenor notes move, you start to ignore the non changing notes. This makes reading faster. And teaches you to discern the most important things to read. Also in high school, I found a Scott Joplin book. The good thing about his music is that the left hand jumps, and you can either read music or look at keyboard. But you can’t do both. This is when I discovered that I didn’t need to look at my hands. I knew where the notes were, just like a string player who knows where their fingers are supposed to be. Finally, like a foreign language, at the beginning, you hear something, translate to your native language, think what you want to say, translate it into the foreign language, and it’s exhausting. I don’t “read” the notes (A, B, C, etc), I just associate a note with one key on piano. That saves tons of time. I just go straight to playing it. All
These things helped with classical because I could transfer the skills. Helps not take everything so seriously! Now I should go work on my scales!!! 😱
BRILLIANT. MANY thx Tiffany. I am an adult learner (1 1/2 years only) and you make MANY assumptions (for my level of playing), but I absolutely understand where you are going...and just confirms that I need to learn MUCH more about harmony, scales, arpeggios etc etc.
Tiffany, do you have absolute pitch?
the best moments are the moments when Tiffany uploads
Awwwww ❣️
Super helpful! Thanks Tiffany! Looking forward to your concert! :)
I understand you are a classical pianist, but would you ever be interested in playing contemporary pieces?
Thanks for the content :)
Your own personal experiences are valid and when you share them here in your blog it encourages us. These days you should also find any apps or online resources for learning music theory, if their are any good ones. Love the under the piano view.
Great job on choosing and answering the questions.
Yes yes yes makes sense and verry helpful for us all.
I don’t know if I can take advice from someone who has light mode on...
My piano teacher could sight read anything and I once asked her if she learnt every pieces *facepalm* but well I was 8