Eric Barfield

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12 Tricks For Amazing Sight-Reading Skills

Sight-reading is still a vital part of being a great musician. Here’s 12 ways to get better at it: 

 

12. Imagine the entire melody in your head before playing the song

 

11. Play straight-through without any pauses 

 

10. Clap rhythms before you play the song

 

9. Count along while clapping the rhythms, for even better results

 

8. Use a metronome while sight-reading to keep on track

 

7. After playing, circle sections that you want to work on later 

 

6. Use a good sight-reading book 

 

5. Play slowly enough that you can get almost 100% of the notes correct

 

4. Start practicing with simple songs 

 

3. Relax while playing quick sections

 

2. Count while sight-reading

 

1. MOST IMPORTANT: Do a little bit of sight reading every day to keep up your chops