Help me learn how to sight read


shaneturner115
Registered User
Joined: 02/02/24
Posts: 1
shaneturner115
Registered User
Joined: 02/02/24
Posts: 1
02/02/2024 10:43 am

I would like to learn how to read music ... nothing elaborate or detailed ... just enough for me to be able to look at some fiddle tunes and play them on the guitar.


I know the notes. I know the time element of the notes ... but I am sooooooo slow. A good example (or a bad example) may be comparing hunt-and-peck typing to touch typing. You both get to the same destination but the time it takes to get you there is vastly different. (Btw, when I was a newspaper reporter my boss used the former and was quite adept at it. Plus, you know, he was my boss ...)


Can you suggest some (hopefully free or low cost) materials and/or videos to help me? Years ago I tried some online course designed for children, or so I thought, only to be rewarded with spam, spyware and maybe a virus. geometry dash subzero


I've also used some software and websites discussed here to "translate" the sheet music into tabs which I use ... but it takes time and I really need to be able to do some basic sight reading myself.


Plus there have been a couple occasions where I wanted to join a community or church music group but I was required to be able to do sight reading on the spot ... or at least "encouraged" to learn how to do that task.


# 1
ChristopherSchlegel
Guitar Tricks Instructor
Joined: 08/09/05
Posts: 8,360
ChristopherSchlegel
Guitar Tricks Instructor
Joined: 08/09/05
Posts: 8,360
02/02/2024 1:00 pm
#1 Originally Posted by: shaneturner115

I would like to learn how to read music ... nothing elaborate or detailed ... just enough for me to be able to look at some fiddle tunes and play them on the guitar.


I know the notes. I know the time element of the notes ... but I am sooooooo slow. A good example (or a bad example) may be comparing hunt-and-peck typing to touch typing. You both get to the same destination but the time it takes to get you there is vastly different. (Btw, when I was a newspaper reporter my boss used the former and was quite adept at it. Plus, you know, he was my boss ...)


Can you suggest some (hopefully free or low cost) materials and/or videos to help me? Years ago I tried some online course designed for children, or so I thought, only to be rewarded with spam, spyware and maybe a virus. geometry dash subzero


I've also used some software and websites discussed here to "translate" the sheet music into tabs which I use ... but it takes time and I really need to be able to do some basic sight reading myself.


Plus there have been a couple occasions where I wanted to join a community or church music group but I was required to be able to do sight reading on the spot ... or at least "encouraged" to learn how to do that task.

We have tutorials on the basics of sight reading.  I have a couple of tutorials covering how to get started practicing reading.


There are plenty of books (Hal Leonard, Mel Bay, etc.) that teach it.  There are plenty of sites that offer the info for free.  For example:


https://www.musictheory.net/


Any one of, or all of, those resources will show the concepts.  The hard part is to put in the time doing repetitious practice until the process of reading become second nature.


Hope that helps.


 


Christopher Schlegel
Guitar Tricks Instructor

Christopher Schlegel Lesson Directory
# 2

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