The Benefits of Sight Reading When Playing Piano

Although it's a skill that instructors don't teach as much, sight reading is incredibly beneficial for accelerating your ability to read new music quickly—keep reading for more.

If you ever heard the saying, "give a man a fish, you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime," then you understand the importance of bestowing knowledge. Instructing a student to play a piece on the piano is one thing, but teaching them the skills needed to continue further is something else entirely. One valuable skill when playing the piano is the ability to sight read, which is why it is beneficial to all students.

Better Accuracy

If you were to pick up the book closest to you and open it, you would likely have no problem reading it with ease and understanding. You don't have to learn each word before you can read the whole sentence.

However, for many, that is how playing the piano often goes because they have to focus on each note instead of recognizing groups of notes as easily-identified patterns. That is why sight reading is incredibly beneficial when playing the piano, as it gives you the skills you need to read the musical equivalent of “words, phrases, and sentences.” 

Sturdy Foundation

Imagine starting your first day of school and noticing that arithmetic is not on the curriculum. You can certainly expect that you would not receive a well-rounded education. Such is the case for piano players who do not include sight reading in their piano curriculum. Without this core skill of sight reading, you won’t be receiving a truly well-rounded education in piano.

That is why, at Piano Marvel, we prioritized teaching this skill in our piano instruction software. Using our program, you will gain access to the Standard Assessment of Sight Reading (SASR). The SASR makes learning fun with thousands of excerpts divided into 90 levels so you can continuously challenge yourself as you grow.

Additionally, the Method and Technique exercises in the Piano Marvel Trophy Cases facilitate the learning of note names and durations, rhythms, ear training, musical patterns, etc.  These skills are critical for creating and building a good foundation in sight reading. 

More Confidence

If we were to think of our piano skills as tools on a tool belt, sight reading is one of those significant tools in the belt. As your sight-reading abilities improve, you will be able to sight read increasingly difficult pieces. When looking at a piece you have never seen before, quickly recognizing the notes, rhythms, melodies, and harmonies is invaluable. With the right tools, you will become a better sight reader.