how to sight-read music_ 5 steps to mastering sight-reading _ jazzadvice

8/10/2019 How to Sight-Read Music_ 5 Steps to Mastering Sight-Reading _ Jazzadvice

1/12

X

Powered by WP Greet Box WordPress Plugin

Jazz Advice

Inspiration for improvisers

Subscribe via: Emailor RSS

HomeAboutContact

DonateGet Advice

October 10th, 2011

5 Steps to Mastering Sight-Reading

By Eric Email this article to a friend

Welcome Googler! If you find this page useful, you might want to subscribe to the RSS

feedfor updates on this topic.

A reader recently asked:

At my college, to get into the lab bands you have to be a really great sight-reader. What are

some ways to become a great reader besides just saying read whatever you can. I am

w to Sight-Read Music: 5 Steps to Mastering Sight-Reading | jazzad... http://jazzadvice.com/5-steps-to-mastering-sight-reading/

12 17/01/2015 02:04 p.m.
http://jazzadvice.com/5-steps-to-mastering-sight-reading/http://jazzadvice.com/5-steps-to-mastering-sight-reading/


2/12

decent at sight-reading, but I want to take it to that next level. How do I go about doing this?

It goes without saying that sight-reading is an important skill to have as a musician. You sight-read newpieces in your rehearsals, you need it when you sub for a big band, and its a dreaded part of the auditionprocess. It is by no means the most important skill to have as a musician, but if you want to be aworking musician, it is something that you definitely need.

This is a great question, but its also one that often gets answered with the vague, apathetic answers thatyou mentioned. Telling someone to just sight-read more, no matter how well-intentioned, is not going tohelp them improve.

Sight-reading, like many other techniques that we develop as musicians, is a skill a skill that can be

learned and continually improved upon. Rather than putting yourself in a room and trying to blindlyimprove your sight-reading chops by doing it over and over again, look at the specific elements involvedin this skill and work on developing them.

Its Sight-Reading

Somehow, weve all had this idea put into our heads that sight-reading is this completely new skill that wemust learn, separated from the other aspects of our musicianship. This couldnt be further from the truth.The ability to sight-read stems from all of the aspects of your musicianship and thus, can be improved on a

daily basis with a little attention to detail.

When you take an honest look at it, sight-reading is simply your ability to read music. You may be lookingat this music for the first time or it may be something that you havent practiced, but the bottom line is thatyoure reading music. If you want to improve at sight-reading, you first need to examine the way that youread music.

There are specific elements that go into successfully reading music, and these elements directly affect yourability to sight-read. Sight-reading is not some magical skill that will just come to you one day becauseyou attempt it every so often, its a skill that has finite elements that can be learned in a short amount of

time and applied with success.

Below Ive outlined five components of reading music that will greatly improve your ability to sight-read.Each skill is dependent on the next and they all add up, so dont skip over any of them. If you implementeach of these factors every time you read a piece of music, your sight-reading will infinitely improve.

I. Concentration

This may seem painfully obvious or even unimportant, but your mindset and concentration as you look ata page of music is the single most important factor to your success in reading that music. Without it you

miss notes and accidentals, you screw up rhythms, you find yourself disconnected from the time, and youlose your place in the music. In fact, most mistakes we make in performing music can be attributed to alack of concentration.

So often we read music in performances and rehearsals with only half of our concentration, and whats


12 17/01/2015 02:04 p.m.


3/12

worse, we dont even realize it. We scan the audience for people that we know, random thoughts pop intoour heads, we think about what we are going to play in our next solo, we review our day. Sometimes we

just zone out altogether.

We are looking at the page, we see the notes, but our minds are not completely involved and focused onthe task at hand. This is a recipe for disaster. Step one on your journey to becoming a sight-readingmaster? Put a stop to this mindless music reading.

Art has to do with the arrest of attention in the midst of distraction.~Saul Bellow

Instead of going through the motions of reading music, play a little game with yourself. Before you play a

piece of music, mentally say to yourself: Ok, Im going to nail every note and rhythm on this page, nomistakes. Clear out any unwanted or distracted thoughts and aim for 100% concentration on the music.As the tune is being counted off, focus on the time and the notes and rhythms in the opening measures.

Take this mindset with anything you read, whether its in big band rehearsal, a small group performance,or an average day in the practice room. You will immediately find that your reading improves, however,

youll also find that extreme concentration is difficult to sustain for long periods of time. You may start apiece totally focused, but after a minute your mind begins to wander and little by little, youre back to daydreaming. Be aware of this tendency and quickly pull back your concentration when it starts to fade.

By learning to control your concentration, youll ingrain the habit of becoming totally focused any time

you read music. The next time that you have to sight-read, you will find that this skill is carried over andthat things will be much easier.

II. Read bigger chunks of music

Go to any big band concert and youll immediately be able to pick out the great readers and the players

that are struggling. The strong readers look confident, relaxed, and totally focused; even the mostup-tempo tunes dont seem to phase them.

On the other hand, the poor readers look completely flustered. Their heads are buried in the stand, they are

furiously counting and subdividing every rhythm, and they tensely tap every beat with their foot; in otherwords, theyre hanging on for dear life.

What do these strong readers have that the others do not? These players have figured out how to look atand successfully read bigger chunks of music.

The area of reading music that is getting these other players into trouble, especially in up-tempo tunes, islooking at and counting every single beat of music that they see. They are thinking about every rhythm

and processing every single beat of music. To become a better sight-reader, you must do the complete


12 17/01/2015 02:04 p.m.


4/12

opposite. You need to be looking at larger pieces of the music and feeling bigger chunks of time.

Look at the music on the page as if you were going to read it in cut-time. Instead of looking at each quarternote and subdividing every rhythm into eighth notes, visually divide each measure in two parts and seewhere the downbeats fall. By doing this, you will free up your mind so that it can focus on more musicalthings.

Lets illustrate this concept. Say you have this line in your music:

An inexperienced reader would count every beat and look at each individual note. However, a great readerwould first visually see where the major downbeats fall (Beats 1 and 3 if youre in cut time -shown below,or 2 and 4 if you prefer):

Next read the music as if it was in cut time, looking at two beats at a time as shown in the highlighted

sections below:

Or even an entire measure at a time:

You can clearly see how reading in this fashion is much easier and relaxed than counting every single beat.Aim for visually interpreting music in this way. It will take some practice and experience, but the payoffwill be worth it.


12 17/01/2015 02:04 p.m.


5/12


6/12

To deal with a line like this, again find where the downbeats fall:

Next, isolate the places where there are rests that fall on a strong beat. These are tricky places because weare feeling a beat, but arent playing anything. In these places, I would vocalize or use a syllable for theserests so you are not guessing at the exact placement of the notes. By vocalizing, I mean mentally saying a

syllable during the rest. For example, for the line above I would visualize the following:

On the first highlighted rest, I would use three syllables subdividing eighth notes to fill the space of therest (ba ba doo or anything with 3 syllables). And for the two other downbeat rests, I would use a singlesyllable (uh).

Try to sing the rhythm of the example above. Sing the notes and in the place of those three highlightedrests, insert a syllable that subdivides the rest. This technique will help you to place every note exactlywhere it lies in the measure.

IV. Looking ahead

It is always wise to look ahead, but difficult to look further than you can see.~Winston Churchill

One of the main factors that contribute to our mistakes in sight-reading is the simple fact that were notready for the notes we see on the page they simply catch us off guard. Our eyes come upon a measure

that we must immediately play and our brain cant process the information fast enough. Next, we have tostop and think for a half-second about an accidental, a fingering, or a rhythm, and by then, its way toolate.

To prevent this type of situation, you must get into the habit of continually looking ahead at the notes andrhythms coming up. Dont get caught staring at the music that you just played, be prepared for the notescoming up. To do this, keep your eyes a beat or two ahead of the notes that youre playing.

This skill, like all of the above elements, requires and uses a combination of all the previous ones. Youmust be totally focused on the task at hand and you need to see the music on the page in larger groups of

notes, not individual beats. As you play one measure, your eyes are always scanning ahead so nothing willcatch you off guard.

V. Continue through your mistakes


12 17/01/2015 02:04 p.m.


7/12

Its inevitable that youll make a mistake as youre sight-reading. We all aim for %100 accuracy, buteventually were going to miss a note its just a fact of life. That being said, a small mistake is no reasonfor your sight-reading performance to completely fall apart.

Even though we dont want to make any reading errors, some mistakes are definitely worse than others. Ionce had a teacher that said, Ill accept a wrong or missed note, but I wont accept a wrong rhythm. Itwas weird hearing him say that he would accept wrong notes in sight-reading, but after awhile, I started to

see what he meant. When it comes to sight-reading, a missed note is unfortunate, but a wrong rhythm orfaulty counting can completely throw you off track.

As you sight-read a piece of music, there is a definite hierarchy for your attention. First, keep the tempo ofthe piece firmly planted in your mind and body, this is the glue holding everything together. Next, look atevery rhythm that you come across and visually see where the down beats are falling, the bigger chunks oftime that youre able to process the better. Finally, pay attention to every note, interval, and accidental.

However, the most important thing to remember, is that when you do make a mistake, dont stop. A notemay not come out, you may hesitate for a second on a rhythm, or you might miss an accidental. Whatever

it is, forget about it. Its gone. History. Just keep the time going and pick-up where you left off.

This is tricky to do when you are reading something by yourself, as you would in an audition process, but

its much easier when you are reading with other performers, as you would in a duet or ensemble. Trysight-reading with others to practice this concept continuing through mistakes. When you play a wrongnote or rhythm, you will immediately see that the time continues and that you must quickly get back ontrack.

Lets review

This may seem like a lot to think about every time you look at a piece of music, however, these are small

easily applied tricks that have a huge effect on your reading, so give it a try and see what happens.Chances are that youre already doing some of these things, and the key to improving may lie in making asmall adjustment or incorporating just one of these elements into your playing.

Go through this mental check-list every time you see a piece of music:

Get into the mindset of total concentration and tune out distractions

Before you begin, memorize the key signature and scan the page for trouble spots

Look at the music in larger chunks of time (see the page like its in cut-time)

Recognize common rhythms and watch out for tricky rhythms

Visually identify scale fragments and arpeggiosRemember to keep counting through rests

Continually keep your eyes scanning ahead so youre always ready for the next measure

Dont be phased by your mistakes, keep the time going and get back on track

If you make this mindset a habit, you will be able to confidently sight-read any piece of music. Start byusing these concepts in your rehearsals, performances, and even in the practice room. Put your skills to thetest and read a duet with a friend. Pick a random page, count off the tempo, and aim to get all of the notes

and rhythms. If you make a mistake, keep going and get back where you can.


12 17/01/2015 02:04 p.m.


8/12

If youre reading is proficient today, youve already got the basic skills and the potential to become a greatsight-reader. Now you just need some fine tuning and practice. Take the concepts above and use themanytime you are in a situation where youre reading music.

In a surprisingly short amount of time, you will find yourself sight-reading with ease and gradually, youllbuild up the confidence to sight-read anything you encounter.

If you've found this website helpful, please click the Donate button. The average donation is about $14.

We greatly appreciate your support!

Related & Recommended Posts:

Why You Shouldnt Be a Real Book Player10 Exercises to Practice When Youve Run Out of IdeasThe Forgotten SkillWhat to do when You Crash and Burn on a Tune

Stop right there! Dont Touch Your Instrument until5 Solutions to Improvisation That Are Hidden In Plain SightHow to Completely Learn a Melody in 30 Minutes

7 Surprising Qualities of the Worlds Best ImprovisersMixing Jazz Techniques, Lines, And ConceptsOne Brick at a Time: Thats how you build a wall

Another Look at Slow Practice for Jazz ImprovisationReality Check: Motivating Yourself to Better MusicianshipOvercoming Mental Limitations in MusicWhere to Start Learning Jazz ImprovisationThe Secret Behind Every Solo that You Cant Afford to

About Us


12 17/01/2015 02:04 p.m.


9/12


10/12


11/12

Topics

Advice For Everyone(68)Chords(41)Composition(3)Concepts(65)

Ear(41)Inspiration(53)Jazz Education(30)Jazz Language(31)Myth(9)


de 12 17/01/2015 02:04 p.m.


12/12

Perspective(77)Players(14)Practice routines(50)Rhythm(10)Scales(15)

Time(10)Tips(125)

Transcribing(42)Tunes(25)Uncategorized(5)

Videos(4)Visualization(11)

2015 jazzadvice.com Log in


how to sight-read music_ 5 steps to mastering sight-reading _ jazzadvice

Documents