Why a Guitarist Should Learn How To Sight Read

Even though there is a wide variety of players out there that became successful without learning how to sight read, it will help you to do a lot more on the guitar if you knew how to read notation. Learning to sight-read will definitely help you if you’re trying to be a professional guitarist. When you can read music you will get a lot more work since you’ll have the ability to play in different categories like country, jazz, blues, and classical.
If you take your craft seriously and you want to perform with the best you must develop your sight-reading skills so you don’t make a bad impression on other musicians. Also, once you develop the skill of sight-reading you will be able to quickly learn new pieces that would be a tough thing to do if you couldn’t read music.

Most beginner guitar players avoid learning this skill because at first sight it looks too difficult. However, it’s not that hard to do at all if you put in the necessary time to practice and follow some simple tips.

When you are reading a piece of music for the first time in standard notation you need to check things such as:

• Check the tempo markings to make sure you know what the tempo of the song is going to be. The tempo markings will usually give you an idea of the beats per minute for each quarter tempo. Using this guideline will allow you figure out if the tempo of the song will be moderate or fast.
• Check the time signature to see beforehand if you are going to be playing in 4/4 or 3/4 time.
• Check the key signature to get the overall concept of the song in either the minor or major key. You can also use the key signature to help you know where your five positions of the major scale will be positioned.
• Check the first page of the sheet of music to figure out what octaves the music is in. Be sure to position yourself appropriately so you can easily shift positions if you need to while playing the music.

While you are sight reading a new song you should do your best to focus carefully on following the music and not allowing your eyes to wander. The better you can remain focused on the music you’re reading the fewer mistakes you will make. You should train your eyes to always be a few notes ahead of what you are playing on the guitar when reading.

In order to read ahead of yourself you will need to get very familiar with the notes on the staff so you can recognize them quickly. Don’t expect yourself to be able to read ahead of yourself if you are just starting to learn how to sight-read. It is going to some practice and a little bit of experience to get better at doing this.

The more experience you gain reading music will also allow you to notice intervals in music such snippets of arpeggios from just a quick a look. The best way to get better at this much faster is to just start selecting any piece of music and start practicing sight-reading.

Along with practicing as much as you can check out the following tips to help speed up the learning process of becoming a better sight-reading guitarist.

• You should always try to remember every note that you play so you can memorize certain chord voicings or rhythms that are very standard. Once you have a certain rhythm pattern memorized you’ll be able to learn faster. This is why looking at notes as larger groups instead of individually will greatly help you. For example, if you notice 16 notes that begin on C1 and finish on C2, chances are it is a C major scale. You can apply this rule to all scales and notes.
• Finally, the best tip of them all is to keep practicing. Sight-reading is very rewarding when you learn how to do it properly. So it is definietly worth all the time and effort you put in to learn this aspect of playing the guitar.
• When you are playing a piece of music for the first time on your guitar try your hardest not to mess up the tempo even when you miss a note. When you are trying to learn sight-reading it will help you learn better if you can recover quickly when you mess up and keep going strong.
• You can also speed up your learning curve by tackling areas on the fretboard you are not really familiar with or comfortable with playing. Begin with some simple one line melodies and then gradually move on to tougher areas higher up the neck. It is definitely a great idea to learn a melody in various positions of the fretboard.
• Try to sing or say the name of every note as you play it. Doing this will help you to visualize where your fingers need to be positioned and how you need to pick the strings.

With the right amount of practice and following these tips you can start learning to read music before you know it. If you want to be a professional guitarist touring the world with your band you have to learn how to sight-read.

John Maddox is an experienced writer focused on music and instruments. You can check out John’s website at http://yourbeginnerguitarlessons.net.