h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Does anybody here have any tips whatsoever for sight reading? As I suck at it, and I will need a good mark on it for my next grade...

Flashcards, flashcards, flashcards.
Making them will help as much as using them. I was terrible, but am slowly improving at sight reading. A hint about flashcards... your brain absorbs information the best right when you awake, and right before bed (maybe it's because of some connection w/your subconsious, I don't know...)so whip through them then. Also, say them out loud, and for every mistake, say the correct note out loud (so YOU hear it). Writing, reading, saying, hearing, all reinforces what you want your brain to get.

The only other thing that helped me, was by starting to learn piano and forcing myself to...

Hope something in there was of help.

Will try it out......but the sight reading pieces are so hard at grade 7...I'm gonna fail...

No, no, no! I said... DON'T PANIC! and I mean it!
Positive attitude... if you tell yourself you can't, you won't be able to... a wise man said "be it unto you according to your faith"... so say "I think I can, I think I can!!!" Seriously, if you carry flashcards with you EVERYWHERE, it will be a breeze.

Thanks for the advice...I'll keep that in mind...

See? I'm all happy now!

Good for you! BTW, if you have AOL, and any questions, I'm online right now as Tweedmusic.

Yeah, Don't Panic

I was terrible at sightreading for years and years, and then suddenly it clicked. So persevere! I find it important to relax while sight reading, and to be calm, then it doesn't all go wrong.

It helps a lot if you can rely on your musical intuition more than your math-thinking brain. Obviously you have to know how to read, and the flashcards will help with that, but if you are in a pinch and you lose track or something, just rely on how you feel like it should go. Anyone who has any musical ability at all and who listens to music can do this and be right most of the time.

Are there any other ways besides flashcards though?

I used to be terrible at sight reading, up until this summer. I'm still not the best, but I can get the feel of the music on the first time through, and pretty much play it the second, with minor mistakes. This probably isn't what you want to hear if you have a test soon, but the best way is to just practice it. This summer I went to a two-week music camp, and when you have that short of a time, EVERYTHING is sightreading. I've gotten many comments on how much better I am at it now. So practice it constantly...if you can, get a peice with a recording, sight read it, listen to the recording, then read it again until you have it down..then do another. The recording's not nessisary, it just might help if you're unsure of rhythms. If you have somebody else who's willing to help and play along with you, then its even better. I hope it goes well!

Thanks!

Best advice I can give is to force yourself. Look at new music and force yourself to play it. My mother had to learn to sightread pretty quickly when she started playing the organ at a church when she was 14, and now she can sightread anything (with the possible exception of the mostly-obscure tenor/viola clef). Good luck.

P.S. Intercontinental ballistic missile? Nice name.