Content

• To step
• Method 1 of 2: Consult Various Musical Resources
• Method 2 of 2: Practice Playing Prima Vista
• Tips

Are you convinced that you will never be able to learn to play sheet music prima vista? Then think about what you are doing right now. Reading is a very complex skill and can certainly be compared to playing directly from a sheet of paper. As a child you have already learned to recognize letter patterns so that you can now read this article relaxed without having to think about it. It makes life so much easier, doesn't it? Being able to play Prima Vista is comparable to this and will greatly increase your possibilities as a pianist or keyboardist. Of course, like learning to read, it takes time and practice, but it is a skill that you will appreciate for the rest of your life. In this article, we'll give you some pointers to get you started.

To step

Method 1 of 2: Consult Various Musical Resources

1. Train online on websites that offer exercises. You want new material to become available regularly so that you stay motivated. Also look for websites with advanced exercises so that you don't get bored when a certain level becomes too easy for you. And it is indeed a skill you can learn! Here are a few examples of websites, but there are many more. Just search with your favorite browser and you will find:
   • SightReadingMastery offers professionally composed exercises for various instruments, including the piano. Exercises are classified by level and each exercise has the ability to show a good performance of the piece of music, so you know if you played the piece correctly.
   • The Sight Reading Project offers a wide variety of exercises and a search function so you can choose the exercises you need. In addition, they have a unique metronome that you can use during the exercises and downloadable MIDI files! It's a free service; all donations are welcome.
   • Piano Music Sight-Reading Practice is another free site that starts by reading one note at a time, and then slowly increases the difficulty from there. You can also skip parts by adjusting the settings. The disadvantage is that you need a MIDI keyboard, or you have to use an on-screen keyboard.
2. Purchase a good method. There are a number of books that are specifically designed to teach you this skill, and guide you through the exercises according to a certain methodology - each exercise building on the previous one, only a little more difficult. Here are a few recommended titles:
   • Improve your Sight-Reading! Piano, Level 1 from Alfred Music Publishing. There are 8 books in total, from beginner to advanced.
   • Primer Level Sightreading Book from Hal Leonard Publishing. For the more advanced prima vista players there are two additional parts.
3. Provide new material. The key to successfully playing sheet is that you only read and play the music once. You can borrow or buy a number of music books from the library or print sheet music from a website. All of this may work, but it is not a structured, well-structured form of study.
   • Think of it like this: when you first learned to read, you started with very simple picture books and the difficulty gradually increased. You stayed motivated because you kept getting one step higher. For the best result and constant motivation; make sure you limit yourself to sheet music of a level you can handle and work from there.

Method 2 of 2: Practice Playing Prima Vista

1. Sit at the piano or your keyboard with the sheet music in front of you. Make sure that your posture is correct and that the sheet music is arranged in such a way that it takes no effort to read. Take a look at the notes and rhythm and try to understand the piece of music before playing even a small part of it.
   • In the beginning it is useful to first practice the rhythm and then the melody. Tap with your foot or use a metronome, clap the beat with your hands. Hold on and don't stop if you make a mistake.
   • Try to pick up the reading of the rhythm as soon as possible and make it your own. Once you have learned the basics, you can continue by practicing melody and rhythm at the same time.
2. Pay attention to the details. Look carefully at what key the piece is in, whether this changes in the course of the piece and examine the dynamics of the music. Try to find chords and determine which ones they are.
   • Find the most difficult part, for example with a lot of sharps and flats or a fast sequence of notes and determine the maximum speed at which you can play that part. Maintain this speed for the entire stretch. It is very important not to stop on a mistake, just keep playing.
   • Look for patterns before playing and try to read at least 1 bar ahead.
3. Play the track. After going through the exercise, it is high time to start making music. Use a metronome for the tempo.
   • You may miss a few notes, but it is much more important that you keep going and keep the tempo.
4. Practice this the way we've discussed it as often as you can. Go through everything again and practice on previous pieces you have played, but now try to give it more content. The more you practice, the better your prima vista game becomes.

Tips

• If you are already somewhat advanced in the prima vista game, try a duet with another pianist. This challenges both pianists to read, play and pay attention to the correct performance at the same time.
• Keeping the rhythm can be tricky. Use a metronome!
• Even if you don't have an instrument at hand, you can practice. Read as much of the sheet as possible, read the notes out loud or listen to a good performance of the piece while reading the sheet music.
• Don't worry about your mistakes, learn to keep playing! Most of the people in the room will not even notice the mistake.
• Train your eyes to read for your fingers. Focus on the next measure or further and practice on this as much as possible.
• Learn the intervals. An interval in music is the distance between two notes. For example, the interval between the C and the D is one second. The interval between a C and an E is a third and the interval between C and G is a fifth. You can easily deduce this from the sheet music:
  • When 2 notes are both on the staff lines, the intervals are as follows: 3, 5, 7, etc. Count the staff lines and the space between them if you are not sure: 2 notes in a line separated by a whitespace = 3 or a third; 2 notes on a line separated by two whites and a line = 5 or a fifth; etc.
  • In the same way you can calculate the intervals if both notes are in a white space. In either case, keep in mind that the intervals are odd.
  • If one note is in a white space and the other on a line, the intervals are just even. One note in a whitespace and the other on a line has a second as an interval, one note in whitespace and another on a line separated by a line and a whitespace is a quarter, etc.