Super Sight-Reading Secrets: An Innovative, Step-By-Step Program for Musical Keyboard Players of All Levels (Paperback)

by Howard B. Richman (Author) "What comes naturally to one musician may be insurmountable to another..." (more)
Key Phrases: ledger lines, Super Sight-Reading Secrets, Bach Chorales, Basic Perception Drills (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
A pianist's main asset is to be a good reader. This book will be an invaluable asset toward that goal. -- Delores Stevens, Pianist/Artist-Teacher

All pianists can benefit and some will experience the transformation into 1st-class sight-readers - something they may have thought was an impossibility. -- Leonid Hambro, Concert Pianist/Teacher, New York

His ingenious exercises cannot fail to help people become better sight-readers. -- The California Music Teacher, Vol 10, Number 2

I've used it in the studio, on tour, and in playing classical music. -- Vonda Shepard, Recording Artist for Reprise Records

It is elegantly simple yet comprehensive. -- Todd Winkler, Professor of Music Theory and Solfege, California Institute of the Arts

It present a series of progressive drills that help all keyboard musicians overcome their weaknesses and develop into better sight-readers. -- Piano Guild Notes, Vol 36, Number 2

Richman has gone a long way toward de-mythologizing the process of sight-reading. Highly recommended. -- American Music Teacher Magazine, September/October, 1988

Thank you for providing piano educators with a most useful tool. -- Jeanine M. Jacobson, Assistant Professor, Piano proficiency class for piano majors, California State University, Northridge

The drills and lessons are well thought out, and sincere application of the material he presents will improve a pianist's sight-reading ability. ...his enthusiastic encouragment to all struggling sight-readers keep this method from being dry and tedious. -- Clavier Magazine, July/August 1989

Product Description
The Super Sight-Reading Secrets book has provided the answers to sight-reading problems for thousands of pianists and keyboardists! This self-study method teaches sight-readers how to increase their visual perception, and keyboard orientation. Specifically, the drills and exercises teach how to look ahead and to play any note on the keyboard without looking at their hands.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 48 pages
• Publisher: Sound Feelings Publishing; 3rd Revised edition (June 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0961596309
• ISBN-13: 978-0961596309
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.3 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #581,068 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

102 of 105 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Examine Before You Buy!, April 6, 2004

By	Robert E. Welcyng (Anchorage, AK USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am embarrassed that I actually bought this book of 48 pages without first examining it. I found no "super sight-reading secrets." In fact, I found nothing about reading music that I had not already learned from grade school music classes.

I did not find the following sort of advice especially useful:

"Get a book of all major and minor scales. Begin practicing all 24 major and minor keys."

"Play every note of the Bach Chorales hands alone, without looking, one octave displaced."

I was able to follow much of Richman's text only because I recognized what he was trying to say. I found little clarity in his writing and I was annoyed by his many ungrammatical sentences.

My advice is to buy an old standby such as "Learn to Read Music" by Howard Shanet.

65 of 67 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Poorly executed and misleading., August 22, 2004

By	M. Mazza (Elizabeth, NJ USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book has a gimmicky title and a cheap price, but it fails deplorably on several fronts. For one, the lay-out and print quality are absolutely embarrassing considering the times we live in. One of the few musical examples actually looks as though it were rendered by a dot-matrix printer. Further, the unrealistic exercises are ambiguously described and seldom illustrated. They are also a complete waste of time since one is better off sightreading real compositions. That's why it's better to invest in sheet music/ etudes that suit one's tastes. The Musician's Institute Sightreading for Keyboard book is far more helpful and complete at a comparable price, offering several chapters of exercises and etudes without making ludicrous promises--very professional indeed. There is really no substitute for practice; forget the nonsense of "secrets" and invest elsewhere.

36 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not very good, October 24, 2004

By	Andy (Grand Rapids, MI) - See all my reviews

This "book" is more like a short document you could download off the internet. There are hardly any exercises in the book. The author asks you to exercise on other artists works using various methods. The whole book could be summarized on one page if you ask me. Also, half the book is dedicated to teaching you how to read music. Having played piano for 20 years, this half of the book was just wasted paper.