Sight reading music, that is playing unfamiliar written music at tempo, is an important skill for all musicians to develop. With a few minutes of sight reading incorporated into your daily practice, your ability will develop quickly. In this article we will present a simple but effective plan for this practice.



In order to begin, find an anthology of music for your instrument. I suggest a collection that is at a lower level than your present playing ability. If your studies involve a graded system of music education, such that exists in Canada and England, try to find an book at least two grades below your level.

We are going to establish a few ground rules for practice. Use you anthology for sight reading only. Once you have sight read your section for the day, mark your place and close the book, that is do not try to play the passage again. Start with reading half a page of music each day, and work your way up to a full page within a few weeks.

Open your book to the first piece of music. Before playing a note, let's discover a few details about the piece: the title, the composer, and the date. We are establishing some context. Knowing these things can tell us what to expect as far as style, rhythms, and even level of difficulty. We will have a different set of expectations from a Bach fugue than a Czerny etude, for example. Next: look for a tempo indication, identify the time signature and the key signature.

Visually scan the music from the beginning of the section to the end that you plan on playing. Do not play a single note at this time! It does not matter if we are beginning in the middle of a piece or if our chosen section ends before a phrase ends. What does matter is getting a feel for the basic rhythms of the section, the pitch content, and building familiarity with the music before we begin to play.

Now identify any potential tricky areas in the section you are about to play. Think about fingering if its not indicated, or even how you might simplify the passage if necessary.

We are now almost ready to start playing. Once we do start, we are committed to play from the beginning to the end. No false starts, no retakes. Once through only, and then we are done.

Set a tempo for yourself that is below the indicated tempo. Count in one full measure before the actual music starts, and then begin to play the passage in the same tempo. Train yourself to ignore the temptation to correct any mistakes or missed notes. Get from the beginning to the end without stopping.

Once you are done sight-reading your section, mark the place where you will start from for your next practice session. Remember that your goal is to develop your ability to sight read unfamiliar music. Replaying or practicing sections from your sight reading book will defeat that purpose.

With discipline, this approach to sight reading really only takes a few minutes of your practice time, probably under five, but your skills will develop quickly.