Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum I feel like such a numpty!

Having come back to learning the piano after a lay-off of a couple of years due to illness, I started struggling with my old bete noir - sight reading.

Like most beginner pianists, I've got it into my head that you can't possibly take yourself seriously if you can't read music well. And I can't. I used to consider it "cheating" to work out the notes slowly and then memorise a piece.

After reading some posts on here, I was reminded that it's not just a me thing, which made me feel much better. It's something everyone goes through and it really does take a very long time and a lot of practise to be a fluent sight reader.

But I also read about someone recommending Presto Keys to help train sight-reading. Well, I have a midi digital piano and... wait, don't I have a copy of Presto Keys? Turns out I did but just didn't get around to installing it.

What a fantastic little programme! There's me, playing my piano and having notes and chords pop up in front of me on my laptop screen to play. The essence of having to get it correct to move on, gives it the feeling of a game - and I never could resist games.

It's a fun way of improving sight reading simply because you're competing with yourself to get a better score. And for those times when you're stuck on what to work on next, it's an instructive way to fill the void.

All that help has been sitting on my computer for years and I ignored it. What a numpty am I!

Don't feel bad, I left the keys for 50 years pretty much because of good health . The important thing is we're back and better than ever!! Btw, better than ever for me though still doesn't include sight reading .

Absolutely! Sight reading, I think, will always be my bugbear.

Btw, having used Presto Keys more intensively today, I'm surprised how quickly I'm getting along with it. I like the way you can set it to be as easy or as complicated as you're able to manage. Excellent little program.

I've also hunted out some very basic, old piano books for beginners with lots of simple tunes in them, just for sight reading purposes.

We'll get there... eventually.

this is a great opportunity to work on basic tone production exercises:scales, arpeggios, chord patterns, improvising, etc.

Funny you should say that as I've just bought a book - Alfred's Complete Book of Scales, Chords, Arpeggios and Cadences. Partly because I need to work on those and partly for the sight reading thing.

My ability to play is way ahead of my sight-reading, so I feel the need for the latter to catch up with the former before I can enjoy the instrument fully.

Sly Cat, How bout improvising and composing which kinda approaches sight reading from the other side if the equation? Writing out scales, etc. may be the best and fastest way to develop sight reading.

That's not a bad idea. I'll give that a go. Cheers.