What does a lipogram have to do with sight reading piano music? Have you ever even heard of a Lipogram? It’s a piece of writing that omits one letter – forcing the writer to use words beyond the ordinary. Writers often omit the letter “e” forcing them to expand their vocabulary and thereby stretching their abilities. Using the idea of a lipogram, you can ramp up your piano students sight reading skills big-time by playing “Don’t Touch That Key!”
Don’t Touch That Key! – A Sight Reading Game
For this game you need a short piece of music slightly below your student’s level (excerpts from sight reading books work great) and a highlighter.
Choose a note that will be omitted from the piece – any note found frequently in the piece will do. Once chosen, highlight all of the times your student sees that note on their page. This becomes the “Forbidden Note” (you decide if it affects RH, LH or both and highlight accordingly)
Without allowing your student time to look over the piece in advance, have them begin playing immediately. Regular sight reading rules apply, but they are not allowed to play the highlighted note. Instead, when they come across the “forbidden note” they must play a different note of their choosing that still fits within the key of the piece. Were they still able to play the piece fluently?
Did you hear?
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