Differences in the Sight-Reading Teaching Methods of Malaysian and American Piano Teachers for Intermediate Piano Students

The sight-reading teaching methods of Malaysian and American piano teachers towards intermediate piano student are diverse. This paper looks at case studies of teachers from Malaysia and America and discusses the various ways on how to help intermediate piano students develop their sightreading skills. While there has been articles and research papers dealing with sight-reading as a whole, there has not been much research specifically dealing with the sight-reading pedagogy in Malaysia and America. Intermediate music students, specifically teenage school students are chosen in this research as recipients of the sight-reading curriculum conducted by piano teachers between Malaysia and America. The objective of this study is to look at case studies to differentiate between the methods of teaching sight-reading by piano teachers in Malaysia and in America. Additionally, this study strives to investigate the importance of sight-reading and identify the solutions and difficulties faced by the intermediate piano students in Malaysia and in America. The researcher will highlight sight-reading skills among intermediate piano students in Malaysia and America, a pianist’s perception of sight-reading, sight-reading problems faced by intermediate piano students, sight reading development, techniques of improving sight-reading and recommended books available on the market. Conversely, the researcher utilizes the use of qualitative research methodology to gather secondary data such as collecting information’s from journals, articles and documentaries from books and official online library websites. The results of the study show some different styles of teaching sight-reading for the piano and provides some educational information for piano teachers. Methods such as the Yamaha, Suzuki, Dalcroze, Orff and Kodaly methods are discussed.