"How soon can you be here?" Or, tips on sight-reading

There have been years of my career when a significant portion of my income was made by sight-reading concerts. I have been called moments before the downbeat of a concert with the question in the title, and gotten there just in time to rush on stage after intermission and read down the rest of the show.

I don't write that to brag; it's just the reality of working in a busy musical town, and often sight-reading a concert is a great way of making a great impression on people who might want to hire you again.

When I was in college one of our year-end juries was sight-reading. It was hugely valuable, and I'm grateful for that, as well as for fellow students who always loved to sight-read duets, trios, quartets, etc.

Sight-reading is a skill that has to be developed, like any other, and there are fundamental musical skills that contribute: first of all it's really important for students to work diligently at the ear training classes they are required to take. Sight reading and sight singing are really the same skill, just with an instrument added.

Second, play rhythmically most if not all of the time, and develop the habit of subdividing for everything you play, including long tones and lip slurs. Use a metronome, but realize that the metronome's main function is to provide objective truth, NOT to provide your pulse. The pulse still has to come from inside you, so be creative with your metronome - don't just play with the beat you hear. I like using a Dr. Beat and gradually subtracting what is audible, to the point where you are only hearing one beat per bar or even less. I also like a smartphone app called time guru, which allows you to set it to randomly remove a percentage of the audible beats. Very cool. 

Now, to the sight-reading itself. There are steps you can take the first time you see something, in the moments before you play it, in order to improve your batting average and make a great impression on your colleagues.

1. Look at the starting time signature, key signature and tempo marking. This sounds obvious, but it's amazing how often I start playing a duet with a student who misses the very first note that gets an accidental from the key signature.

2. Take note of the style; make your best guess if you have to, or even better: ask somebody who's played it before. "Is this a swing tune?" "Is this a fanfare?" There's no shame in asking for help.

3. In fact, definitely ask for help: "What's the tempo of this piece? Is there anything in particular I need to know about it?" Everybody would much rather give a few words of help than hear somebody screw up. 

4. Scan the page for changes in time signature, key signature and tempo.

5. Scan the page for accidentals. If there's an area with a lot of them, take note and try to identify the temporary key area. "I keep seeing F#, C# and G# here; it must have modulated to A Major or its relative minor."

6. Scan the page for active, syncopated, or otherwise atypical rhythms. If it's a swing chart, look for places where something other than swing is indicated. If there's a tricky rhythm, sing it to yourself.


When you get good at it, sight-reading is exhilarating. Learn to enjoy it!