I have been on a journey of discovering the best way to grow musically my only teacher is a pure ear player so no theory or reading do I get from him, so I will put this subject squarely on the subject of reading.
Reading allows you to playi things that you otherwise would not play; you get to see note for subltleties that before would have gone ounnoticed. When you have sheet music available it makes the playing of a new song very quick and and accurate something that your audience will appreciate.
If you want to develop your technique and at the same time deveilop your reading, start with hanon; but when you are done try Clementi his Gradus Ad Parnassum is a volume of 29 studies
which at first glance may be daunting but I assure you if you can read even a little you can tackle clementi and his work is beautiful to listen to and you will be impressed at the ease of how you can accomplish this work.
I have analyzed other writers such as Rafael Joseffy, whose work is a completely different type of study and Piscna whose work is also very different. Clementi sounds like music rather then sounding like a study and his bass movement is something that is very usable in todays piano playing.
I am on a quest to unlock my playing; and studying the masters is one way I am seeking to achieve this goal
Clementi Gradus ad Parnassum is a technique book and the purpose is to develop your technique but unlike Hanon it is not just developing finger speed and strength but it is also developing your ability to change registers to add chromaticism to your playing to hear borrowed tones the moves Clementi makes are the same moves Marvin sapp has on his albums.
So, if you want to develop your playing and your reading check out Clementi.
