Sight-Reading Written Music

Sight-reading written music is when you play music as you see it for the first time.
When you first get a piece of sheet music or a new songbook, all the music will be
unfamiliar to you. You can get overwhelmed if you try to play perfectly from the very
first glance. There are a few tricks you can learn to make it easier.

1. Look at the key signature. This could possibly be the most important piece of
preliminary information you can have. Think very hard about which sharps or flats are
listed in the key signature. You will want to remember to use those notes whenever
they occur throughout the piece.

2. Look at the time signature. The measures will not make much sense to you if you
do not know how many beats there are in each one of them. If you do not know what
kind of note makes up a beat, you will be lost.

3. Look over the piece for any changes in key signature and time signature. You may
be playing along and come across a change out of the blue. If you are not prepared for
it, you might end up playing the song incorrectly from that point on.

4. Notice what note you will start on and what note or chord you will end on. It helps to
know the starting point and the ending point of any song before you start to play it. This
will guide you towards the finish of the song.

5. Glance at the type of rhythm that is used in the left hand. The left hand is usually
the rhythm hand, though not always. If you count out the notes of the left hand before
you begin, you will have a better idea of how the song is going to go.

6. Do a one-handed once-over of the melody. Just play the melody line by itself to get
the sound of it into your mind. Once you know that sound, you have unlocked the
uniqueness of the song. When you begin to play the song all together, the melody will
stand out in your mind as a significant thread.

7. Look at any other markings that are on the piece. Some of these markings will be
covered in Music Terminology. They include the loudness or softness of a piece, how
short or long you hold the notes, and the overall speed of the music.

8. Take a deep breath, focus, and begin to play. You should try to play the song all the
way through when you sight read it for the first time. There will be time later to break it
down into measures and work on each one if that is what you want to do. For the time
being, however, just do your best and keep going.

You might wonder why it is important to know how to sight-read in the first place. After
all, you could learn the song a little at a time. Sight-reading forces you to keep trying
until you reach the end of the song.

When you sight-read properly, you avoid some bad habits. You avoid the habit of
looking at each note slowly before you play it. You also avoid the habit of starting and
stopping every time something goes the least little bit wrong.

If you want to play perfectly from the very first sight of a song, you might as well forget it
unless you are very experienced or talented. Sight-reading gets you started on the
road to learning to play better.

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