Sight Reading Solutions for Pianists

              Technically speaking, sight-reading refers to playing sheet music for the first time without prior practice. Some people refer to this process as “prima vista.” Additional reading after the initial sight-reading are termed as “music reading” or simply as “reading.” Some pianists may disregard these technical distinctions and say that the second or even third reading may still count as sight-reading as long as the piece has not been studied or properly practiced.             Recently, I was thinking about this as I read through a library sheet music book for the second time. This second reading had been done weeks after the initial sight-reading, In the interim between these two readings, I had not played or practiced these pieces at all. But what struck me was how much easier and fluent the second reading seemed despite not actively working on the music. ...

               One of the biggest issues facing sight-readers is having enough sheet music on hand to develop sight-reading skills. If you constantly buy new sheet music just to have something to sight-read, you will find this quickly becomes expensive. Fortunately, in the digital age options for freely available sheet music are abundant, especially on the well-known IMSLP website.             However, outside of the larger public domain sites, more contemporary composers sometimes offer free sheet music on their websites. One such person is Arden Wilken. Her music is unique in that she writes music for therapeutic purposes. This music facilitates transforming the listener’s emotions into beneficial states of well-being.             Arden’s website, https://www.innersoundonline.com/albums , offers a free PDF download of sheet musi...