Before you start
What do you already know? You know something...but what is it? Put it into words ...
Musical memory
One thing that characterizes all of us (musical or not) is preferences. In our preferences are our memories. I’m not talking about memorization here, but what we prefer and because of that, what we have gathered into memory. What do you know best? Jazz? Popular? Folk? Classical? Baroque?
If you like classical, then stick with that, because you already have a knowledge advantage. If you like folk, find folk music to sight read. If you like popular piano, go for that. Broaden your horizons later on, because anything that makes your beginning sight reading uncomplicated, will help ease you into reading a greater variety of musical styles.
Muscle memory and physical coordination
Take note of when you are having a difficult time moving either hand in a particular way because your muscle memory doesn’t want hands to move in such a way. Go slower and think about how your muscles feel, think smooth, relaxed movement.
Pay attention to when both hands are struggling to play the written music due to a muscle memory or coordination issue. Again, to deal with this, slow down, think about how your muscles feel--imagine moving in a relaxed, smooth manner.
Review the Keyboard
Do you know the keyboard by heart? Where middle C is? How many octaves there are below middle C? Above? Practice feeling the piano keys for all octaves. Once you’ve looked at the keyboard, look away and imagine the octaves, the white keys and the black keys-- use your mind’s eye rather than your eyes. What you don’t know is revealing in itself; because now you know what to spend more time learning. Keep reviewing the keyboard.
Do you know all of the key signatures? A few? Half? Nail down what you know.
Sit at the piano and think about the key signatures. For each key signature that you are interested in reviewing, think about the white keys and black--how a key lays out on the keyboard. For example, in the key of Eb, sit at the piano and find Eb. Visualize, without playing the scale, what notes are white, which are black. Theory is important in understanding a key. Identify the triad of each scale degree. Understand which notes are in each triad.
Introduce more keys--one at a time, after you have been reading for a while. Keep reviewing each key signature as you introduce it. Not just as a scale, but review each chord built on each scale degree. Play each interval of the key as it is built from the tonic-2nd, 3rd, 4rth, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8ve. Play cadence sequences- I IV V I. Ask yourself, what is the dominant? Then play it. Looking away from the keyboard, play the chords and consider each one. Explore each key, slowly, and rely on what you already know to guide you forward.
Review Musical Notation
Get acquainted or re-acquainted with the basics. Many who play already, and play well, or by ear, but say they cannot read music, actually can read music, though it is painstakingly slow, measure by measure-- playing over and over again while trying to memorize. Often one hand at a time, then together. If you were like me, you would continue to read the score after learning the piece but only look at the score for some prompt--mostly playing by muscle memory and memorization.
If you are this kind of reader, then what you can do to start your sight reading journey is to choose the absolute simplest music. Go very, very, very slow and read lots of it for a couple of months. Add a hymnal to your sight reading selection when you feel ready and read only keys you are comfortable with at first. Read music well below your playing ability --that is perfectly OK. Feeling comfortable and confident is most important.
Also continue to review musical notation and keep reviewing music theory (just the elementary stuff if that is where you are comfortable). Even when you think you know something by heart, still review and refresh regularly. This means read about staffs, ledger lines, notes, meter and rhythm, time signatures, easy keys only (C, D, Eb, F, G, A, Bb and leave the more difficult keys --C#, Db, E, F#, Gb, B, Cb for later after you have become more comfortable in the simpler keys--they are simpler mostly because these are the keys we are taught and play from early on).
There are plenty of online resources--websites or youtube videos--for reviewing the basics of music. Try searching music notation as a topic in youtube or your browser.
Three extremely useful sites about music theory:
Another online source for beginners is Coursera--which offers a dozen or so music theory courses online--for free.
Print sources are fairly easy to find free or used. If you prefer a hands on approach, use flash cards and musical notation books to learn and refresh your memory on music basics.
Main idea with theory and notation: review, review, review!
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