10 Free Sight Reading Tips
Ten amazing free secrets help to sight-read any sheet music notation for piano, by Howard
Richman the author of Super Sight-reading Secrets at Sound Feelings. This free information
provides self-study tools and solutions on reading music like a professional. Sight reading
takes time to improve, as with any self-improvement program, but these helpful tips will
show you how to get there faster than you ever believed possible!
1 Develop Your Relative Sense of Touch.
Acquire the skill of playing so that you dont need to look down at your hands. Without
looking at the keyboard, glide your hands so you feel the two and three black keys (like
Braille.) When you need a C, D, or E, feel for the 2s. When you need an F, G, A, or B, feel
for the 3s.
2 Develop Your Absolute Sense of Touch.
Always sit in the same place. Middle D is recommended because it creates a symmetrical
pattern in both directions.
3 Practice Finger Technique Without Looking at Your Hands.
A creative way to do this is to play your scales and arpeggios in the dark. This will add
confidence to your sense of touch.
4 Learn the Four Groups of the Lines and Spaces:
Lines in the Treble E G B D F
Lines in the Bass G B D F A
Spaces in the Treble F A C E
Spaces in the Bass A C E G
5 Practice Only the Rhythmic Information.
In a composition you are working on, ignore the correct pitches.
6 Practice Only the Pitch and Fingering Information.
In a composition you are working on, ignore the correct rhythm.
7 Play Easy Pieces up to Tempo.
Force yourself to keep going no matter what. Dont worry about mistakes. This helps you to
look ahead.
8 Play Difficult Pieces Super Slowly.
Dont dare make even one mistake. This helps to develop accuracy.
9 Look For Patterns in Music.
Dont be afraid to look way ahead for a second just so you can anticipate what will be easy
or difficult. Patterns are easy. If you detect a pattern then you can devote your
concentration to other things.
10 Study Music Theory.
Professional sight-readers never read every note! They get a sense of the overall chord and
fill-in the blanks. With a solid knowledge of music theory, this becomes natural and
immediate.
Curwen/Glover Hand Signs
The Kodly approach emphasizes the importance of learning how to
sing on pitch. In the 18th century, John Spencer Curwen drew upon an
earlier music teaching system known as Norwich Sol-fa, which had been
devised by Sarah Glover, and developed hand signs to go with the
solfege syllables (do re mi, etc.). Kodly integrated these hand signs into
his teaching methods.
Hand signs are a way of giving a physical placement for a vocal pitch.
The low "do" begins at your midsection. Each pitch is then above the
previous one. Thus, you have the hand signs going up when the pitch
goes up. The upper "do" is at eye level.
H O W T O PA S S S I G H T- S I N G I N G A N D D I C TAT I O N
If you so desire, can you hear music when there is no sound physically present? If so, you are
audiating, and you are well on your way to passing this class. If not, you should listen to as much
music as possible (especially folk music, and repetition is good), learn to sing the melody, listen
carefully to the bassline and learn to sing that too, and see if you can sing the song silently to yourself
in your head without actually singing out loud. Then follow these instructions:
Get To Class
Being in class is more musical exposure time for your brain, not to mention the advice, instruction,
and good will of your professor. So get up and get there, no matter what (unless you are very ill).
Solfege
You are probably be using a system of verbal association to help your brain organize a large number of
tonal and rhythmic patterns. For tonal syllables, if your professor uses moveable do with a la based
minor, they are very smart. More commonly, they will use moveable do with a do based minor,
meaning you must alter the syllables in order to sing in different tonalities with do always as the
resting tone. With this system, you cannot, for example, determine what tonality you are in by
determining the correct solfege for the resting tone, since it will always be do. You will also be
doing quite a bit of mental gymnastics as in tonalities like Phrygian and Locrian. But even if your
professor isnt using the best system, they are probably just old and set in their ways, and still have a
lot to offer you in terms of musical instruction, so for now, use the system they want, and when you
become a music teacher, use moveable do with a lot based minor.
Likewise, for rhythm, your professor will probably have you use the 1e&a system. The system that can
help you the most is known as du de, because the syllables are based on beat function, not
notation. There is at least one other beat-function rhythm solfege out there, but just use whatever
your professor wants for now. Some kind of verbal association is better than none at all.
To get a better grasp on solfege, use it all the time. Solfege everything you hear a little motif from
a popular melody, your applied instrumental/vocal assignments everything. This will carry you a long
way towards mastery.
Rehearsing Sight-Singing Assignments
Each week you will probably be given a series of melodies and rhythms to later perform accurately for
your professor or their grad student. It seems silly, like you are almost memorizing a bunch of music
but the goal is not memorization per say, but rather to commit the tonal and rhythm patterns you
perform to memory where they can serve you. Then hopefully you learn to hear what you see, even
when the sound is not physically present.
On the day you are given the assignment, go and try to sing through all of the lines. Sit at a piano and
check your accuracy if you must. Pencil in the occasional syllable if you are just learning solfege. Do
not leave until you have accurately performed each line at least once. It may take several hours,
but your time will be well spent, and your total average daily time will be much lower if you solidify
your performance now. Get into a good habit by doing this with the very first assignment, even if it
seems pathetically simple.
The next day, again sit down and make sure you can accurately perform each assignment at least once.
It will only take you maybe 25% of the time it took the first day.
The next day, do the same thing again: perform each line with 100% accuracy. Time spent now is a very
small fraction of the time you spent on the first day.
The next day, do the same thing. Keep going through the assignment and performing each one with
100% accuracy, if only once per day. By now you will get to the point where you do it perfectly the
first time. Keep practicing every day, even if all you do is reinforce perfection, until you actually
perform for a grade. You will get better and better at the examples, with less time. They will become
so easy as to make you sick of them. They will haunt you in your sleep.
Harmonic Dictation
When you must do harmonic dictation, listen for the melody first, then the bass line, and then any
inner lines. Use logic to narrow down your choices of inner voices, and use your audiation instrument
(your brain!) to confirm which tones you are actually hearing. Sometimes it really helps to write chord
symbols (I IV V I) across the top, and then work from there. Use slash notation dont bother filling in
circles for note heads; just draw a diagonal slash.
Rhythmic Dictation
Again, use slash notation. Sometimes it helps to quickly jot down tick marks across the top, and then
go through and fill in the rhythms with the proper beaming.
Stick With It
I have seen people take this same class year after year. Keep plugging away and sticking with it. Get
help from your professors. Practice with your friends. Keep singing along melodies and basslines to
your favorite tunes, and solfeging your large ensemble music. You will get it and your musicianship
will benefit!
Theres No Such Thing As Sight-Singing
In reality, there is no such thing as Sight-Singing. You can either read music, or you cant. If you are
truly learning to read music for the first time, this is a formidable challenge. But practice for a
perfect performance daily, and you will find this class to be a very satisfying accomplishment. You
might also enjoy How To Be Ridiculously Successful In College. Good luck, and happy reading and
writing!
Sightsingingforinstrumentalist.
From:AmericanMusicTeacher|Date:12/1/2005|Author:Rawlins,Robert
Onfalltheskillsrequiredtomasteramusicalinstrument,perhapsnoneismoreimportantthanawelltrainedear.Properembouchure,breathcontrolandgoodtechniqueareessentialcomponentsfor
learningawindinstrument,butunlikelytoyieldpositiveresultsinthemselves,unlessguidedbytheear.
Everysingleactivityassociatedwithmakingmusicdependsonhearing.Justasanartistneedsto
visualizewhatapaintingisgoingtolooklikebeforesettingthebrushtocanvas,amusicianneedsaclear
mentalimageofamusicalpassagepriortoplaying.
Atsomelevel,everythingweknowaboutproperpedagogyasitappliestoinstrumentalperformance,is
dependentontheear.Wemaythinkweknowwhataproperlyformedembouchurelookslike,butthe
"correct"embouchureproducesthedesiredtone;itcannotworktheotherwayaround.Ifastudentcannot
formaclearmentalimageofthedesiredtone,allthecoachingintheworldwillnotbringaboutabeautiful
sound.
Surprisingly,teacherssometimesfailtoheedthisobservation.Conscientiousinstructorsroutinelydevote
agreatdealofattentiontoembouchureformation,breathsupportandarelaxedthroat,whileneglecting
toconsiderwhetherthestudentsharesacommonauralimageofthedesiredsound.Ifthestudentand
teacherdonothaveamutualgoal,theentiresearchisfutile.Onemightaswellbegivingadvicetoan
archeronhowbesttohitthebull'seyewhenthetwoarelookingatdifferenttargets.
Whileitmaybeevidentthattoneandpitcharecloselydependentontheear,itmaynotbereadily
apparentthatallmusicalparametersdependonapriormentalconception.Performingrhythms
accuratelyisnotaprocessofmathematicalcalculation,butratheraprocessofdecipheringandhearing
whatisonthepagepriortoactuallyexecutingit.Similarly,technicalfluencyisnorsimplyaquestionof
movingfingersquicklyandsmoothly--itresultsfromhearingthepassagethewaywedesireittosound
andmakingithappen.
MENTALIMAGERY
Thiskindofmentalimageryiswellknownamongathletes.Tennisplayersvisualizetheballgoingover
thenet.Golfersconcentrateontherelaxedcontrolthatwillputtheballwheretheywantit,andbaseball
playerstryingtohitahomerunseetheballtravelingintothebleachersasplitsecondbeforeactually
makingtheattempt.Inallthesecases,themindformsaclearpictureofwhatitdesiresandtellsthebody,
"Makeithappen"--thefactthatmusiciansdothiswithsounddoesnotchangetheprocess.
But,thereisalevelofcomplexitywhenmusicalpitchisinvolvedthatrequiresspecialattention.Thereis
nothingarcaneaboutlookingattheleft-fieldwallandvisualizingthebaseballsailingoverit.While
meetingthisobjectivemaynotbesoeasy,thereislittledoubtregardingwhatonewishestoaccomplish.
Now,supposeaclarinetplayerisconfrontedwithanew,unfamiliarpassage.Letusfurthersupposethis
playeriswell-advancedwithafull-bodiedtoneandgoodtechnique.Imaginingthepassageperformedin
goodtoneandevenrhythmisonething,butwhatarethepitches?Howcanyoupossiblyhearapassage
wellenoughtoformaclearmentalimageofitsexecutionifyoudon'tknowthepitches?Youcan't.And
thisiswherethespecializedroleofeartrainingcomesintoplay.
Simplyput,aninstrumentalistcannotplayanypassageaccuratelyandmusicallyunlessthereisaprior
mentalconceptionofhowthepassageisgoingtosound.Ifthenotesresultingfromexecutioncomeasa
surprisetotheperformer,sowillthetone,pitch,articulationandrhythmicaccuracy.True,eventhe
untrainedearmayhaveageneralideaofwhatapassagewillsoundlikebasedonshape,contourand
register--butavaguepreconceptionsimplyisnotgoodenough.Eachforthcomingnotemustbeheardas
acompleteentity,intune,withallmusicalparametersinplace.Anearthatcannotgobeyondanticipating
thegeneralshapeandapproximateregisterofapassageisincapableofproducingapropermusical
interpretation.
Inasense,onlyatrainedeariscapableofabonafidemusicalperformance.Whiledefinitionsofmusic
mayvary,mostagreethat,onsomefundamentallevel,musicinvolveshumanexpression.Aperson
makesamusicalstatementbyreproducingwhatisfirstconceivedinthemind.Ofcourse,weallhear
thingsslightlydifferently,evenwhenthemusiciswritten,whichiswhatmakesmusicsopersonaland
fascinating.Thesimpletranslationofwrittennotesintosoundissomethingacomputercando,but
arguably,isnotmusic.Bythesametoken,aperformancerenderedinamachine-likemanner,where
tonesarephysicallyproducedbutnotinresponsetopriorhearing,isnotamusicalone.
SIGHTSINGING
Theneedforaninstrumentalisttohaveawell-trainedearhasbeenfirmlyestablishedforcenturies.The
centralcomponentofthistrainingalwayshasbeensightsinging--theabilitytosingapieceofmusicupon
seeingitforthefirsttime.Whiledictationskills--theabilitytowritedownmusicthatisheard--are
important,especiallyinthestudyofharmony,theuseofthevoiceclearlyisthebestwaytotraintheear
duringtheearlystagesofmusicaldevelopment.Moreover,singingistheonlytruetesttoseeifthe
instrumentalistactuallycanhearthemusicbeingplayedwiththemind'sear,withoutaninstrument.
Skillinsightsingingcomesfromreadingagreatquantityofcomparativelyeasymusic.Thus,the
seeminglyobviousadvantagevocalistshaveisslight.Learningevenhundredsofsongsandariaswillnot
offerthekindofpracticethatwillleadtostrongsight-singingskills.Sight-singingskillswillimprove,but
slowly,throughconcentratedpracticeonasmallamountofchallengingmaterial.Itisfarmorebeneficial
toreadthroughalargeamountofmaterialwithadifficultylevelwellbelowthestudent'sability.
Acquiringarepositoryofmelodiesforsightsingingisnotdifficult.Awealthoftextbookshasbeen
publishedforthisspecificpurpose.Whilesomeofthesetextsofferinstructionalcommentary,othersare
littlemorethananthologiesofshortmelodies,combiningnewlycomposedandpre-existingmusicin
varyingdegrees.Somehavegonethroughnumerouseditions,but,typicallychangesinvolveonlyslight
modificationsandre-organizingmaterial.Accordingly,forpersonalstudy,studentsmayaswellworkfrom
whateverbooksareavailablewithouttheneedtoacquirethemostcurrenteditions.
Sinceatleastthe11thcentury,whenItalianBenedictinemonkGuidod'Arezzoputforthhismethodsfor
choirtraining,manyteachershaveagreedthatassociatingspecificsyllableswithspecificnotescan
facilitatesightsinging.Knownvariouslyassolmisation,solfeggioorsolfege,numeroussystemshave
appearedoverthecenturies,allfashionedtomeetspecificneedsorbasedondivergenttheories.
Whilemanysystemsandvariationsofsolfegesystemsareinusetoday,threebasicsystemsprevailin
theUnitedStates:FixedDo,MovableDoandLa-BasedMinor.Eachisbaseduponspecifictheories,and
eachoffersitsownadvantagesanddisadvantages.Curiously,sight-singingtextbooksrarelyadoptor
evensuggestaspecificsystem,presumablytokeepthebook'smarketforadoptionaswideaspossible.
Thisminimizesthepossibilityofacquiringabookemployingasystemthatonemightnotwishtoadopt,
butitalsoimpliesthatspecificsolfegeinstructionisnotgoingtocomefromthetextitself.Thestudent
musteitherlearnfromateacherorfindsomeothersourceforsolfegeinformation.Fortunately,noneof
thesystemsaredifficulttolearn.
FIXEDDO
FixedDoisthetraditionalEuropeansolfegesystemandisusedbyabout20percentofmusic
departmentsintheUnitedStates.Thepremiseissimple:thenotesoftheCscalearenamedDo,Re,Mi,
Fa,Sol,La,Ti,Do.VowelsarepronouncedintheEuropeanfashion,thus"do,ray,mee,fah,sol,la,tee,
do"--Europeansgenerallysay"Si"insteadof"Ti."ItisimportanttounderstandthatinmostEuropean
countries,theseareliterallythenamesofthenotes.Inotherwords,inItalythenotebetweenthebass
andtrebleclefisDo.Accordingly,DisRe,EisMiandsoforth.Therefore,Italiansdonottranslatenotes
intoasolfegesystem,but,rather,simplysaythenamesofthenotes.
Thisbeingthecase,woulditnotbebestsimplytosaythenamesofthenotesinEnglish?Not
necessarily.ThefactthattheAmericansystem,andthatofmanyothercountriesaswell,borrowsthe
namesofthenotesfromthealphabet,addsalevelofconfusion,sinceeachnotenolongerhasaunique
name.Inasimpleexperiment,thosewhohavealreadylearnedsolfegedemonstratethatlettersofthe
alphabetarenotinherentlyeasiertosay:singaCscalerapidly,sayingthenamesofthenotes(C,D,E
andsoforth).Nowsingthescaleinsolfege--unexpectedly,thesolfegeismucheasiertopronounce.
Oddly,theFixed-Dosystemdoesnotaddressaccidentals.Anotehasthesamename,whetheritis
sharp,flatornatural.ThisistroublingtoAmericanstudentswhoconfrontthesystemforthefirsttime.Itis
somewhatdifficulttoacceptthatthediatonicmelodyinDmajorwouldbesungwiththesamesyllablesas
oneinD-flatmajor.
FixedDohastwoadvantagesoverothersystems.One,conductorsuseitthroughouttheworld.Withthe
greatnumberofkeyslikelyfoundinanextendedwork,thereisnowayaconductorisgoingtomakean
instantdeterminationofwhatkeyhebelievesthepiecetobeinatagivenmomentandsingitinMovable
Do.Invariably,internationalorchestralconductorsrefertonotesbytheirFixed-Dosolfegenames.
ThesecondadvantageofFixedDoisthatitencouragesasenseofabsolutepitch.Whenonesaysthe
syllableDo,aCisheard,unlessitissharporflat.EducatorswhopromoteFixedDobelievethat,intime,
thosewhousethissystemwillacquiresomedegreeofabsolutepitch.EverytimetheFixedDosystemis
employed,oneconstantlyisremindedofexactlywherepitchessound,nomatterwherethetonalcenter
lies.
MOVEABLEDO
Withitsrootsintheoriginalconceptofd'Arezzo,MovableDobecamefashionableinthelate19thcentury
andremainsthemostwidespreadsolfegesystemusedintheUnitedStatestoday.Thetheorybehindit
divergesfromthatofFixedDo.AdvocatesofFixedDomaintainthatsolfegenamesalwaysshouldrefer
tothesamepitch,whereasadvocatesofMovableDocounterthatitistherelationshipbetweensolfege
syllablesthatiscrucial.ThedistancefromDotoRe,forinstance,shouldalwaysbeawholestep;the
distancefromDotoMiamajorthirdandsoforth.InFixedDothiscertainlywillnotbethecase.Forthe
FixedDosingerinD-flatmajor,DotoReisahalf-stepandDotoMiisaminorthird.Inotherwords,
MovableDoabandonsanysenseofabsolutepitchtoachieverelativepitch.Onemakeslogicofthe
musicbyestablishingthetonalbearings.Everythingisheardinrelationshiptothetonic,andthetonicis
alwaysDo.
ThedrawbackofMovableDo,besidesabandoninganysenseofabsolutepitch,resultsfromtheproblem
ofaccidentals.Asystemthataffirmstheconstancyofeveryrelationshipbetweenintervals,nomatter
whatthekey,mustspecifyaccidentals.Thestandardprocedurefordoingthisistochangethesyllableto
an"ee"soundforsharps,andtoan"ay"soundforflats(utilizingthesoundofEuropeanvowelsinthe
spelling,ofcourse).SinceRealreadyhasthesoundofan"ay,"itischangedto"rah."Belowisthe
chromaticscale,bothascendinganddescending:
DoDiReRiMiFaFiSolSiLaLiTiDoTiTeLaLeSolSeFaMiMeReRaDo
Theconceptissimple,butittakesmuchpracticetomasterthechromaticsinMovableDo--remember,this
isamethodforsightsinging.Thosewhohavemasteredthissystem,however,proclaimitseffectiveness.
LA-BASEDMINOR
La-BasedMinorisasubcategoryofMovableDo.Thepremiseisthatthemajorkeyalwaysprevailsand
allminorkeysshouldbesungintermsoftherelativemajor.Studieshaveproventhatthissystemis
clearlyadvantageousduringtheearlystagesoflearningtosinginminorkeys.Ontheonehand,the
fundamentalruleofMovableDoismaintained:relationshipsbetweensyllablesalwaysrepresentthe
sameintervals.SoltoDowillalwaysbeaperfectfifth.Theproblemoccursinminor,whenSoltoDonow
representstherelationshipbetweenthenaturalseventhofthescaleandthethird.SomeMovableDo
advocatesaretroubledbythis,arguingthatscale-degreerelationships,aswellasharmonicimplications,
alsoarepartoftheMovableDosystemandshouldnotbetamperedwith.Thislineofthinkingreasons
thattheresolutionoftheleadingtone,forexample,mustberenderedbyTitoDo;SitoLa,asoccursin
La-BasedMinor,simplywillnotdo.
WHICHSYSTEM?
Tobesure,therearethosewhoadvocatesightsingingwithouttheuseofanysystematall,whereone
simplyprogressesfromnotetonotebasedonthesizeandqualityoftheintervalpresumablysinging"la"
toeverynote.Buttherearedrawbackstothisapproach.Foronething,musicreadingisfacilitatedbythe
useofwordsorsyllables.Whennotesaredistinguishedbysomethingotherthanpitchalone,themind
hasanothertoolavailabletomakesenseofthemusic.Moreover,asight-singingsystemismorethanjust
amechanismforgeneratingthecorrectpitches.Thelargergoalistomakemusicalsenseofthepassage
beingsting.
AmusicianwhohasmasteredFixedDoandacquirednearlyabsolutepitchisabletograspanentire
musicalphraseatonce.Notesnotperceivedasisolatedentities,butratheraspartsofalargerwhole,can
begraspedinamusicallylogicalsense.ThosewhohavemasteredMovableDo,includingLa-Based
Minor,arelikewiseabletohearpitchesintheirmusicalcontext--tohearwherenotesareheadedand
whatpurposetheyserve.Forexample,thesight-singingstudentwhodependsuponintervalliccontent
aloneinrenderingpitcheswillviewthepassageC-D-E-Fastwowholestepsfollowedbyahalfstep.The
pitcheswillbeaccurate,butthemusicallogicwillbemissing.Thestudentusingasolfegemethodmust
firstmakesenseofthepassage.ArethesethefirstfournotesofaCscale?ThelastfournotesofanF
scale?Coulditconsistof-scaledegrees7,1,2and3innaturalminor?Asallmusiciansknow,allthe
possibilitiesrequireadifferenttreatmentwhenrenderingthepassage.Itseemsonlylogicaltoadopta
sight-singingsystemthatputsthesamedemandsoninstrumentaliststhattheywillfacewithactualmusic.
Thequestionofwhichsolfegesystemtoadoptshouldnotbetraumatic.Theconventionalwisdomof"pick
oneandstickwithit"hasmerit,andIadvocateditforalongtime.Recently,however,itoccurredtome
thatmostofmystudentsendupteachingthemselves.Somefindtheirwayintoschoolsystemswherea
solfegesystemisalreadyinplace,andthentheymusturgentlylearnanewsystemwellenoughsothey
canteachit.Ihavecometobelievethat,ultimately,oneshouldhavesomefamiliaritywithallthecommon
systems.Whichoneisattemptedfirstisnotacrucialquestion--theimportantthingistogetstarted.
