piano grade 1 sight reading

[menagerie]

Hi,
My son is doing piano grade 1.He loves it and doesn't need encouragement to practise but he's really resistant to learning to read music. he picks up quite complicated pieces by ear and by watching his teacher's hand movements across the keyboard, but if I ask him where he's at in a piece of music, or to check the note if it's the wrong one he can't. He knows the names of the notes (so if I say e, not d, he can correct himself, but he doesn't seem to have much sense of the value of written notes - how long they last or which notes they are. Just wondered if there are any games we could play or books I can get him that make sight reading fun. (Btw I can't play myself, but can just about read music - enough to help him at Grade 1.)

IMO, reading the music is very important.
I cover my pupils hands with a book whilst they play to stop them looking down at their hands.
I also play games like spot the mistake, where I play and they have to follow the music and tell me where I make the mistake.
Also, early on, I get them to play every 'c' in a piece of music I play with them - ie, we could be playing Happy Birthday, but everytime a 'c' comes along, they have to play it. I play all the other notes. This can be extended and altered to using and adding other notes as appropiate.
Just a few ideas....hope they help.

Cup of tea, thank you - that's exactly the sort of game I was after. I did try covering his hands a while ago, but he had a little tantrum, and he's not given to tantrums so I didn't do it again. Him playing the C's would be good or him spotting my mistake - he'd love that.

I wondered if I should write little messages for him in notation form and see if he can decode them e.g. when it's bedtime: babe - bed, and see if he can read them. I just want him to put the written notes on the page to the name of the notes. He knows the name of the notes on the keyboard, but can't relate them to the page.

I'm the opposite. I can only play if I have the music in front of me. Try to play by memory and I'm absolutely lost.

I made a set of flash cards for my DS who has a similar approach to yours! He did manage Grade 1 and we are now struggling with Grade 2 - still unsure of the notation! The flash cards are really enjoyed by DD though who is just beginning grade1 stuff - each to their own! It might work with your DS.

Thanks Seeline. Do you mean you drew a note on each flash card and they play it when they see it? That sounds like a great - quite tough - idea, but a really good way of getting him to know at a glance what each note is.

How old is he? I hated sightreading and the aural tests when I was learning too, but eventually if I was keen to do the exam I just learnt it as best as I could. If he's still young, just give him time and try to encourage him by buying pieces of music he likes to learn to play (eg you can now have the "Top Cat" theme tune as an exam piece!!!) .....when he wants to learn how to play the themes to "superman" or "Scooby Doo" or whatever he's interested in I bet the reading skills will follow...(necessity being the mother of invention and all that).

To learn the names of notes on the music, I use the following mantra:
On a line, use the rhyme; in a space, spell out face.
This works with the treble clef (right hand) notes. So the notes on the lines - working from bottom line upwards - are: Every Good Boy Deserves Football (ECBDF) and the space notes are FACE (again working upwards). With my younger kids, I explain that they can then read music in lots of different countries that they can't speak the language. So they can read music in Italian, Chinese, French, ect ect. That impresses most kids!
Another thing I do is hold regular "quiz" days (with prizes of course!) to make sure they can read the notes.

Does he like composing? If so, he can learn to write down the notes and show to his teacher who should dutifully give him a reward sticker or house point or whatever.
Just be creative really!
Good luck and don't give up!

oh, and most kids HATE aural test, so start those early on too!

these books are good for getting the theory right
There are stickers and things and it makes understanding the notes FUN.
(As long as he's not 14 or something!)

Aural tests - just do things whilst you're in the kitchen washing up, or in the car. Sing a tune and get him to sing it back, that sort of thing.

Also you could try this downloadable sightreading game which DS2, who was very similar and self-corrected by ear, did after his Grade 2. He was OK with Grade 1 sightreading but came unstuck at Grade 2.

The game's very simple - basically on-screen flashcards, but you can beat your score and DS found it good fun. His teacher this week said that he sightreads very well now.

The good thing about grade 1 sight reading is that once their hands are in the right position, they don't move. So if he can find the first notes and is able to recognsie patterns of steps, jumps, leaps, etc. he should manage even if his note reading isn't secure.
There is a series of books called 'Improve Your Sight Reading' by Paul Harris (published by Faber) here which I'd really recommend. There are rhythm exercises at each stage of the book, and it starts very simple indeed and gradually introduces new rhythms and notes so that by the end of the book it's grade 1 standard, rather than jumping straight in at grade 1 standard and making them panic! There's a book for each grade.

I agree. ds2 used the Paul Harris books before. There are LOADS of exercises, so they can just gradually work through the book, doing 4 exercises a time a couple of times a week, as part of the practice routine.

Thank you for that tip. Off to order them from Amazon.