SIGHTREADING

The pause is as important as the note. ~Truman Fisher

One of the many asked questions I hear is, “How do I improve my sight-reading?”
Sight-reading is an essential element of musical life. It is also an acquired skill that you can develop and do very well. Learning to play your scales by memory can be half the battle. Major scales, minor scales (natural, harmonic and melodic forms) chromatic scales. You can sightread better if you know your scales and arpeggios.

Scales in thirds and arpeggios all make up much of the music you will see, so if you know them in advance you will be better equipped to handle any sight-reading that comes your way. It is also important to know the definitions of musical terms, as they are also big clues to interpretation, speed and phrasing. Knowing whom the composer is and what time period the music was written can be another important clue to interpretation. This is important because when a piece of music was written and by whom can affect how you perform grace notes, mordents and grupettos as well as other ornamentation.

I was very fortunate in that when I was principal flute with the Royal Marines I was faced with sight-reading every day. In fact it was an important part of our musical training, equal in time and more to viva voce, theory and harmony. Sight-reading, not just in Orchestra, but also in Concert Band as well as in various styles – from Symphonic masterpieces to Broadway shows, Duets and Ensembles. The more you do it, the better it becomes and the easier you will find it. Eventually sight-reading becomes a lot of fun and you will find yourself looking for new and more demanding pieces to test your newly acquired knowledge and confidence.

When sight-reading you should look for certain things before playing. All the information you need is right there on the music in front of you.

· Key signature
· Time signature
· Tempo
· Style
· Overall structure
a. Sections with repeats or endings
b. D.S or D.C.
c. Changes in key & tempo
d. Temporary tempo changes such as rallentando, a tempo

· Stylistic markings
a. Accents, staccato, legato etc…
b. Articulation patterns (slur 2 tongue 2)
c. Dynamics
d. Ornamentation

· Rhythmic patterns
· Scale patterns
· Accidentals

It is also very important to train your eyes to read ahead of what you are playing in order to give yourself time to mentally process the visual and react to it physically. And that is "As I See It!"

“Never edit by ability” - Geoffrey Gilbert