Sight Reading Skills To Improve With Ample Practice
What sight-reading means in the context of the music is the process of playing through a piece of music for the first time. But sight reading becomes a frustrating experience if proper sight reading practice is not obtained .So the whole exercise of looking over a new piece of music can become very frustrating as notes will be missed and the struggle to play it will show up immediately.
For a promising performer, good sight reading abilities are essential in playing concerts in church or an ensemble. A good sight-reader will have the ability to recognize intervals, by sound or on paper or on an instrument.
In the process of gaining mastery on sight reading, one starts learning a lot of things such as chord building, improvisation, sight singing, composition, understanding and remembering keys and figuring out music by ear.
Reasons to do Sight Reading
The reasons to do practice sight-reading are:
1. To learn new pieces of music quickly.
2. To play new music easily
3. To assist other musicians and make money.
How to practice?
Sight-reading becomes easy with lots of practice. Spending time each day by playing simple songs that was never seen or heard makes a big difference.
Combination of notes
According to theories of Music a combination of two notes makes an interval. Similarly, two-note combinations make a dyad. Chords are defined as sets of three or more notes. Intervals are the simplest kind of chord. They can be horizontal, linear, or melodic depending on the sound configuration. When the two notes sound simultaneously it can be vertical or harmonized.
Tips for sight-reading
Look without Playing: To enhance the practice, one should start looking through the music without playing.
Play slowly: No need to play the piece at the correct tempo. Take the hardest piece and play the piece at the tempo one can play that section.
Use of metronome: The appropriate application of this makes a steady beat. A metronome produces regular, metrical ticks beats that are settable in beats per minute. These ticks represent a fixed, regular or aural pulse.
The synchronized visual motion of a pendulum-swing is an example of it. The concept dates back to the early 19th century. Musicians use metronomes for maintaining a consistent tempo with steady regular beats and right tempo. The music for sight-reading must be easier than the pieces being learnt.
Reading from Left to Right
Reading a piece of music from left to right helps in getting the eyes trained to see past the bar lines and notes through the measures of music. Counting the rhythm loudly and moving towards the double bar line is an ideal way of practice.
The overlapping information will include reviews of what the right hand is playing when the left hand working on the lower notes and reaching for the black keys.
Ways to Speed Up
Use of flash cards can help in increasing sight-reading skills and its speed. Flash cards can be used for daily drills. Instant recognition of white keys at a fleeting glance with sight-reading brings continual developing responses to fingering. The practice of using fingering in new positions breaks the association of any finger number with any key.
Better Outcome
The basics of recognizing the notes in the Treble and Bass Clefs and ensuring that these notes are repeated on the same line or space are some important components of sight-reading training. The ability to grasp notes seeping down to the next line or space instantly is another skill to be developed by any musician. Sight-reading abilities can improve by learning to recognize intervals by name, sound and appearance on either staff.
Benefits
To round up, any audition is not without some form of sight reading. For the vast majority of sight reading tests one is allowed to look at the music between thirty seconds and ten minutes. But do not worry. Nervousness can cause the most problems in sight reading. Be cool and practice hard. A cracked note, an overkill of vibrato, or a mistaken tempo must be avoided at all costs. Relaxing; taking deep breaths, and starting to look at the music intelligently will give wings to a better musician.
For a promising performer, good sight reading abilities are essential in playing concerts in church or an ensemble. A good sight-reader will have the ability to recognize intervals, by sound or on paper or on an instrument.
In the process of gaining mastery on sight reading, one starts learning a lot of things such as chord building, improvisation, sight singing, composition, understanding and remembering keys and figuring out music by ear.
Reasons to do Sight Reading
The reasons to do practice sight-reading are:
1. To learn new pieces of music quickly.
2. To play new music easily
3. To assist other musicians and make money.
How to practice?
Sight-reading becomes easy with lots of practice. Spending time each day by playing simple songs that was never seen or heard makes a big difference.
Combination of notes
According to theories of Music a combination of two notes makes an interval. Similarly, two-note combinations make a dyad. Chords are defined as sets of three or more notes. Intervals are the simplest kind of chord. They can be horizontal, linear, or melodic depending on the sound configuration. When the two notes sound simultaneously it can be vertical or harmonized.
Tips for sight-reading
Look without Playing: To enhance the practice, one should start looking through the music without playing.
Play slowly: No need to play the piece at the correct tempo. Take the hardest piece and play the piece at the tempo one can play that section.
Use of metronome: The appropriate application of this makes a steady beat. A metronome produces regular, metrical ticks beats that are settable in beats per minute. These ticks represent a fixed, regular or aural pulse.
The synchronized visual motion of a pendulum-swing is an example of it. The concept dates back to the early 19th century. Musicians use metronomes for maintaining a consistent tempo with steady regular beats and right tempo. The music for sight-reading must be easier than the pieces being learnt.
Reading from Left to Right
Reading a piece of music from left to right helps in getting the eyes trained to see past the bar lines and notes through the measures of music. Counting the rhythm loudly and moving towards the double bar line is an ideal way of practice.
The overlapping information will include reviews of what the right hand is playing when the left hand working on the lower notes and reaching for the black keys.
Ways to Speed Up
Use of flash cards can help in increasing sight-reading skills and its speed. Flash cards can be used for daily drills. Instant recognition of white keys at a fleeting glance with sight-reading brings continual developing responses to fingering. The practice of using fingering in new positions breaks the association of any finger number with any key.
Better Outcome
The basics of recognizing the notes in the Treble and Bass Clefs and ensuring that these notes are repeated on the same line or space are some important components of sight-reading training. The ability to grasp notes seeping down to the next line or space instantly is another skill to be developed by any musician. Sight-reading abilities can improve by learning to recognize intervals by name, sound and appearance on either staff.
Benefits
To round up, any audition is not without some form of sight reading. For the vast majority of sight reading tests one is allowed to look at the music between thirty seconds and ten minutes. But do not worry. Nervousness can cause the most problems in sight reading. Be cool and practice hard. A cracked note, an overkill of vibrato, or a mistaken tempo must be avoided at all costs. Relaxing; taking deep breaths, and starting to look at the music intelligently will give wings to a better musician.
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