Bloo asked:
I’ve been playing violin for half a year now and taking lessons for 2 months and it’s gotten to the point where I have to stop writing in notes and sight read I can do it but i’m just slow how can I speed up without making too many mistakes I don’t want to waste all my time playing a song I already know sight reading they’re only 30 minute sessions
and I’m always mistaking notes that look similar like B and G any tips?
How to Read Music Notes
Good for you! You’re taking this step earlier than some students would dare…you should be very proud of yourself. What I have my students do is GO BACK TO THE BEGINNING of their lesson book, or get another beginner lesson book(different method). All of the exercises you did with the notes labeled you should now do WITHOUT those labels. You should only be chasing down one unknown at a time, so the music itself should be easy and somewhat familiar. Once you have caught up to your current level, you can continue without the labels. You’ll find that you aren’t losing too much time by sight-reading…you’re just using the time that you would have spent writing in notes as additional practice time. Practice lots of small exercises to hone your reading skills.
This is such an important skill to have, good for you for taking the time to master it!
How to Sight Read Music
The answerer above me suggested the very thing that my first professional teacher had me do for sightreading; go back to easy material and start there. This gives you confidence in reading through something you don’t know and keeping the horizontal motion in balance with vertical.
Keep in mind that sightreading is one of the hardest things for musicians to do (actually, I can’t speak for everyone, but I know it’s hard for pianists), so don’t expect it to be an easy skill to develop. I’ll admit that I’m not very good at making something smooth on the first reading, although I’m a fairly good sightreader. The only reason I need to do it is to play through a piece to see if I like it, or to begin learning the piece. I therefore didn’t teach myself very well how to play something perfectly the first time through. If you’re going to be a jazz artist or a broadway show-tunes player, this is probably a more useful skill, playing as-written the first time, but otherwise it’s not as helpful as it sounds. I use so much caution because when students try to ‘sightread’ their way through a piece they need to learn, they often rush through up to speed the first time and make mistakes that then stick with them and have to be un-learned. Research has shown that if you do something one way the first time, it will take seven times repeated another way for the brain to accept the change; this is the danger of making a mistake the first time you rush through a piece, so don’t underestimate the value of getting everything right, unless you have a special need for sightreading skills.
How to Read Music Notes
My teacher had me go out and buy a book with easier songs that I wasn’t familiar with. It came with a CD, and I just attempted those songs. Of course, the book didn’t have the fingerings in. Another option is to slowly go off of having the notes written in. Try pieces with only certain notes written in, say B, and try to sight read the rest. Eventually, you will know them all by heart.