Why Sight Reading and Improvising Are More Alike Than You Think

It’s a story as old as time. You picked up an instrument at a young age, stuck with it for a few years, took exams, played recitals. It was a part of who you were. Then one day your music lessons stopped, and before you knew it that instrument that was once so important to you was collecting dust in a closet.

One study showed that about 50% of students quit their instrument by the time they turn 17. So what are some of the reasons people drop out, and how do we address those so we can get back into it?

Frustration With the Legacy Methods

Students who drop out often cite boredom and frustration with the way they’ve been taught. The traditional learning systems tend to focus on rote memorization over real musicianship. The lack of variety of practicing the same song over and over again can suck the joy out of learning.

One study looked at some of the reasons students drop out of music education, and one of the main elements was the lack of autonomy associated with their classes. These students had started their music education “not out of personal interest but due to parental influence.” Furthermore, the study cited “a restrictive approach to learning, such as a limited repertoire” that creates a “gap between what is taught and personal interests.” If you aren’t learning the kinds of music that actually interest you, it can be hard to stay engaged!

These elements can all lead to music education feeling like an obligation rather than something you’re actively choosing to do. It makes a lot of sense that so many students quit in their high school years. The music classes of elementary and middle school disappear, school gets harder, and other interests start taking up more and more of your time. If music has felt like a frustrating obligation, you may find relief in focusing your energy on other interests.

The Solution

If the strict schedule of traditional methods feels like school, and if you’re not someone who thrives or engages with that very specific structure, you need to find a system that works with you. Make a plan that fits your schedule and can be flexible to the happenings of your life. Align your learning with the most productive period of your day. It doesn’t matter if it’s 9am or 2am (unless you have roommates or neighbors, then it might matter when you play).

Find the reason you want to pick up an instrument again. Maybe you miss the creativity of playing an instrument. Maybe you want to perform… whether it’s just for friends or on a stage. Maybe you just want to learn without the strict structures and expectations of classes and exams.

The key here is want. Let your interests drive you rather than your obligations. That will help you create the best conditions to maximize your enjoyment when you pick up your instrument, so you’ll want to pick it up again and again after that.

Our online learning system MuseFlow allows you to pick up the piano whenever you want, for however long you want. Learn at your own pace with your own timeline so you never feel like learning is an obligation again. And our focus on sight reading over rote memorization means you can learn to play the kinds of songs you actually want to play and align your learning with your interests!

Feeling Not Good Enough

That same study also found that competency concerns were a major factor in students dropping out of music learning. Music competitions, exams, and comparing to others are all cited as things that can make a student lose self-confidence in their musical abilities. The study also states, “As students progress, increased difficulty may exacerbate feelings of incompetence, particularly if they are not adequately prepared, indicating that the perception of effort versus reward may influence their decision to continue.”

Learning an instrument can be hard, especially if you don’t feel like your classes are doing enough to help you improve. At a young age when self-esteem can be so fragile, it can be hard to keep returning to something that makes you feel inadequate.

The Solution

You need a system that encourages Flow State. As we discussed in a previous post, Flow State is a state of deep focus that occurs when challenge and skill are carefully balanced. If a challenge is too easy you can get bored, but too hard and you can get frustrated. When you’re in your Flow State, you can feel engaged, motivated, and perfectly challenged. Time can pass without noticing because you’re so perfectly focused and having fun.

MuseFlow’s gamified system offers incremental challenge levels to ensure that you’re always presented with the perfect challenge. And our indefinite sheet music brings variety to your learning and keeps things fresh. These can come together to create the perfect conditions for Flow State, which can help you stay motivated, boost your self-confidence, and make learning fun.

Conclusion

There are plenty of reasons that you may have quit learning your instrument as a kid. And it can be hard to find the motivation to pick it up again. That’s okay. But picking up that instrument again can lead to a whole host of cognitive and emotional benefits. The key is asking yourself why you want to learn again and letting that drive you. If you create a learning environment that engages and motivates you rather than frustrates and discourages, you’ll get more enjoyment from your instrument, stay engaged, and keep with it. We at MuseFlow are here to help you do just that.

The most exciting thing about learning to play the piano is the freedom to play songs already familiar to you. One of the most motivating parts of learning to play piano was learning my favorite song for a talent show. And did you know that there’s evidence that this can actually help you learn more effectively? When you’re having fun and playing songs you know and love, you’re more likely to stick to the habit!

Below are some of the best songs to help you get started. We chose songs from different decades that made an incredible impact on the world that you start learning to play today!

Hallelujah - Leonard Cohen - 1984

Hallelujah was released by Leonard Cohen in 1984 on his album Various Positions. Since then, several versions of the folk rock classic have been released, including a version by John Cale that you might have heard featured in the 2001 Dreamworks film Shrek.  

The incredibly poetic lyrics are set to a haunting progression of C, F, G, A minor, and back to F - even being referenced in the famous first verse: “it goes like this, the fourth (F), the fifth (G), the minor fall (A minor), and the major lift (F).”

Since then, the song has continued to be immortalized through covers throughout the decades. Jeff Buckley released a cover in 1994 that eclipsed the popularity of the original, even earning a spot in the Library of Congress in 2013. The song continues to live on with people offering new interpretations, including Kate McKinnon famously covering it during an SNL cold open in 2020.

Scarborough Fair - Simon & Garfunkel - 1966

Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel were one of the best selling musical acts of the 1960s. They were known for their truly eclectic musical influences, which incorporated their haunting harmonies on to folk, Latin, and gospel influences. Their pair added their own twist to the traditional English ballad Scarborough Fair by incorporating the melody of an anti-war song written by Paul Simon, resulting in the phenomenon known as counterpoint - which is you combine two independently satisfying melodies. This resulted in what is arguably the most popular rendition of Scarborough Fair.

Their cover of Scarborough Fair appeared on their third studio album, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme. The album is named after the refrain in Scarborough Fair, where the singer bemoans the impossible tasks they require one to accomplish for their love.

Scarborough Fair is also an excellent example of Dorian mode - which is a type of musical scale that gives the English standard its dreamy, gut stirring feeling. Other songs written in Dorian mode include Blue Jeans by Lana Del Rey, and Billie Jean by Michael Jackson.

Piano Man - Billy Joel - 1974

Now we enter the 70s - don’t worry, I have some extra bellbottoms you can borrow! Billy Joel released Piano Man in 1974, about his time moonlighting as a piano lounge singer when he needed to pay the bills. At the time, he was in a legal battle with his record company and went by his middle name, Bill Martin.

The lyrics detail different regulars that come into the bar where the singer, the Piano Man, is playing.  The 1974 version is in the key of C Major, and begins with a jazzy riff before falling into a ¾ time signature.

The song was moderately successful initially. It peaked at number 24 in the Billboard Top 40, making it Billy Joel’s first ever Top 40 hit. However, it’s since become one of his most recognizable and most loved songs. In 2015, it was selected as one of 25 songs to be preserved by the Library of Congress.

A Thousand Years - Christina Perri - 2011

Christina Perri wrote and recorded A Thousand Years for the penultimate film in the Twilight film franchise, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1. While the song had a slow climb up the charts initially, it has persisted and gained a life of its own. As of May 2026, it has almost 29 million uses on TikTok and 3.8 billion views on Youtube.

Written in the key of B-flat, Perri sings about the at-times tragic love story of Edward and Bella from the Twilight franchise.

Conclusion

The piano has been a mainstay on the chart throughout history. All of these songs are available for you to learn now on MuseFlow, tailored to your pace and current skill level. Our lessons:

• Offer gamified lessons so you’re never bored
• Teach you to master sight reading instead of rote memorization
• Provide incremental learning, encouraging Flow State