Playing Piano

[Pianist Da Sootopolis]

(I know this topic is a month old but what the hell)
To practice sight reading, don't buy a sight reading book or anything that labels itself as a guide to sight reading.
What you need to be doing is reading through actual music, by real composers. Whether that's NSM sheets or classical music, doesn't really matter. But typically the sight reading books don't have near the amount of actual music to be worth doing. They're also boring as all hell, so there's that..
I personally started with Bach two part inventions for sight reading, Chopin mazurkas and sometimes nocturnes (the easier ones usually), easier Beethoven and Mozart works, Schumann's Album for the Young, and Clementi and Kuhlau sonatinas. There's plenty more you can use (more advanced stuff like Kinderszenen of Schumann, I use that a lot, and Brahms intermezzi), but that's my starter set XD

[Sebastian]

I totally agree! NSM sheets and Classical are the best

[SlowPokemon]

Actually, the best way to get better at sight reading is to play music you want to play. Classical music actually deters many people from being motivated to play more, which is the only way to acquire sight reading skills. So I wholeheartedly disagree with his recommendations.

[mikey]

some people just aren't very good at sightreading and some are naturals

[Sebastian]

Actually, the best way to get better at sight reading is to play music you want to play. Classical music actually deters many people from being motivated to play more, which is the only way to acquire sight reading skills. So I wholeheartedly disagree with his recommendations.

This is also true.
I guess Classical and NSM sheets are my favorites.

[KefkaticFanatic]

If you want to build technique, then what he recommends are essential.  There's a reason certain music is considered as exercises (Bach Inventions, Czerny School of Velocity, Hanon).  If you just want to become ok at playing basic tunes, then yea you can do whatever modern stuff you want.  It depends entirely on what your overall goals are.

[Pianist Da Sootopolis]

Actually, the best way to get better at sight reading is to play music you want to play. Classical music actually deters many people from being motivated to play more, which is the only way to acquire sight reading skills. So I wholeheartedly disagree with his recommendations.

Just as many people find video game music to be boring and repetitive. But technique was developed and changed in so many ways by those who wrote classical music that it is almost assuredly going to help you if you're practicing it and playing it the "right" way (several books and essays have been written on what this right way is, it's one of the most contested subjects in piano). The people who wrote classical music had far greater skill at the piano than most of our arrangers, I promise
Also, how can you find stuff like this boring?

As Kefkatic mentioned, as well, it's dependent on your goals. It's like say, running. If you just want to be able to jog around your city a bit and not be tired out, doing your own thing is probably fine. But if you want to be able to run the Boston Marathon without breaking a sweat, you may consider reading about the physiology of running as well as working on your endurance, as it can give you all kinds of tips and tricks. Not the best analogy perhaps, but it has many of the same parallels.

[Bubbles]

The most important thing is definitely enjoying yourself. Why do people even play instruments in the first place? It gives the player a sense of fulfillment and a "hey I did that!!" feeling when something turns out nice. When you're playing a tune from a video game that you already know and have attached emotions to, recreating that on the piano provides more enjoyment than playing a classical piece that is unfamiliar. Then that leads to more songs, which is ultimately more practice and learning different techniques without even realizing it.

Myself, I played classical music for 7 years before I drove myself crazy and quit. For the next two years I played solely what I wanted and improved more than in the previous 7. Now I'm back at classical again and actually appreciating it. What I'm saying is: don't force yourself to play a certain thing since everyone has their own motivating factors and will grow at different paces with different methods.

[Pianist Da Sootopolis]

The most important thing is definitely enjoying yourself. Why do people even play instruments in the first place? It gives the player a sense of fulfillment and a "hey I did that!!" feeling when something turns out nice. When you're playing a tune from a video game that you already know and have attached emotions to, recreating that on the piano provides more enjoyment than playing a classical piece that is unfamiliar. Then that leads to more songs, which is ultimately more practice and learning different techniques without even realizing it.

Myself, I played classical music for 7 years before I drove myself crazy and quit. For the next two years I played solely what I wanted and improved more than in the previous 7. Now I'm back at classical again and actually appreciating it. What I'm saying is: don't force yourself to play a certain thing since everyone has their own motivating factors and will grow at different paces with different methods.

Yes, but if you want to grow fast to achieve a goal like say, Chopin's G minor ballade (the piece everyone and their grandmother seems to want to play these days), then you would do well to pick pieces that suit your goal, as much as you may not like them. Let us also remember here, that the goal was how to become a better sight reader. Everyone has to eat their broccoli before going to desert, even if that desert is a pure chocolate protein bars (not much of a desert, those things are f***ing disgusting).

[Latios212]

The most important thing is definitely enjoying yourself. Why do people even play instruments in the first place? It gives the player a sense of fulfillment and a "hey I did that!!" feeling when something turns out nice. When you're playing a tune from a video game that you already know and have attached emotions to, recreating that on the piano provides more enjoyment than playing a classical piece that is unfamiliar. Then that leads to more songs, which is ultimately more practice and learning different techniques without even realizing it.

This is me in a nutshell ^^ NSM is the sole reason I came back to piano after stopping lessons.

[Sebastian]

NSM is the sole reason I came back to piano after stopping lessons.

That's awesome! I still play piano because of NSM.

[Hero of Trains]

NSM is why I'm considering taking lessons.

[Sebastian]

I'd give you some if you lived around here. I'm giving my friend some piano lessons right now.

[JDMEK5]

NSM is why I'm going into music in university in the fall.

NSM is why I'm considering taking lessons.

Aye. Do that.

[Pianist Da Sootopolis]

NSM is why I'm considering taking lessons.

Do it. It's well worth the $$ if you get the right teacher, and a good teacher can help you more than any youtube video can