Sight-Reading Tips for Beginner Students
Sight-reading is a vital skill for all musicians, regardless of their current level.
Starting Out
When young students are just starting their music lessons and don’t have any experience identifying notes, teachers will often use short, fun phrases or words that help kids easily figure them out. The phrases show what the notes are and where they are located, based on which word falls on a particular line or space on the staff, and with which letter the word begins.
A well-known example of these phrases is “Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge” for line notes and the singular word “FACE” for space notes in the treble clef.
These phrases are easy to remember for most kids and work great in helping students get past the intimidation of having to recognize notes that often look very similar and confusing.
Mid-Level
As students get more comfortable with using phrases to determine the note letters, it’s time to consider upgrading to a new method in order to increase reading speed. Reading notes quickly is incredibly helpful in making the process of learning new pieces fun and less daunting. One tried-and-true way of speeding up note reading is using flashcards. Some students opt to create the flashcards themselves, although many options are available for purchase (see links below). When using flashcards for the first time, it’s best to start small - with just 5 notes in the same clef. Once the student can quickly and easily determine each note, it’s time to add two more to the mix. Once all 7 of these notes can be identified with little to no hesitation, a couple more can be added, and so on and so forth. This gradual introduction keeps the exercise fun and easy, while preventing kids from getting frustrated or discouraged.
In cases where parents are alright with their kids using technology to aid in their learning, there are several great Apps available that introduce new notes gradually in ways that make it seem like a game. Many of them have helpful features, where students get to not only figure out the letter of each note, but also find and press that note on a keyboard, so they can get familiar with hearing the note’s pitch as well. An important thing to remember with these Apps is to make sure that they are set to the correct clef a student is supposed to be learning, and that the level of the games is low enough for there to be only a few notes circulating at a time. Again, this helps to prevent the experience from becoming overwhelming. Please see a list of Apps we like at the end of this blog post.
Krescendo Music Academy Approved Note-Reading Apps:
Note Rush
Flashnote Derby
Practice!
Once a student can easily name and recognize all of the notes on the immediate staff, it’s time to start playing very easy songs to put all of this into practice. It’s a good idea to pick something several levels below a student’s current playing level. For beginner students, something with 5-note patterns and simple steps and skips will be helpful in learning to see notes not only individually, but also directionally and in-relation to each other. For more advanced students, choosing easy repertoire and playing it in a slow tempo allows one to mentally grasp the notes you see in front of you, while also training the mind to quickly think ahead. If you are unsure about which level or what pieces would work well for you, don’t hesitate to ask your teacher for advice and/or specific examples. The most important thing to remember is to stay patient and consistent and before you know it, sight-reading music will be just as easy as reading your favorite book!
