Piano - Guided Sight-Reading

by Leonhard Deutsch

Sight-reading is a skill which offers a student access to all music literature; a skill through which he can acquaint himself with any composition, unaided by a teacher. Nor can the ability to sight-read be lost. Once musical notation has become a living picture for the student, it will remain so, and he will at any time afterward be able to perform any music whether he practices regularly or not. Sight-reading does not conflict with repertoire study. On the contrary, a good sight-reader has no trouble in perfecting a piece, and is all the more stimulated to do so. After a student has developed adequate facility in sight-reading, he is ready for unrehearsed or little rehearsed performance; this is especially important for chamber musicians and accompanists. Also, to musicians in other fields who take piano lessons as an additional subject, sight-reading will be very welcome. Thus it is suitable for every piano pupil. For the amateur student, however, the sight-reading method is imperative. Not only does it direct him to an appropriate goal-developing musicianship-but it also helps him to attain it. It is not the privilege of especially talented persons. To play a piano piece correctly at sight implies nothing more than a coordination of the player's ears, eyes, and hands. Every normal person can develop that coordination, though it may mean hard work for some. The efficacy of sight-reading has been proven by my own teaching experience and by that of my co-workers over a period of a great many years with numerous students of all ages and types. Most of our students would have failed under traditional instruction. Many actually had failed, but they resumed their piano studies with our new approach and then succeeded.

Genres: Music

124 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2008

Reviews

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a revelation to my piano playing.  I am coming back to the piano after being away in all seriousness for more than 20 yrs (minus the occasional sit-down-and-plunk-something-out-session or briefly replaying something I had memorized long ago). I had a LONG way to come, and my biggest weakness has always been sight-reading.  It was agonizing to try and find all the notes I needed for a new piece and I had never really been comfortable much above or below the common C hand position (having to always count up or down from a known note). As an adult learner trying to self teach I thought my first stop would be some pedagogical research. My library had a very limited list of books on piano instruction, but they had a copy of this book so this is where I started. My main takeaways: Read something new every time you sit at the piano (play something only once or twice for this purpose) and play at a SLOW tempo to avoid halts and allow yourself the space to get to the new notes (speed up as you gain mastery). Also (I can't remember if this was this book though), don't look at the keyboard.  I found the advice to continually read something new to be the most helpful.  It helped me crack the music notation code faster than I thought possible. Mostly, I think this was because this method outpaced the speed with which my fingers/brain could memorize a given piece's hand positions and FINALLY forced my brain to learn where the notes on the keyboard correlated to the notes on the page (far up and down the keyboard as you would naturally occur in playing a diversity of pieces). Perhaps this book is longer and drier than strictly necessary (esp to a modern reader), but I appreciated the points it made.

[Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read. I didn't agree with everything, but I did agree with a lot. Many of the problems of traditional repertoire method discussed are things I've experienced firsthand in several of my students and even myself--sight-reading deficiencies that seem to me more prominent in auditory learners than in visual learners. I've definitely seen and been frustrated by the slow progress in mastering new pieces and consequent exploration of fewer pieces. Interestingly, the method described of accompanying your student in sight-reading exercises is quite similar to how I learned violin, and may somewhat account for why I've learned that instrument so much better than piano. That said, I do wish the book had spent less time on the why of sight-reading vs. repertoire and more on the how. Even so, I'm looking forward to implementing some of these ideas with my sight-reading-challenged students in the coming semester!

[Baby Tron · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read..

There is an amazing list of pieces you should sightread in progressive order, it will give great results if you apply what’s said in this book.

Probably one of the best instructional guides I’ve read on music ever.

It isn’t as deep as Neuhaus interpretatively/philosophically but wow the practical advice in this book was amazing.

[Lillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of my NY resolution of this year is to improve sight reading. I try to read whatever book on this topic. As an adult learner I don’t think I can find some teacher to accompany me when sigh reading, although I got the points this book. Quite a few good suggestions.

[Ron · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't really get this book. I am a student not a teacher, and I was looking for inspiration to help with my sight reading. Some nuggets, but have to say I was disappointed. Perhaps I should have a re-read at some point. Sorry.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book because it was suggested by the author of "The Pianist's Problems." In "Piano, Guided Sight-Reading"Leonhard Deutsch details his method of teaching piano with just sight-reading pieces at slow tempos and avoiding repertoire/technique based study. At first I was against what Deutsch was writing but later found use for his methods in teaching beginners. While I would not base an entire curriculum on just sight reading Deutsch brings up many points that are interesting and worth considering.