Sight Reading Skills

"An ability of playing from sight is an invaluable asset to music students and
amateurs because it opens to them a wide field of music literature beyond the necessarily limited "repertory" of pieces they have carefully studied. Unfortunately, music teachers generally do not realize the importance of sight reading".
"The problems of sight reading are somewhat different in the various fields of performance. In piano playing the difficulites are considerably greater, owing to the greater complexity of the music. The greatest obstacle to sight reading on the piano is the customary emphasis on memorization of a few selections."
The Harvard Brief Dictionary of Music
Willi Apel and Ralph T. Daniel

Studies are showing that because of the linear, spatial correlation between the keys and the notes, learning to read piano music enhances intellectual development. Some scientists believe that such music-making creates and strengthens synapseses between neurons in the brain. The result is better symbol decoding, problem solving and thinking skills.

My own studio experience has taught me that the process of learning to read well also promotes better overall piano performance skills. The traditional approach to piano study is to concentrate on and memorize a few pieces of music at a time. Too often, in the all important early years, these pieces are confined to a very limited number of 5 finger patterns such as C or G major. This practice not only limits the exposure to various keys, but it also greatly limits the opportunity to internalize rhythmic, melodic, technical and harmonic patterns.

As result, thoretical skills, including interval and pattern recognition, note identification, rhythmic notation, harmonic and melodic structure and transposition become a part of the musician's pattern of thinking. Technical skills such as fingering, phrasing and artistic expression have the opportunity to become automatic. As a student internalizes basic fundamentals, memory and performance playing are also enhanced.

In contrast, a typical Kirk Book student practices 6 - 10 pieces a week in addition to performance level pieces. This constant exposure to a varied, multiple-key program of new material provides the reinforcement necessary to internalize essential musical skills.