Why do we need more sight-readers in this world? For many reasons that I mention in this article.
Sight-readers bring music to life. Sight-readers play music that would otherwise be left unplayed. Sight-readers uncover forgotten composers and bring their music back to life. Sight-readers are not afraid to explore unknown pieces. In fact, they crave discovering new pieces. Sight-readers don’t just play the famous pieces or what everybody else is playing. They play anything and everything.
Sight-readers are like archaeologists, digging and searching for gems.
If it weren’t for sight-readers, the world would be a pretty dull place. Everyone on social media would play the same handful of composers, the same handful of overplayed pieces.
It is up to us musicians to play the music that has been written over the centuries. It is up to us to educate our audiences by playing the music of composers they’ve never heard of. Because if we don’t do it, who will? There is no one but us musicians.
Unlike paintings that can be seen by anyone at any time at art exhibitions, compositions only exist if they are performed. Otherwise, they remain manuscript paper with black dots and scribbles.
Isn’t this why you want to improve your sight-reading? So you can play any piece of music, not just the famous ones everyone plays? Don’t you want to hear more composers played across social media, in concert halls, on the radio?
Imagine a world where all musicians could sight-read…
Imagine how many more composers we could unearth. Imagine how much more varied our concert programs would be. And imagine an audience wanting to hear the music of new composers, not just the same composers that even non-musicians know.
At wedding ceremonies, musicians would be asked to play other pieces besides Pachelbel’s canon; street musicians would stop playing the same tunes you hear on every street corner. We would actually stop and listen because it would be music we’ve never heard of before.
Look at people like Phillip Sear and Julian Zalla on Youtube who are playing piano pieces that no one has ever heard of, pieces that are beautiful and ought to be played more often. They have started a movement. A sight-reading movement to take the dust off old forgotten music. Now is the time to uncover this music and play it for the world to hear.
If you want to take part in this movement, then share this message with your fellow musicians, your piano teachers or your piano students, and join me in this sight-reading movement by uncovering unknown and forgotten pieces and by bringing more music to life.
