Author: brycon
Date: 2023-11-10 04:43
My general concept with practicing is that passively consuming material isn't going to make you much better. "Klose scales are great to practice!" "No, Baermann is better!" But ultimately, it doesn't matter. What matters is how you engage with the material, how you uncover your unique weaknesses and then curate a regimen to turn your weaknesses into strengths.
There are two main components to sight-reading: rhythm and pitch. Perhaps start with rhythm exercises (you can find many online or use something like the Starer book). Can you accurately perform them counting or clapping? Do you get hung up on particular types of rhythms, such as dotted notes or tied notes? Do you get hung up on particular meters, such as compound ones? Make a note of what's difficult for you.
Then perhaps solfege or say note names (without the notated rhythms) for a piece of music. Can you accurately recite the note names? Do you get hung up on certain registers, such as above or below the staff? Do you get hung up on particular patterns, such as leaps back and forth? Again, make a note of what's difficult for you.
You don't need material or "content." You need a process: discover where exactly the difficulty lies and then work on it.
Having said all that, I think you're correct in reading music as "words" or "sentences." And because most of us read music this way, I would actually avoid sight-reading generators, such as the one posted above. They generate completely idiosyncratic music. Using them would be like learning to read English from non-grammatical constructions: "Car the went red house to man's the." To become a good sight-reader, you need to become quicker at grasping musical constructions larger than individual notes or rhythms, just as to become a good reader of English, you need to grasp grammatical constructions larger than individual letters or words.
To that end, practice from actual tonal music. To keep yourself honest: 1. Read through something you played a long time ago but somewhat remember so you can tell when you screw up, or 2. Record yourself and listen back to check accuracy, or 3. Play with other people (preferably who are themselves accurate). And again, make a note of what's difficult.
Good luck!
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