Sight reading can be stressful and full of the fear of the unknown. When I was high school age, I dreaded it at every audition. There did come a time when i realized, that the only way to get better at sight reading was to do it. I came up with a system and suddenly my attitude towards sight reading changed and I was able to build my confidence.
As a professional flute player, I welcome anyone to put sight reading in front of me. I see it as a challenge and am happy to sight read the gnarliest looking music.
Here are the rules I always follow:
Rules for Sight Reading
1. Check the Key Signature 2. Check the Time Signature
3. Check the Tempo
4. Most importantly! Get a beat in your head!
5. Sing in head silently and look for Trouble spots.Don’t just jump in, take a minute to look the piece over!
Try to always perform these following things in sightreading!
A. Correct notes/pitches
B. Correct Rhythms
C. Correct articulations
D. Add in dynamics
E. Feel the phrases and add proper breath marks.
