The 3 Secrets of Sight Reading

Welcome to LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin. I want to talk to you today about the three secrets of sight reading. When I was a kid, I struggled terribly with sight reading. Despite playing advanced music in high school, I could barely read the simplest pieces. It was frustrating, especially when I was expected to sight-read at a high level. Then, one day, I had an epiphany that turned everything around for me. I was reading through the orchestral part of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto in B-flat minor with my father. I missed a lot of notes, but the important part is that I never got lost. I learned something crucial that day: sight-reading is not about getting every note right—it’s about keeping the music flowing.

This moment revealed the three key secrets that helped me become a strong sight-reader. You have to combine what you see, what you hear, and what you feel. These are the three essentials you need to master if you want to improve your sight-reading.

Secret 1: What You See—Reading in Larger Groups

When you sight-read, it’s tempting to focus on each note individually. But this is a mistake. Instead of reading note by note, you need to read in larger groups—either complete measures or blocks of notes that make sense in the context of the music.

Let me show you. I pulled up a Chopin Mazurka I’ve never played or heard before, and I’m going to sight-read it. If you watch me closely, you’ll see that I don’t look at my hands. Yes, I may miss some notes here and there, but the key is to keep going. I’ll occasionally glance at my hands, but only if I have to and only with my eyes, never moving my head down. But never look down for too long. If you look too far down, you won’t be able to find your place again! What you want to do is look at groups of notes or whole measures, depending on the context. This helps you to keep track of where the music is going and avoid getting bogged down by individual notes. You’ll be able to analyze the harmony and anticipate what comes next, just like when you’re reading words on a page—you don’t look at each individual letter; you take in whole words and phrases.

Secret 2: What You Hear—Listening as You Play

Now, let’s talk about hearing. A lot of people think sight-reading is just about what you see on the page, but your ears are just as important. When you’re playing, your ear will tell you when something’s not right, and it will help you adjust as you go.

For example, if you realize you’ve played a wrong note or are in the wrong place, don’t stop to correct it. Keep moving! If you’re accompanying someone, they’ve already moved on. You have to keep up with them. Even if you’re playing solo, you still need to stay connected to the music and trust your ear to guide you back to where you need to be. If your hands are in the wrong place on the keyboard, your ears will tell you. As you look at the music, you’ll have a better sense of where you should go next if you’re listening closely. Just as in any musical performance, listening will keep you on track.

Secret 3: What You Feel—Don’t Stop, Keep the Flow Going

The last secret is about feeling the keys. It’s so important to maintain the flow and rhythm of the piece, even if you miss a note or two. You’ll notice that I didn’t stop to correct every mistake I made during my demonstration. Why? Because I was focusing on keeping the music going. When you’re reading, it can be tempting to stop after every mistake and fix it, but you’re not really getting a sense of the piece that way. Sight-reading is about getting the big picture, not about perfection. If you go through the music slowly, stoping after every mistake, and correct everything, you’re missing out on the overall experience of the piece. That all comes later in practice.

If you want to get a feel for the music, you have to keep going forward. Even if it’s slow, even if it’s a little messy, just keep the rhythm and the feel moving. You can always go back and correct things later, but in the moment, it’s more important to keep the flow of the music. I often compare this to learning how to ride a bike. When you first try it without training wheels, it feels impossible. You wonder, “How will I stay up?” But with practice, you start to find your balance. Sight reading is similar—you have to trust that the more you stay connected to the rhythm and flow of the music, the easier it will get.

Why It’s Important to Keep Going

Whether you’re playing alone or accompanying someone, you have to keep going. If you stop every time you miss a note, you’ll never get a sense of how the music feels as a whole. Sure, you want to be accurate, but accuracy isn’t the primary goal in sight-reading. You also want to get the feel of the piece—the phrasing, the rhythm, and how the harmony fits together. I encourage you to try going through a piece without stopping, even if you’re playing slowly and making some mistakes. The point is not to fix every wrong note in the moment but to keep the music moving forward, which is essential when you are playing with other people. This is how you develop a good sense of the piece.

Sight Reading Is a Skill You Can Master!

So there you have it—the three secrets to becoming a better sight reader: what you see, what you hear, and what you feel. It’s all about combining these three elements. When you can do that, sight-reading becomes less about perfection and more about getting a feel for the music. I know it can be intimidating at first. You might think, “I can’t possibly play without looking at my hands.” But trust me, you can! Just like learning to ride a bike, it gets easier with practice. So go ahead—embrace these three secrets, and start working on your sight reading. You’ll be amazed at how much you can improve with time! Thank you for joining me here at LivingPianos.com, your online piano resource. I’m Robert Estrin. Looking forward to our next musical journey together. You can check out the accompanying video to see the demonstration.

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