How to Sight Read Piano Music Without Stopping (Concert Pianist Explains)

You can play pieces that took you months to learn, but put a page you have never seen in front of you and everything falls apart. You stop, you go back, you hunt for the next note. I don't think you're a bad reader. I think you're only practicing half the skill. There are two kinds of sight-reading: offense and defense. Here is how I use both as a working collaborative pianist, plus a real test: my wife Katherine puts a piece in front of me that I have never played, and she does not wait for me. Want help figuring out what kind of reading you need to practice? Book a free 15-minute diagnostic call: https://kylepwalker.com/piano-lab/con... CHAPTERS 0:00 Why you stop when you sight read 0:38 Where I learned to read on the job 1:25 The usual advice (and what it skips) 1:49 Offense vs defense 2:19 Two different skills 2:31 The first look before you play 2:52 Keep your eyes ahead of your hands 3:19 Read chords from the bottom up 3:49 Defense: what to let go 4:11 Defense: what to keep 4:40 Get over yourself 5:08 How to practice each one 5:58 Sight reading with Katherine (Beethoven) 7:11 What you just heard 7:22 Hands together, leave out a voice 7:38 Read what you actually want to play 8:01 Read with something that won't wait 8:25 Why good players can be weak readers 8:55 When good reading backfires 9:27 Where to go next THE SHORT VERSION I. Know which kind you are doing. Offense is learning a new piece: slow enough to see every note. Defense is when someone is relying on you: keep the music going. II. Before a single note, read the clefs, key, time signature and register. III. Keep your eyes a measure or two ahead of your hands. If your eyes can't take in every note, the tempo is too fast. IV. Read every chord from the bottom up. The bass gives you the harmony. V. On defense, let some of the right hand go first. Keep a solid bass line, the singer's cues and the right octave. VI. The only job is the next beat. VII. Practice with things that won't wait for you: Music Minus One, play-along apps, a friend and a stack of duets. Katherine had not played this sonata in more than 10 years. She brought it back just for this video. Thank you, Katherine. WHAT TO WATCH NEXT How a Concert Pianist Starts a New Piece (The First Two Days). It picks up right where this one ends.    • How a Concert Pianist Starts a New Piece (...   What to do when you lose your place in performance:    • How to Recover from a Memory Slip at the P...   MORE Book a free 15-minute diagnostic call: https://kylepwalker.com/piano-lab/con... Free 30 day practice plan: https://kylepwalker.com/practice-plan Work with me: https://kylepwalker.com/piano-lab Music in this video: Beethoven, Violin Sonata in C minor, Op. 30 No. 2 (Katherine Dennis, violin; Kyle P. Walker, piano). Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Three-Fours, Op. 71 No. 6 (Kyle P. Walker, piano). I am Kyle P. Walker. I am Artist Faculty in Piano Studies at NYU Steinhardt, I teach at Kaufman Music Center, and I perform as a concert pianist. Piano Lab with Kyle is where I put the things I actually say to adult pianists in lessons. If this one helped, subscribing helps more than you would think at this size of channel.