I think it is wise to start sight reading practices as soon as possible while learning piano. Practice it every time and get to know the score. Reading the score by itself without playing it helps and playing the treble and bass separately and then putting them together helps too. Get to know your piano well and spend a lot of time with it. Master your muscle memory and don't look at your hands. Don't get frustrated. It will come to you in time. Good luck!
I'm 57, played thru high school then stopped. I picked it up again in 2017 and been trying every since. The ONE thing that helped me the most in "getting back on that horse" (One that I was never that good at to begin with) was sight reading. I started with an old stack of sheet music that was about two feet thick/tall. I started at the top and I played or tried to play or looked over every one of them. It took me about 2 years! I never mastered much of it ,but what it taught me in sight reading was priceless. It really gave me a constant exposure to something interesting or challenging or whatever came along. I"m stil doing it now, but I'm now able to choose what I want to play. My biggest goal really was just to be able to play through an Elton John book or Billy Joel book at at least an acceptable or "intermediate" level. I have been working out of my Elton John book since 2020 when I got it and its taken me a few years of tackling. But I want to play Chopin now and other classical and its like starting all over again. Its like i never played the piano ever. HOW do I make the crossover???
Interesting insight! Thank you. Elton John and Billy Joel is very different from classical as you’re finding :) You should find that the rhythms are actually easier in classical pieces. I recommend that you start with some of the easiest classical works. There’s a great Alfred Masterworks series for various classical composers. So if you want to play Chopin, get the book titled “CHOPIN An Introduction to his piano works.” You’ll find this Introduction Alfred book for various classical composers.
I've been a staff accompanist my entire professional career, so I say this without ego, but matter of factly -- I am an excellent sight-reader. If you really want to improve your sight-reading game, there is one general principle you want to become increasingly proficient at over time: being able to play without looking at your hands. End of story. Full stop. As a beginner student, my first teacher was wise enough to MAKE me play all my pieces like this -- she would cover my hands so I couldn't see them, keep my eyes on the sheet music, and count OUT LOUD, WHILE playing. As I got older, I made it a game to play without looking at my hands. And you can do this with repertoire you already learned. Play pieces you already know with your eyes closed, play them in the dark (turn off the lights), where a sleep mask when you play, etc. When you think about it, sight-reading is nothing more than being familiar with the topography of the keyboard, and reading rhythm in real-time. Best way to do this is to practice playing without looking at your hands. Whether it's music you're reading or music you already know, DON'T look at your hands. Learn what intervals "feel" like in physical space.
This is definitely an important topic that I didn’t cover in this video. I talk to my students about this a lot, especially the ones who have great ears and memorize quickly. We can definitely improve at sight reading the more we read music. Our brains are processing information as we look at the sheet music - like patterns and familiar concepts. Thanks for your comment!
It is good to find a RUclips piano teacher that actually acknowledges how just how valuable software and modern technology can be these days. I use simply piano and love it. It is great if you can get a teacher too, I have had several for classical guitar in the past (I am in my 70's now). I love piano, but how marvelous it is these days to be able to use a keyboard and play different instruments or use backing tracks - even loop your own - for motivation, rhythm training and improvisation.
Thank you so much! Simply piano is very fun too! I’ve used the free version. From what I’ve observed, It’s not as thorough as piano marvel as far as giving you solid classical training but it’s definitely fun. And that’s such an important part of learning right? Keeping it fun and motivating!
For me, interval recognition is the most useful thing for sight reading as that gets you through pieces quickly. No one is literally reading each note and then playing that note on the keyboard - that’s not how our brains work at this speed. The intervals also give you the feel for each section and what you should be hearing which is pretty important 🙂
I agree that intervals are key and you need to be able to identify them quickly. This happens with practice (like with the apps that I shared) and learning a lot of pieces.
Thank you - I learned the piano years ago but never became fully proficient as I was simply taught to master a few pieces each year to pass the exams... Now I'm relearning by myself, and I might dip into your videos too. By the way, you've been teaching for over 30 years? Amazing to think you must've started when you were just 18 months old! 😉💙
Thanks for your comment. I'm in the same situation. Took classical lessons for about four years decades ago. Just concentrated on a piece or two at a time. Learning more theory and chord work now. I want to play jazz and boogie boogie, which requires improvisation. It's a big leap from being stuck on the page. Best wishes for your progress and enjoyment!
What’s impressive about your teaching method is that you dum it down or simplify it. This shows your level of knowledge! Like Einstein said, “if you can’t explain it to a 6 year old you yourself don’t know it yet.” 😄 you must have produced a lot of pianists in your teaching carrier. Brilliant! 👏🏾
What a great teacher!! I love music and unfortunately, when I was young I was too bored to do exercise so they through me away from conservatorium when I was 7 (after one year). Now I am 64 and want to get back and learn reading sheets. It seems that your method will suit me the best. I play keyboards (Kaway grand, Johannus Rembrant organ, Korg OASYS and Yamaha Tyros 5) and now I have the time to really improve by learning how to read music sheets. it seems you give me a great hope. Thank you very much for that Video!!
It all boils down to linear melodic scale work (and intervals) and stacked/arpeggiated harmonic chordal function, along with rhythmic application. It’s not easy. It takes knowledge of music theory and application of that through continuous practice. Simply stated: it takes time. Like reading a book, excellent sight reading can be acquired - one “word” at a time with continual practice. Eventually, reading music and interpolating that music to an instrument will become easier. But honestly said, sight reading is a skill that is acquired only after spending enough intimate time with one’s instrument. So go practice and perform as much as you can!
Yes hymns are surprisingly difficult because of the chords. Flashcards are great too! I used to use those with my students but they prefer apps nowadays because they’re more interactive. Thanks for commenting!
@@BrillantePianoLessons I’m probably giving away my age group with the flash cards… The hymns too... My teacher often laments I am her only student who WANTS to play hymns and also KNOWS many hymns. Her other students know only a handful to none and don’t want to play them. Too old fashioned.
Hopefully you got more from this video than that! Improving our sight reading definitely takes time and practice. There are people who are naturally better at sight reading than others but the more music we learn, the better our sight reading will get.
I'm a beginning student whose first lesson was 45 years ago, but I had to quickly give it up back then and never really learned how to sight-read. Now with more time on my hands I've picked it up again, but I find that I'm back at square one and have forgotten everything I once knew. It's like music is a new language all over again. Simple things like "the Key of C Minor" (whatever that means); moving up 1/2 step; major and minor chords; practicing intervals and scales, etc. are all confusing to me. Only when I learn what these things are first can I then learn where they are on the keyboard, and then figure out how to play them. Thanks for the resources you listed - I shall be checking them out.
Thanks for your comment! I understand that some people won’t understand some of the terms I used in the video. You will learn these important concepts if you use good piano method books like the ones I linked in the description or if you decide to use the piano marvel software. Good theory books will also be very helpful. I like the “Basics of Keyboard Theory” series by Julie Johnson
Checked out the Piano Marvel program, got it and am really happy to find it. I'm a self taught, former pro musician now teaching myself keys. Never read very well, this is the program I have wanted all my life, seriously. So, thank you!
by far the best video I've ever seen on the subject, full of practical and detailed advice. I will be checking out the apps and your channel. Thank you
This was so helpful! Thank you... i have worked on a lot of hard pieces yet my sight reading is horrible and i am going to change that. Thank you for the resources. I will download and grab some of the books. Subscribed and looking forward to watching more of your content.
Thankfully there were no such things as apps to worry about when I began piano lessons in the late 1960s. However I did learn to sight-read which was jolly useful as i became a pro and worked well for 45 years during which time there was a heck of a lot of sight-reading required especially in recording studios. It's all far too, long ago to recall how i conquered the SR stuff but I can say that in those days hard work and patience were recognised as worthwhile unlike today's get it now philosophy. There are no short cuts to doing music well and properly. If you want an instant thrill learn three chords and join a pop group.
Thank you for the comment! I didn’t learn with any apps or special software either. But I would have loved the resources we have now days! It definitely helps to love your instrument and have a passion for learning a lot of music.
That is exactly what it is. No shortcuts. The only way to for improvement in playing piano is practice and practice. The same apply with sightreading. Start with easy compositions playing both hands, do it for enough time until feel you get it. In my opinion learning from some kind of software looks like it is a middle step. Go straight into it. Read real written music. No software will help you if you do not devote to your instrument enough time since we do not play only in intervals. You need to get used to the right fingering and follow the rhythm so counting is important especially on the beginning. This is the whole package and only time and persistent work will give you good results.
The software that I mention in the video is Piano Marvel and it is real music. It has over 20,000 pieces, mostly classical and popular. It gives instant feedback if you hit a wrong note or play the wrong rhythm. It’s a great way to accelerate progress. I’ve been teaching for 30+ years and have taught with and without technology. The new apps and software are truly amazing and fun!
Amazing vidoe and useful tips! Of all thins I liked most is the part that explaining your thought process when you are sight reading. It helps me get a glimpse of what I should be doing if I could do it right
Something that has helped me is to listen to other performances of songs I have played before while following along with the score and not playing myself. If it was one of the ‘harder’ pieces that took months to master, there was likely a point where reading the music happened less and muscle memory kicked in. By going back and rereading it with a different performer, recognition of intervals, chords, and rhythmic patterns becomes just a bit easier to see.
You shared a lot of great resources. Thanks! I've been taking lessons for 4 months and sight reading is very tricky for me. Actually playing in general is tricky 😂. But I love it.
Useful video well presented! Kudos! When I see the chord at 03:04, I see a first inversion Dm chord. With regular practice of inversions of all 24 M/m chords, the whole chord is read in one mental calculation (one chord) instead of two (two intervals)!
Thank you so much for the comment! Yes that’s a great point. Being able to identify Major and minor chords quickly is incredibly helpful with sight reading.
Really thank you for the tips! Most of the time I memorize the notes after identifying them on the clefs but I would like to enhance my sight reading skills. I think if you read and play at the same time it will not have the correct emotion. But I must be wrong! When reading and playing together there are so many information that I can't play correctly. Thx
Thank you for your comment! Yes when you are first reading a piece, it’s difficult to play with emotion. But sight reading is really about reading music for the first time. And if we continually practice reading new pieces, we will improve and be able to play increasingly more difficult pieces.
I never learned to sight read.I play by ear! I love being able to play exactly what I hear on the radio and not some book that someone else written, which usually isn’t from the composer themself and therefore, sounds different from what I heard on the radio.
In my teens I would take songs that I knew and practice reading ahead of what notes I was playing. I think it helped me become a good sight reader. Later on I have become more of a clever reader and often just play the notes I like or the ones more convenient to play. But the techniques you mention are part of the whole process. No idea about the benefits of software teaching tools. The only software I would have had is the space invaders game.
Thank you so much! Both are Burgmuller pieces from his 25 Progressive Studies Op. 100. Action step 4 piece is “Progress” and Action step 7 piece is “Ballade.” There are a lot of fun pieces in that book. I highly recommend!
Love it.❤ Thank You for sharing wonderful resources and modern technologies. Subscribed. Unfortunately, the piano teachers whom I know use only traditional methods. You are not just teaching. You are learning together with Your students and constantly exploring.
I'm re-starting to learn sight reading for playing my guitar. I found the book: "1000 Music Reading Studies for Guitar" very helpful because it got me into a flow of playing. Before it often took too long for me to figure out just a single row of a piece. With that book it starts really simple and literately becomes more and more complex. How much do you think that writing music will help to read as well? ist there a method book for guitar you can recomend? Do you know if Piano Marvel also works with a Guitar (not a midi Guitar) Thanks in advance 🙂
Thank you for your comment! The book you’re using sounds great because it’s gradually getting more difficult. The most important thing is to keep reading new music. Writing music definitely helps you to sight read better if you’re actually writing the notes on theory paper or putting the notes into a software program like Dorico. I’m not sure if piano Marvel supports guitar but definitely go to their website and check it out. I know that the Simply Piano app does support guitar. Happy learning!
Hello, the exercise you show at 3:07 of your video, is that an excerpt from the book you refernced "Magic Finger Technique? Thank you for this great video.
Thank you for your comment! 3:07 is showing Burgmuller’s Innocence from Op. 100. I don’t show any clips from Magic Finger Technique because of copyright issues but I do play one line of a simple piece as an example and transpose it to the 12 major hand positions.
I wish my teachers had made me learn easy pieces routinely. Every three months, the program was 1 study+1 bach + 1 sonata +1 romantic/modern/folk, plus scales and Hanon. I was a terrible music reader but I had great memory, so I got by with it. Now in my 30's I am playing looooots of new music that arent very difficult for me but
Beautiful anyway. Also learning pop arrangements, a bit of jazz and composition. I feel that I play worse technically but I am a better musician all around
I notice that a lot of teachers have their students playing too difficult of repertoire. It’s great to hear that you’re learning a lot of music now and hopefully your reading is improving because of it. Thanks for commenting!
@@BrillantePianoLessons Thank you for your answer! and thank you for your videos, very useful for advanced beginners and intermediates, which is harder to find content for. Best wishes from Spain!
how do you approach the instrument? i.e., how far back do you sit from it, where do you position your body (belly button perpendicular to middle c), how high is your bench, how much drop from the elbows to the hands when they're resting on the keys, etc. if I play for an hour, my back hurts. So I feel I must be doing something wrong in my approach.
This would be a good video for me to make. You should be sitting on the front half of the bench and then you should be able to make a fist and stretch your arm out straight and touch the fallboard with your knuckles. Also when playing, your arms should be perpendicular to the floor or you can sit a little higher. Your bench may be a problem also.
There are some good tips in there. I definitely will work to implement the ones that are new to me.Yours is the first clear explanation I have heard on how to use interval reading on the piano. I use it in singing, but never learned it for piano, because I learned note names instead, which may even possibly be detrimental because it is extra information, so to speak. (Maria Montessori talks about isolation of difficulty: you don't include extraneous information. If you want to teach color, you use cubes of different colors. You don't give the child a fire truck to teach red and things like that. In teaching phonics to my children, all seven in homeschooling, I did not teach letter names, but letter sounds.) However, I should note that not all of us are fond of apps or have a device that can use them.
@@BrillantePianoLessons Yes, you did, although I value your video more for the ideas, like the 12 hand positions. Using a piece that fits into the five notes also makes sense to me. Thank you.
Thanks, great tutorial! I hadn't heard of those apps. I'd also recommend local libraries, they usually have lots of old sheet music of varying difficulty.
💥 Could you apply these techniques on Scriabin prelude Op 11 # 8 ? It would be amazing watching someone sightreading it without looking at the keys. 🎉❤
Are you asking ME to sight read Scriabin’s Prelude and make a video of it? You can absolutely use the same techniques from this video for sight reading any piece. Thanks for your comment! ✨
@@BrillantePianoLessons Indeed, I'm asking you to sightread it, if you can, but please, don't play it before you really record in realtime, so that we can appreciate your insights on how to better approach the difficulties of the piece. There's some difficulties, specially on large jumps, and with the rhythm. Another suggestion would be, if you please, try to sightread Scriabin prelude Op 27 no 1. This would be amazing to watch. Thank you very much and congratulations for the excellent lesson on sight reading. 🙏👍❤️
@@BrillantePianoLessons Thank you very much. Yes, I love Scriabin music, specially the preludes, poems, mazurkas... Indeed, everything. But I also love Chopin, Liszt, Debussy, Ravel, and many others. 🙏👍❤️
@@bh5606 It does work with acoustic pianos but you have to buy a special kit. It’s probably easier and cheaper to buy a midi enabled keyboard. Go to pianomarvel.com They have a lot of resources and tell you what equipment to buy. They have a RUclips channel with demos too.
Read a book passage aloud. Are you reciting aloud what you're reading simultaneously? No, you're not. You read, you comprehend, and you recite in this order. What you recite aloud has already been read and understood. Same goes for sight reading. What you are playing aloud should aready be read and understood. You should be scanning at least a measure ahead of what you're already playing aloud, like you scan ahead at the next sentence while you're reciting the previous one in order to recite fluently. Anyway, my 2 cents. Agreed about the Piano Adventures method books. They're very good.
I like to read easy things just for pleasure. And write songs with a couple of chords. Like my pop music… It’s satisfying to express yourself freely. Then it become relaxing to just work on a classical piece and work technically hours and hours.
I agree! I like to sit down and read pieces that are on the easier side and then I’m always working on a bunch of challenging classical pieces. Sounds like you’re enjoying the piano!
This video is jam-packed with helpful information. This is awesome! I've been trying to find different ways of teaching piano students and this video helps me tremendously. *THANK YOU SO MUCH!*
Hello Thank you so much for this video. I'm an adult beginner, I've been playing for a year and a half now. So six pieces at a time. What is the best way to pick out pieces that will take 3 -4 weeks or 1-2 pieces that will take months? thanks so much for all of the resources I've purchased the books and downloaded the apps 🙂. Is that Magic fingers book for kids? or can an older Adult use it?
Thank you so much for your comment. It sounds like you’re on the right track! Everyone learns at a different pace. You’ll have to experiment with different levels of songs to see how long it takes you to master them. If you use Piano Marvel or the Piano Adventures method books, they gradually progress.
I notice that when you demonstrated the first few scales of the Bastien (which I just purchased), you didn't use the same fingering for LH and RH that is used to actually play the d flat scale (RH - 23123412; LH - 32143212). When playing the scale, we don't start with the 5th finger of the LH and the thumb of the RH. For those of us who are older beginners, won't this confuse the muscle memory we are trying to develop? Thanks for your very helpful video and recommendations.
Hi! I’m not exactly sure what you’re referring to but every scale has “universal” piano fingering. For example, pianists around the world will use the same fingering for the D Flat Major Scale. But we won’t use the same fingering for every scale and the right and left hand have different fingering. Maybe you can clarify? Thank you for your comment!
Sorry, let me try to clarify. When you said in the video that we didn't need to purchase the Bastien, you then demonstrated by quickly playing the first 5 notes of the next few scales, and started each one with the 5th finger of your left hand and thumb of the right hand, which is the same fingering taught for the C Major scale, but not what we would normally use when playing the D-flat Major scale, which is as noted in my original email. Thanks.@@BrillantePianoLessons
Ahhh I understand now. I was demonstrating Major 5 finger patterns (the first 5 notes of each major scale). We use the same fingering for all 5 finger patterns but not for scales. Confusing right?!
Yes it’s great for sight reading, ear training, rhythm and technique. It’s an incredible resource for classical training and also very fun and interactive. Obviously I love it!
All I know is that if Heather were my piano teacher now, I would have the most attractive piano teacher I’ve ever had in my life! A little older now, I would listen to and do everything she said and most likely wouldn’t mind if the teacher crushed my fingers and twisted my ear lobe ! Of course only if Heather was my teacher. LOL❗️ Back when I was eight, living in Brooklyn, New York, I took piano lessons with a man named Mr. Cerillo. Looking back, those were some of the most terrifying times of my life. As a little boy, I faced his strict methods every week ! He would crush my hands if I didn’t keep my fingers curled while playing and to make matters worse, he’d twist my right earlobe every time I hit the wrong key because he sat on my right side, and those twists felt like complete torture. Despite these unbelievable traits, he was undeniably a good teacher. If I could see Mr. Cerillo today, I would say to him, "I’d like to see you crush my fingers and twist my ear now !!! I begged my mother not to send me to him anymore, explaining that he seemed a bit crazy. But she insisted, “He’s a great teacher. You have to go.” So, I endured nearly two years of lessons until I finally refused to go anymore. That said, I must acknowledge that Mr. Cerillo knew his stuff. A few months before I left his piano school in which he had approximately 100 students held a recital. Out of all his students, I was fortunate enough to be one of the 25 selected to perform. It was a big deal for me, especially since the recital took place at “Little Carnegie Hall” in Manhattan in front of about 500 people. Getting up on stage was the most terrifying time I can remember in my past. Man was I nervous ! I could hardly breathe when I sat down to play with people applauding. I played my piece, “Avalanche,” practically flawlessly, and I felt proud of myself. I might have misplayed 1 note but to me that’s flawlessly. Especially since I had to have played that song atleast 1,000 times the week before the recital. The only reason I made it that far was thanks to my mother, who always told me, “Timothy, nothing comes easy in life. Remember, whatever you love and want to excel at, you must practice every day, because practice makes perfect.” What I’ve seen oh Heather’s Course so far I’m definitely subscribing and most likely will enroll in her course 👍🏻 Thank You Heather for the great and easy to understand videos !
This story makes my heart ache honestly. I know it was common for teachers to be physically abusive a few years back ;) I’m so glad to hear the happy ending and that you had a positive performance experience at Carnegie! I really hope you’re still playing?! I am aware of the powerful influence I have on my students and I’m very careful about the things I say and my body language. Piano lessons can teach people so many important life lessons!
@@BrillantePianoLessons please learn me Sight Reading its very hard. 1 Concentration. 2 Reading. 3 Playing. Hère your are ? 💐 Have a good day Thanks for your smile See you soon....😃
Sight reading is difficult for many people. It takes a lot of time, practice and patience. The best thing you can do is master a lot of music. So choose pieces on the easier side. Your skills will gradually increase.
Awesome presentation. I struggle with sight reading, I'm self teaching myself so Its really hard to focus on both clefs at the same time and keep right and left hand coordination but I guess practice, practice, practice is the key to success.
Thank you for the nice comment! Yes practice is the key and learning a lot of music. We can all improve on sight reading. I’m still working at it after 40 years of playing the piano!
If I read an interval of 4 or higher, how do I instantly play the note without looking at the keys to see or count the distance? If the key signature has sharps or flats or I start at a black key, my brain does not know what that distance looks or feels like playing. I practice reading intervals with an app but I can't play it.
Thank you for your comment. The black keys definitely make intervals more complicated. You will get better at feeling intervals (even with black keys) as you learn more pieces. Make sure to practice scales, chords and arpeggios as part of your daily practice routine. That will really help you to navigate the keys better. I recommend using Keith Snell’s Scale Skills series that I linked in the description because they gradually progress and include all of these elements. It takes time and practice. Hang in there! 💫
Thanks for your comment! I linked some books in the description of this video. Do you see those? The Piano Adventures series by Faber is great and they also have an accelerated series for adults. If you’re primarily interested in classical pieces, I like Keith Snell’s Piano Repertoire series and also The Festival Collection series by Helen Marlais which starts with the preparatory level.
I really have to say that trying to learn to play piano and looking at a wide range of RUclips and online tutorials, my initial impression is that everyone seems to be trying to drown me in apps. Both my tablet and me phone are screaming under the strain of infinity recommended apps from You Tube teachers.
I taught for a good 20 years without apps. My job as a piano teacher was much more difficult honestly. I can’t say enough about the Note Rush app and SpeakBeat metronome app. The apps and software I recommended in this video help my students learn at a much faster pace. I’m sure it’s hard to know which ones to try. I feel good about the recommendations I made in this video because I teach with them every day. I recommend that you try some out and see if you like any of them. Thanks for commenting!
I only find sightreading videos playing childish music. Well, I need to sight reading Scriabin, Bartok, Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff music. How to do that ? 😮😮😮
You can absolutely sight read classical works from the great composers! You just need to gradually work up your sight reading level. You should be able to play hands together on the first day and count when you sight read. Gradually work up your level of difficulty by practicing a lot and learning a lot of pieces.
If you have a good ear, it can be a blessing and a curse! I recommend practicing pieces that you enjoy but have never heard before to work on reading the music. Also make sure you’re not practicing too difficult of pieces (that you find yourself memorizing as you learn). You’ll want to keep your eyes on the music every day until you’ve got ALL of the details learned like dynamics, articulations and pedaling. Thanks for your comment 💖
Hmmm this isn’t about advertising. These are the books and apps that I personally use to teach with and I see great success with my students. I’ve tried many different method books and various technology over the years of teaching.
@@BrillantePianoLessons Hello Brillante, I am a mature person, and can tell how it works nowadays. Kids and some Olders think that there is no life without apps and electronics and because they do not have any knowledge about "how" they are taking your advise to go by it. This is like a toy to attract learners. There is nothing better than the teacher explains, presents it and the student practice it. I learned piano for 11 years straight so I know exactly what it takes. Going by some app on the phone would be silly wasting time.... and whoever wants to learn the instrument do not know about it.
I learned to play the piano without apps and technology. I’ve also taught for many years without technology. I now use it regularly in my teaching and I see students progress so much faster with these new tools! They really make learning fun and enjoyable. But people can still learn the old school way.
Ah it all depends on how gifted you are! I do find that a lot of piano teachers give their students waaay too difficult of material. That can be so demotivating. I believe it’s best to learn a lot of pieces that you can master fairly quickly. It’s also important to challenge yourself with 1 or 2 pieces at a time that take you a little longer to learn.
@@BrillantePianoLessons I remember "cracking the code" at the age of ten. It's the same as with reading language. It helps if, like both of us, one "loves to play"!
I think it is wise to start sight reading practices as soon as possible while learning piano. Practice it every time and get to know the score. Reading the score by itself without playing it helps and playing the treble and bass separately and then putting them together helps too. Get to know your piano well and spend a lot of time with it. Master your muscle memory and don't look at your hands. Don't get frustrated. It will come to you in time. Good luck!
I hope so! It seems to take forever even though I havent been playing for that long
True success really depends on it.
I'm 57, played thru high school then stopped. I picked it up again in 2017 and been trying every since. The ONE thing that helped me the most in "getting back on that horse" (One that I was never that good at to begin with) was sight reading. I started with an old stack of sheet music that was about two feet thick/tall. I started at the top and I played or tried to play or looked over every one of them. It took me about 2 years! I never mastered much of it ,but what it taught me in sight reading was priceless. It really gave me a constant exposure to something interesting or challenging or whatever came along. I"m stil doing it now, but I'm now able to choose what I want to play. My biggest goal really was just to be able to play through an Elton John book or Billy Joel book at at least an acceptable or "intermediate" level. I have been working out of my Elton John book since 2020 when I got it and its taken me a few years of tackling. But I want to play Chopin now and other classical and its like starting all over again. Its like i never played the piano ever. HOW do I make the crossover???
Interesting insight! Thank you. Elton John and Billy Joel is very different from classical as you’re finding :)
You should find that the rhythms are actually easier in classical pieces. I recommend that you start with some of the easiest classical works. There’s a great Alfred Masterworks series for various classical composers. So if you want to play Chopin, get the book titled “CHOPIN An Introduction to his piano works.” You’ll find this Introduction Alfred book for various classical composers.
I've been a staff accompanist my entire professional career, so I say this without ego, but matter of factly -- I am an excellent sight-reader. If you really want to improve your sight-reading game, there is one general principle you want to become increasingly proficient at over time: being able to play without looking at your hands. End of story. Full stop. As a beginner student, my first teacher was wise enough to MAKE me play all my pieces like this -- she would cover my hands so I couldn't see them, keep my eyes on the sheet music, and count OUT LOUD, WHILE playing. As I got older, I made it a game to play without looking at my hands. And you can do this with repertoire you already learned. Play pieces you already know with your eyes closed, play them in the dark (turn off the lights), where a sleep mask when you play, etc. When you think about it, sight-reading is nothing more than being familiar with the topography of the keyboard, and reading rhythm in real-time. Best way to do this is to practice playing without looking at your hands. Whether it's music you're reading or music you already know, DON'T look at your hands. Learn what intervals "feel" like in physical space.
This is definitely an important topic that I didn’t cover in this video. I talk to my students about this a lot, especially the ones who have great ears and memorize quickly. We can definitely improve at sight reading the more we read music. Our brains are processing information as we look at the sheet music - like patterns and familiar concepts. Thanks for your comment!
It is good to find a RUclips piano teacher that actually acknowledges how just how valuable software and modern technology can be these days. I use simply piano and love it. It is great if you can get a teacher too, I have had several for classical guitar in the past (I am in my 70's now). I love piano, but how marvelous it is these days to be able to use a keyboard and play different instruments or use backing tracks - even loop your own - for motivation, rhythm training and improvisation.
Thank you so much! Simply piano is very fun too! I’ve used the free version. From what I’ve observed, It’s not as thorough as piano marvel as far as giving you solid classical training but it’s definitely fun. And that’s such an important part of learning right? Keeping it fun and motivating!
For me, interval recognition is the most useful thing for sight reading as that gets you through pieces quickly. No one is literally reading each note and then playing that note on the keyboard - that’s not how our brains work at this speed. The intervals also give you the feel for each section and what you should be hearing which is pretty important 🙂
I agree that intervals are key and you need to be able to identify them quickly. This happens with practice (like with the apps that I shared) and learning a lot of pieces.
Thank you. I needed to hear this. I literally tried to read each note. Always something new to learn
Thank you - I learned the piano years ago but never became fully proficient as I was simply taught to master a few pieces each year to pass the exams... Now I'm relearning by myself, and I might dip into your videos too. By the way, you've been teaching for over 30 years? Amazing to think you must've started when you were just 18 months old! 😉💙
Thank you for the very nice comments! I hope you’ll be inspired to learn more pieces and continue working on your reading skills. 💫
Thanks for your comment. I'm in the same situation. Took classical lessons for about four years decades ago. Just concentrated on a piece or two at a time. Learning more theory and chord work now. I want to play jazz and boogie boogie, which requires improvisation. It's a big leap from being stuck on the page. Best wishes for your progress and enjoyment!
@@msgingerjourney Thank you, and best wishes to you on your ventures too!
Thank you! I'm dyslexic and this has helped me greatly.
I’m so happy to hear this has helped you! Thanks so much for letting me know!
What’s impressive about your teaching method is that you dum it down or simplify it. This shows your level of knowledge! Like Einstein said, “if you can’t explain it to a 6 year old you yourself don’t know it yet.” 😄 you must have produced a lot of pianists in your teaching carrier. Brilliant! 👏🏾
Well thank you! 💫I have been teaching a long time so I think I’ve learned a thing or two ;) but making RUclips videos is a different ballgame!
What a great teacher!!
I love music and unfortunately, when I was young I was too bored to do exercise so they through me away from conservatorium when I was 7 (after one year). Now I am 64 and want to get back and learn reading sheets. It seems that your method will suit me the best. I play keyboards (Kaway grand, Johannus Rembrant organ, Korg OASYS and Yamaha Tyros 5) and now I have the time to really improve by learning how to read music sheets. it seems you give me a great hope.
Thank you very much for that Video!!
This is so great to hear! Thank you! I really hope that you get back into playing and most importantly, enjoy it!
You are so informative, thank you.
How nice of you! Thank you so much 💖
It all boils down to linear melodic scale work (and intervals) and stacked/arpeggiated harmonic chordal function, along with rhythmic application. It’s not easy. It takes knowledge of music theory and application of that through continuous practice. Simply stated: it takes time. Like reading a book, excellent sight reading can be acquired - one “word” at a time with continual practice. Eventually, reading music and interpolating that music to an instrument will become easier. But honestly said, sight reading is a skill that is acquired only after spending enough intimate time with one’s instrument. So go practice and perform as much as you can!
Yes you’re absolutely right. It takes time and a lot of practice! Studying music theory definitely helps too.
Though I don't play piano, I watched this video to get hints on reading guitar music and tabs. Thank you.
Thank you for watching! I think my tips can apply to most instruments.
Omg you look like you’re in your 20s that’s insane you’ve taught for over 30 years 😮 Great video btw !
Well that’s the best comment I’ve had! Thank you! I started teaching when I was 16 🤗
The best way to improve sight reading is "Sight Reading"
Well said Mam. Love from India.
Thank you! I hope you found the video helpful.
Hymns have truly been great for my sight reading! And, I used flash cards for myself at the beginning.
Yes hymns are surprisingly difficult because of the chords. Flashcards are great too! I used to use those with my students but they prefer apps nowadays because they’re more interactive. Thanks for commenting!
@@BrillantePianoLessons I’m probably giving away my age group with the flash cards… The hymns too... My teacher often laments I am her only student who WANTS to play hymns and also KNOWS many hymns. Her other students know only a handful to none and don’t want to play them. Too old fashioned.
You could be in your 40s like me because I used flash cards and played a lot of hymns ;)
Basically she's saying learn the piano really well and you'll play better. That cleared it all up for me.
Hopefully you got more from this video than that! Improving our sight reading definitely takes time and practice. There are people who are naturally better at sight reading than others but the more music we learn, the better our sight reading will get.
I'm a beginning student whose first lesson was 45 years ago, but I had to quickly give it up back then and never really learned how to sight-read. Now with more time on my hands I've picked it up again, but I find that I'm back at square one and have forgotten everything I once knew. It's like music is a new language all over again. Simple things like "the Key of C Minor" (whatever that means); moving up 1/2 step; major and minor chords; practicing intervals and scales, etc. are all confusing to me. Only when I learn what these things are first can I then learn where they are on the keyboard, and then figure out how to play them. Thanks for the resources you listed - I shall be checking them out.
Thanks for your comment! I understand that some people won’t understand some of the terms I used in the video. You will learn these important concepts if you use good piano method books like the ones I linked in the description or if you decide to use the piano marvel software. Good theory books will also be very helpful. I like the “Basics of Keyboard Theory” series by Julie Johnson
Checked out the Piano Marvel program, got it and am really happy to find it. I'm a self taught, former pro musician now teaching myself keys. Never read very well, this is the program I have wanted all my life, seriously. So, thank you!
Thank you so much for letting me know! It really is incredibly fun to practice with. Enjoy!
Thank you for the video!
My pleasure! Thanks for the comment 💖
by far the best video I've ever seen on the subject, full of practical and detailed advice. I will be checking out the apps and your channel. Thank you
That’s a great compliment! Thank you so much 💖
Hi from a front room pianist. Good stuff and helpful. Gary from Michigan 🚂
It’s so good to hear that this was helpful! Thanks Gary 💖
This was so helpful! Thank you... i have worked on a lot of hard pieces yet my sight reading is horrible and i am going to change that. Thank you for the resources. I will download and grab some of the books. Subscribed and looking forward to watching more of your content.
This is so good to hear! Happy practicing!
Thankfully there were no such things as apps to worry about when I began piano lessons in the late 1960s. However I did learn to sight-read which was jolly useful as i became a pro and worked well for 45 years during which time there was a heck of a lot of sight-reading required especially in recording studios. It's all far too, long ago to recall how i conquered the SR stuff but I can say that in those days hard work and patience were recognised as worthwhile unlike today's get it now philosophy. There are no short cuts to doing music well and properly. If you want an instant thrill learn three chords and join a pop group.
Thank you for the comment! I didn’t learn with any apps or special software either. But I would have loved the resources we have now days! It definitely helps to love your instrument and have a passion for learning a lot of music.
That is exactly what it is. No shortcuts. The only way to for improvement in playing piano is practice and practice. The same apply with sightreading. Start with easy compositions playing both hands, do it for enough time until feel you get it. In my opinion learning from some kind of software looks like it is a middle step. Go straight into it. Read real written music. No software will help you if you do not devote to your instrument enough time since we do not play only in intervals. You need to get used to the right fingering and follow the rhythm so counting is important especially on the beginning. This is the whole package and only time and persistent work will give you good results.
The software that I mention in the video is Piano Marvel and it is real music. It has over 20,000 pieces, mostly classical and popular. It gives instant feedback if you hit a wrong note or play the wrong rhythm. It’s a great way to accelerate progress. I’ve been teaching for 30+ years and have taught with and without technology. The new apps and software are truly amazing and fun!
Amazing vidoe and useful tips! Of all thins I liked most is the part that explaining your thought process when you are sight reading. It helps me get a glimpse of what I should be doing if I could do it right
Thank you for letting me know. I really appreciate the feedback!
Something that has helped me is to listen to other performances of songs I have played before while following along with the score and not playing myself. If it was one of the ‘harder’ pieces that took months to master, there was likely a point where reading the music happened less and muscle memory kicked in. By going back and rereading it with a different performer, recognition of intervals, chords, and rhythmic patterns becomes just a bit easier to see.
Yes definitely! It’s so important to scan the music visually for patterns and recognizable theory concepts. Thanks for that addition!
You shared a lot of great resources. Thanks! I've been taking lessons for 4 months and sight reading is very tricky for me. Actually playing in general is tricky 😂. But I love it.
As long as you’re enjoying it that’s all that matters! I’m so glad you found this helpful.
Useful video well presented! Kudos! When I see the chord at 03:04, I see a first inversion Dm chord. With regular practice of inversions of all 24 M/m chords, the whole chord is read in one mental calculation (one chord) instead of two (two intervals)!
Thank you so much for the comment! Yes that’s a great point. Being able to identify Major and minor chords quickly is incredibly helpful with sight reading.
Really thank you for the tips! Most of the time I memorize the notes after identifying them on the clefs but I would like to enhance my sight reading skills. I think if you read and play at the same time it will not have the correct emotion. But I must be wrong! When reading and playing together there are so many information that I can't play correctly. Thx
Thank you for your comment! Yes when you are first reading a piece, it’s difficult to play with emotion. But sight reading is really about reading music for the first time. And if we continually practice reading new pieces, we will improve and be able to play increasingly more difficult pieces.
I never learned to sight read.I play by ear! I love being able to play exactly what I hear on the radio and not some book that someone else written, which usually isn’t from the composer themself and therefore, sounds different from what I heard on the radio.
That’s a gift to be able to play by ear! Thanks for sharing
Great lesson, thanks. I wish I had discovered you earlier.
Thank you so much! Our channel is pretty new so you haven’t missed a lot.
Love your video. Thank you, I’ve learned something from it. I’m a classical guitar musician. I’m subscribing.
Oh thank you so much for letting me know! I love classical guitar
Ok I just found this channel and I seriously love it!!
Oh so great to hear! Thank you!!!
Great advise, I'm surprised more people haven't seem and used this!
Thank you so much! Your comment lets RUclips know that this is a good video and to push it to more people.
I'm glad you put some apps, i've been looking for some good sight reading apps for my student
I hope you like them! Thanks for leaving a comment 🤗
In my teens I would take songs that I knew and practice reading ahead of what notes I was playing. I think it helped me become a good sight reader. Later on I have become more of a clever reader and often just play the notes I like or the ones more convenient to play. But the techniques you mention are part of the whole process. No idea about the benefits of software teaching tools. The only software I would have had is the space invaders game.
Well you’ve got a special gift if you can leave out notes and still make it sound good! 😊 Thanks for sharing!
This is a very good tip for sight reading thank you very much GodBless you and your mother forever
So nice of you! Thank you so much 💫
Excellent teaching video!
So nice of you! Thanks for letting me know!
Very nice video! Could you share the titles of the pieces you used as examples in Action Step 4 and Action Step 7?
Thank you so much! Both are Burgmuller pieces from his 25 Progressive Studies Op. 100.
Action step 4 piece is “Progress” and Action step 7 piece is “Ballade.” There are a lot of fun pieces in that book. I highly recommend!
Love it.❤ Thank You for sharing wonderful resources and modern technologies. Subscribed. Unfortunately, the piano teachers whom I know use only traditional methods. You are not just teaching. You are learning together with Your students and constantly exploring.
This is such a nice comment! Thank you! Yes I always try to stay current with new technology. It keeps my job interesting!
Thank You! I used your links and downloaded a couple of apps to my iPhone. Now I can practice my notes even if I don't have the piano in front of me.
Yes that’s the way to do it!
❤ Obrigado querida!!!🎉
You’re so welcome! I’m glad this was helpful!
I'm re-starting to learn sight reading for playing my guitar. I found the book: "1000 Music Reading Studies for Guitar" very helpful because it got me into a flow of playing. Before it often took too long for me to figure out just a single row of a piece. With that book it starts really simple and literately becomes more and more complex.
How much do you think that writing music will help to read as well?
ist there a method book for guitar you can recomend?
Do you know if Piano Marvel also works with a Guitar (not a midi Guitar)
Thanks in advance 🙂
Thank you for your comment! The book you’re using sounds great because it’s gradually getting more difficult. The most important thing is to keep reading new music. Writing music definitely helps you to sight read better if you’re actually writing the notes on theory paper or putting the notes into a software program like Dorico. I’m not sure if piano Marvel supports guitar but definitely go to their website and check it out. I know that the Simply Piano app does support guitar. Happy learning!
Hello, the exercise you show at 3:07 of your video, is that an excerpt from the book you refernced "Magic Finger Technique? Thank you for this great video.
Thank you for your comment! 3:07 is showing Burgmuller’s Innocence from Op. 100.
I don’t show any clips from Magic Finger Technique because of copyright issues but I do play one line of a simple piece as an example and transpose it to the 12 major hand positions.
I wish my teachers had made me learn easy pieces routinely. Every three months, the program was 1 study+1 bach + 1 sonata +1 romantic/modern/folk, plus scales and Hanon. I was a terrible music reader but I had great memory, so I got by with it. Now in my 30's I am playing looooots of new music that arent very difficult for me but
Beautiful anyway. Also learning pop arrangements, a bit of jazz and composition. I feel that I play worse technically but I am a better musician all around
I notice that a lot of teachers have their students playing too difficult of repertoire. It’s great to hear that you’re learning a lot of music now and hopefully your reading is improving because of it. Thanks for commenting!
@@BrillantePianoLessons Thank you for your answer! and thank you for your videos, very useful for advanced beginners and intermediates, which is harder to find content for. Best wishes from Spain!
Great to hear! Thanks so much and keep playing!
Wonderful video! Good Job! Thank you very much!
You’re so welcome! Thank you for the nice comments.
That was very helpful thank you . Just subscribed to your channel.
Thank you so much for your support! 💫
Very useful, thank you.
You’re very welcome! Thank you for letting me know 💖
Does the 2 notes apps that you recommended are they free or do u have to pay for them ❤ thank you for sharing. your lesson is very informative
Thank you! I think you have to pay a little but it’s under $10 and well worth it.
very good session
I’m so happy you found it helpful! Thanks for the comment.
how do you approach the instrument? i.e., how far back do you sit from it, where do you position your body (belly button perpendicular to middle c), how high is your bench, how much drop from the elbows to the hands when they're resting on the keys, etc. if I play for an hour, my back hurts. So I feel I must be doing something wrong in my approach.
This would be a good video for me to make. You should be sitting on the front half of the bench and then you should be able to make a fist and stretch your arm out straight and touch the fallboard with your knuckles. Also when playing, your arms should be perpendicular to the floor or you can sit a little higher. Your bench may be a problem also.
You started teaching from the womb? 😁 I appreciate your recommendation for Piano Marvel. I signed up for the Pro version using your discount code.
Nice! I loooove Piano Marvel. I started teaching at 16 😆
There are some good tips in there. I definitely will work to implement the ones that are new to me.Yours is the first clear explanation I have heard on how to use interval reading on the piano. I use it in singing, but never learned it for piano, because I learned note names instead, which may even possibly be detrimental because it is extra information, so to speak. (Maria Montessori talks about isolation of difficulty: you don't include extraneous information. If you want to teach color, you use cubes of different colors. You don't give the child a fire truck to teach red and things like that. In teaching phonics to my children, all seven in homeschooling, I did not teach letter names, but letter sounds.) However, I should note that not all of us are fond of apps or have a device that can use them.
Thank you for your comment! I put some books and resources in the description that don’t require apps / technology.
@@BrillantePianoLessons Yes, you did, although I value your video more for the ideas, like the 12 hand positions. Using a piece that fits into the five notes also makes sense to me. Thank you.
That’s great to hear! Thank you
Great video, incredible playing and walk thru, also LOVE Piano Marvel!
Thank you so much for your comments! Piano Marvel is so amazing right?! I wish I had it when I was first learning.
Thanks, great tutorial! I hadn't heard of those apps. I'd also recommend local libraries, they usually have lots of old sheet music of varying difficulty.
Great tip! Thank you! 💫
Also second hand bookshops. Lots of books and music from house clearances, deceased estates etc.
💥 Could you apply these techniques on Scriabin prelude Op 11 # 8 ? It would be amazing watching someone sightreading it without looking at the keys. 🎉❤
Are you asking ME to sight read Scriabin’s Prelude and make a video of it? You can absolutely use the same techniques from this video for sight reading any piece. Thanks for your comment! ✨
@@BrillantePianoLessons Indeed, I'm asking you to sightread it, if you can, but please, don't play it before you really record in realtime, so that we can appreciate your insights on how to better approach the difficulties of the piece. There's some difficulties, specially on large jumps, and with the rhythm. Another suggestion would be, if you please, try to sightread Scriabin prelude Op 27 no 1. This would be amazing to watch. Thank you very much and congratulations for the excellent lesson on sight reading. 🙏👍❤️
Ok it’s a great suggestion to make a video of me sight reading a brand new piece. Thank you! You love Scriabin? 🤔
@@BrillantePianoLessons Thank you very much. Yes, I love Scriabin music, specially the preludes, poems, mazurkas... Indeed, everything. But I also love Chopin, Liszt, Debussy, Ravel, and many others. 🙏👍❤️
Omg Vera Farmiga showing us how to play piano ❤️
Ha! You think I look like Vera? I don’t know if that’s a compliment 🤔
Really well presented.
Thank you so much for the nice comment 💖
Does Piano Marvel work with acoustic pianos? I cannot get an answer from their website.
@@bh5606 It does work with acoustic pianos but you have to buy a special kit. It’s probably easier and cheaper to buy a midi enabled keyboard. Go to pianomarvel.com
They have a lot of resources and tell you what equipment to buy. They have a RUclips channel with demos too.
There are a few other videos uploaded since you made this one, but I can't see the one you mentioned at the end about Rhythms? Thanks
Oh! I’ll have to look into that. Here is my rhythm video link ruclips.net/video/_Eb3vsHtGm0/видео.htmlsi=mFg9HrWMe6Ve8G8t
I heard from a pianoplayer on RUclips that lead sheets are good to learn sight reading from. 😊
I think you can practice sight reading with any material that you enjoy! The key is to learn a lot of music.
Great lesson. Thx
So glad you liked it!
First time I see you, awesome lesson subscribed❤
So great to hear! Thank you 💖
Amazing video, thank so much for this, as a beginner it actually helped me a lot in getting the hang of it!
You’re more than welcome! Thank you for the comment! 😍
Read a book passage aloud. Are you reciting aloud what you're reading simultaneously? No, you're not. You read, you comprehend, and you recite in this order. What you recite aloud has already been read and understood. Same goes for sight reading. What you are playing aloud should aready be read and understood. You should be scanning at least a measure ahead of what you're already playing aloud, like you scan ahead at the next sentence while you're reciting the previous one in order to recite fluently. Anyway, my 2 cents.
Agreed about the Piano Adventures method books. They're very good.
Yes you’re right. I did talk about looking ahead and finding patterns and intervals in this video.
I like to read easy things just for pleasure. And write songs with a couple of chords. Like my pop music…
It’s satisfying to express yourself freely.
Then it become relaxing to just work on a classical piece and work technically hours and hours.
I agree! I like to sit down and
read pieces that are on the easier side and then I’m always working on a bunch of challenging classical pieces. Sounds like you’re enjoying the piano!
Thank you! 🥰
You’re more than welcome!
This video is jam-packed with helpful information. This is awesome! I've been trying to find different ways of teaching piano students and this video helps me tremendously. *THANK YOU SO MUCH!*
This is so great to hear! Thank you so much for leaving such a nice comment!
Thank you
You're more than welcome!
Hello Thank you so much for this video. I'm an adult beginner, I've been playing for a year and a half now. So six pieces at a time. What is the best way to pick out pieces that will take 3 -4 weeks or 1-2 pieces that will take months? thanks so much for all of the resources I've purchased the books and downloaded the apps 🙂. Is that Magic fingers book for kids? or can an older Adult use it?
Thank you so much for your comment. It sounds like you’re on the right track! Everyone learns at a different pace. You’ll have to experiment with different levels of songs to see how long it takes you to master them. If you use Piano Marvel or the Piano Adventures method books, they gradually progress.
Oh! Adults can definitely use the Magic Finger Technique book.
I notice that when you demonstrated the first few scales of the Bastien (which I just purchased), you didn't use the same fingering for LH and RH that is used to actually play the d flat scale (RH - 23123412; LH - 32143212). When playing the scale, we don't start with the 5th finger of the LH and the thumb of the RH. For those of us who are older beginners, won't this confuse the muscle memory we are trying to develop? Thanks for your very helpful video and recommendations.
Hi! I’m not exactly sure what you’re referring to but every scale has “universal” piano fingering. For example, pianists around the world will use the same fingering for the D Flat Major Scale. But we won’t use the same fingering for every scale and the right and left hand have different fingering. Maybe you can clarify? Thank you for your comment!
Sorry, let me try to clarify. When you said in the video that we didn't need to purchase the Bastien, you then demonstrated by quickly playing the first 5 notes of the next few scales, and started each one with the 5th finger of your left hand and thumb of the right hand, which is the same fingering taught for the C Major scale, but not what we would normally use when playing the D-flat Major scale, which is as noted in my original email. Thanks.@@BrillantePianoLessons
Ahhh I understand now. I was demonstrating Major 5 finger patterns (the first 5 notes of each major scale). We use the same fingering for all 5 finger patterns but not for scales. Confusing right?!
Indeed. Thank You!@@BrillantePianoLessons
I used to think Piano Marvel was a gimmick until I actually tried it. It’s an amazing training aid for sight-reading practice.
Yes it’s great for sight reading, ear training, rhythm and technique. It’s an incredible resource for classical training and also very fun and interactive. Obviously I love it!
All I know is that if Heather were my piano teacher now, I would have the most attractive piano teacher I’ve ever had in my life! A little older now, I would listen to and do everything she said and most likely wouldn’t mind if the teacher crushed my fingers and twisted my ear lobe ! Of course only if Heather was my teacher. LOL❗️
Back when I was eight, living in Brooklyn, New York, I took piano lessons with a man named Mr. Cerillo. Looking back, those were some of the most terrifying times of my life. As a little boy, I faced his strict methods every week ! He would crush my hands if I didn’t keep my fingers curled while playing and to make matters worse, he’d twist my right earlobe every time I hit the wrong key because he sat on my right side, and those twists felt like complete torture.
Despite these unbelievable traits, he was undeniably a good teacher. If I could see Mr. Cerillo today, I would say to him, "I’d like to see you crush my fingers and twist my ear now !!! I begged my mother not to send me to him anymore, explaining that he seemed a bit crazy. But she insisted, “He’s a great teacher. You have to go.” So, I endured nearly two years of lessons until I finally refused to go anymore.
That said, I must acknowledge that Mr. Cerillo knew his stuff. A few months before I left his piano school in which he had approximately 100 students held a recital. Out of all his students, I was fortunate enough to be one of the 25 selected to perform. It was a big deal for me, especially since the recital took place at “Little Carnegie Hall” in Manhattan in front of about 500 people. Getting up on stage was the most terrifying time I can remember in my past. Man was I nervous ! I could hardly breathe when I sat down to play with people applauding. I played my piece, “Avalanche,” practically flawlessly, and I felt proud of myself. I might have misplayed 1 note but to me that’s flawlessly. Especially since I had to have played that song atleast 1,000 times the week before the recital.
The only reason I made it that far was thanks to my mother, who always told me, “Timothy, nothing comes easy in life. Remember, whatever you love and want to excel at, you must practice every day, because practice makes perfect.”
What I’ve seen oh Heather’s Course so far I’m definitely subscribing and most likely will enroll in her course 👍🏻 Thank You Heather for the great and easy to understand videos !
This story makes my heart ache honestly. I know it
was common for teachers to be physically abusive a few years back ;)
I’m so glad to hear the happy ending and that you had a positive performance experience at Carnegie! I really hope you’re still playing?! I am aware of the powerful influence I have on my students and I’m very careful about the things I say and my body language. Piano lessons can teach people so many important life lessons!
great video
Thanks so much for the comment! 💖
Really good video
Thank you so much! I really appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment.
@BRILLANTEPianoLessons 😀👍
Merci this is my little gif 🌹
Thank you for the rose and comment!
@@BrillantePianoLessons please learn me Sight Reading its very hard.
1 Concentration.
2 Reading.
3 Playing.
Hère your are ?
💐
Have a good day
Thanks for your smile
See you soon....😃
Sight reading is difficult for many people. It takes a lot of time, practice and patience. The best thing you can do is master a lot of music. So choose pieces on the easier side. Your skills will gradually increase.
Awesome presentation. I struggle with sight reading, I'm self teaching myself so Its really hard to focus on both clefs at the same time and keep right and left hand coordination but I guess practice, practice, practice is the key to success.
Thank you for the nice comment! Yes practice is the key and learning a lot of music. We can all improve on sight reading. I’m still working at it after 40 years of playing the piano!
Teaching for 30 years? I didn't even realize you were 30 Jesus you look amazing
So nice of you! Thank you
Commenting to help the algorithm 😁
That’s so nice of you! Yes it definitely helps us 💖
Relly good video, I downloaded all the apps you have shown, by the way meme:"Why are you talking like that😅"
I hope you find the apps helpful!
Could not find note rush app in the Apple,store.
Really? Use the link I put in the description. It’s definitely available for iOS and Android
You know those top League Pianists you can give them any piece even modern and they can Just Pick it Up within the First try.
There are some people who have natural ability with sight reading for sure!
And even transpose it immediately to any key within the first try😃
What is the name of the beautiful music at the very end of vid?
That is a copyright free sample from Epidemic Sound. It’s called “Rebirth of Earth” by Phoenix Tail
If I read an interval of 4 or higher, how do I instantly play the note without looking at the keys to see or count the distance? If the key signature has sharps or flats or I start at a black key, my brain does not know what that distance looks or feels like playing. I practice reading intervals with an app but I can't play it.
Thank you for your comment. The black keys definitely make intervals more complicated. You will get better at feeling intervals (even with black keys) as you learn more pieces. Make sure to practice scales, chords and arpeggios as part of your daily practice routine. That will really help you to navigate the keys better. I recommend using Keith Snell’s Scale Skills series that I linked in the description because they gradually progress and include all of these elements. It takes time and practice. Hang in there! 💫
Will Piano Marvel help me? I can easily sight-read at level 4 but I want to keep going. Thanks!
Piano Marvel will definitely help you. It’s great for all levels, beginning to advanced. Thanks for the comment!
@@BrillantePianoLessons Thank you, I will sign up !! ❤😃
@@DouggieDinosaur Let me know what you think!
This video can make one wonder how people learned piani in the old days when there were no apps or sophisticated software to help us thru.
Well, we definitely have more streamlined ways of learning now days! I wish I had these apps and software when I started piano lessons.
Any books you all can recommend, like a good progression pieces to improve sight reading?
Thanks for your comment! I linked some books in the description of this video. Do you see those? The Piano Adventures series by Faber is great and they also have an accelerated series for adults. If you’re primarily interested in classical pieces, I like Keith Snell’s Piano Repertoire series and also The Festival Collection series by Helen Marlais which starts with the preparatory level.
What piano do you own?
It’s a Steinway B. I got it used a few years ago, but it’s my dream piano I never thought I’d own!
Thx
You’re welcome! 💖
I really have to say that trying to learn to play piano and looking at a wide range of RUclips and online tutorials, my initial impression is that everyone seems to be trying to drown me in apps. Both my tablet and me phone are screaming under the strain of infinity recommended apps from You Tube teachers.
I taught for a good 20 years without apps. My job as a piano teacher was much more difficult honestly. I can’t say enough about the Note Rush app and SpeakBeat metronome app. The apps and software I recommended in this video help my students learn at a much faster pace. I’m sure it’s hard to know which ones to try. I feel good about the recommendations I made in this video because I teach with them every day. I recommend that you try some out and see if you like any of them. Thanks for commenting!
You teach with the same logical methodology I use. I think it’s the best when it comes to sight reading.
Thank you so much! I really appreciate it 💖
Do u do tutorials on the simplified river flows in you.
Thank you
God bless you
Julianna
Thank you for your comment! Our channel has a focus of classical music.
I wax told a great way to learn sight reading and composition too was to do a different Bach four part chorale a day. There’s about 370 of them.
Yes, sight reading Bach every day is a great tip. And it really could be any Bach piece. Thanks for the comment!
@@BrillantePianoLessons You're welcome. And if you've really been teaching for 30 years, you must have started when you were one. 🙂
@@jrbergsten I’ll take that as
a huge compliment! I started teaching at 16.
I only find sightreading videos playing childish music. Well, I need to sight reading Scriabin, Bartok, Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff music. How to do that ? 😮😮😮
You can absolutely sight read classical works from the great composers! You just need to gradually work up your sight reading level. You should be able to play hands together on the first day and count when you sight read. Gradually work up your level of difficulty by practicing a lot and learning a lot of pieces.
@@BrillantePianoLessons Thank you very much for the insight. 🙏👍
You’re so welcome!
Thank you. I play by ear and struggle to sight read. The frustration is infuriating.
If you have a good ear, it can be a blessing and a curse! I recommend practicing pieces that you enjoy but have never heard before to work on reading the music. Also make sure you’re not practicing too difficult of pieces (that you find yourself memorizing as you learn). You’ll want to keep your eyes on the music every day until you’ve got ALL of the details learned like dynamics, articulations and pedaling. Thanks for your comment 💖
Read a variety of music. Easy, hard, slow. Read read read, practice practice practice.
Yes exactly 👌🏻
💯💯💯
🥰🥰🥰
How have you been teaching for over 30 years when you look 20 🤔
Well you made my day! I started teaching when I was 16. 🫶🏻
She does not look 20 lol she is definitely over 30 but looks really young because it looks like she takes care of herself
@@moebarragan1681yeah she just looks soooo healthy like wow
I thought the same 😂
@@BrillantePianoLessonsStill, you don’t look 46 ❤
A few good points but mostly advertising gibberish. Method books are best used to treat insomnia.
Hmmm this isn’t about advertising. These are the books and apps that I personally use to teach with and I see great success with my students. I’ve tried many different method books and various technology over the years of teaching.
@@BrillantePianoLessons Hello Brillante, I am a mature person, and can tell how it works nowadays. Kids and some Olders think that there is no life without apps and electronics and because they do not have any knowledge about "how" they are taking your advise to go by it. This is like a toy to attract learners. There is nothing better than the teacher explains, presents it and the student practice it. I learned piano for 11 years straight so I know exactly what it takes. Going by some app on the phone would be silly wasting time.... and whoever wants to learn the instrument do not know about it.
I learned to play the piano without apps and technology. I’ve also taught for many years without technology. I now use it regularly in my teaching and I see students progress so much faster with these new tools! They really make learning fun and enjoyable. But people can still learn the old school way.
I guess i have a crazy piano teacher
Why would you say that?
@@BrillantePianoLessons am just 6 months into learning piano and she is giving me l'ondine et le pecheur to learn thoughts ?
Ah it all depends on how gifted you are! I do find that a lot of piano teachers give their students waaay too difficult of material. That can be so demotivating. I believe it’s best to learn a lot of pieces that you can master fairly quickly. It’s also important to challenge yourself with 1 or 2 pieces at a time that take you a little longer to learn.
@@BrillantePianoLessons you think that some people have a gift and some people don't really ?
Absolutely. Learning an instrument comes much more naturally to some people. But I believe that anyone could learn to play well with enough practice.
If you practice chords without a song you create songs!!! Hello? McFly?
Ha! Yes of course you can create songs with chords but most people don’t have the skills to do that.
Do it all the time when you're a child. That was my method. Lol
Play all the time?! Yes that was my motto too 🥰I loved to play and still do. And yes, the more music we learn the better sight readers we become!
@@BrillantePianoLessons I remember "cracking the code" at the age of ten. It's the same as with reading language. It helps if, like both of us, one "loves to play"!
The Notes! app is only on iPhones. Ugh! And NOT free. Ugh! Ugh!
There are a lot of great note reading apps for Android too. Try Note Rush, NoteWorks, Flashnote Derby. Thanks for commenting