Sightreading: Holistique Pianism (1)

The biggest misunderstanding about sight-reading is the belief that it means playing all the correct keys,including dynamics, markings, and expression, correctly and at once.

The real meaning of sight-reading lies in how quickly we can grasp the whole piece.

It allows us to take a bird’s-eye view of the music, and begin to build and realize our own interpretation.

I have seen and tried many different approaches to improve my students’ sight-reading, and most of them did not lead to improvement, but simply accumulated stress.

The first skill to acquire is the ability to remember what you have just read while continuing to move forward.

It is the skill of bridging the gap between now and what comes next, a flow that does not stop.

There is only one way to develop this skill:to learn many pieces.

Short memory is a key component in improving sight-reading skills.

Short memory plays a central role.It requires knowing notation, pitch, location on the keyboard,fingering,and integrating all of these seamlessly.

When you know how to integrate motion, pitch, and location spontaneously,sight-reading improves naturally.

It is not a separate skill from the techniques required to play the piano.

Separating one element from the wholeand focusing on it too heavily is time-consuming, counterproductive,and ultimately counterintuitive.

We need to approach practice holistically,even when working on a specific skill.

It does not develop in isolation.

Just like the body.

Fingers connect to the arm,

arms to the shoulders,

shoulders to the spine,

and the spine to the core that runs through the torso.

Everything works together.

We cannot isolate one part from the rest.

Elemental reductionism is a recipe for suffering.

Preparing for specific exams may require focused practice,but even that can only happenonce a certain foundation is in place.

There is no quick fix.

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