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Can you sight-read?

Wondering how many of you can or can't sight read (can read and play sheet music you have never seen before to an alright standard), in what instrument, and how it came about? :biggrin:

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Original post by Cascadess
Wondering how many of you can or can't sight read (can read and play sheet music you have never seen before to an alright standard), in what instrument, and how it came about? :biggrin:


My sight reading is TERRIBLE. As is my musical ability . . .
NGL I can sight read
but i can't do anything else

Spoiler

I can sight read but I cannot play an instrument if that makes sense. I deemed the acquisition of the sight reading ability to be sufficiently technical for my mental faculties.

Treble clef.
I used to play the violin so I was able to but not any more
Can't do it for s*** on piano, can do to an extent on sax (as long as there's no altissimo)
Original post by Edminzodo
My sight reading is TERRIBLE. As is my musical ability . . .


^This.

I can read sheet music but I have to work it out first, like doing a maths sum or something. And I'm not talking about 2+2, I'm talking about the ones with the X's and the Y's, etc.
Reply 7
Avatar for math42
math42
20
I can sight read guitar tab :wink: I can just read music, slowly.
I play violin, cello, piano and guitar and can sight read. Only play now and again now, though.
I can sight read and sight sing very well, its definitely a skill that can be learned.
I was a chorister from 8-12 and played the piano and violin at the time, when you're singing that much music all the time youre really thrown in at the deep end, and you cant afford not to learn.
Once learned, its not something you forget, and I would encourage everyone to try, because it opens so many doors in terms of being able to enjoy the music youre making rather than just playing the notes :smile:
I can sight read pretty well. I learned the piano till grade 6 of ABRSM and then taught myself the guitar. When you do exams (albeit pointless ones... ) you HAVE to be able to sight read... And yeah, if you want to get a distinction, you gotta learn. It's not that hard honesty. You can always start by searching sheet music of songs that you like, and learning to play them. That way, you know how the next note should sound, to help you figure out how high/low you have to go... if you get my drift. You can also transpose songs, which is an amazing way to sight read.
Used to be able to sight read piano, can't sight read violin
Oh, and you'll always find the treble clef easier since it's the melody line. So, focus on the bass clef to improve your versatility. However, if you're left-handed or ambidextrous, the job's half-done with the piano :smile:
Reply 13
Avatar for mgill17
mgill17
6
I used to do flute and piano to a decent graded standard so I could sight read for those. I originally learned to sight read through playing a recorder in like year 3...best primary school instrument ever... I found it a lot easier to teach myself music by ear in the end though, especially for piano. Don't play much anymore. Probably could still sight read for flute and piano if I were to look at some sheet music now.
Original post by Spoderman14
I can sight read and sight sing very well, its definitely a skill that can be learned.
I was a chorister from 8-12 and played the piano and violin at the time, when you're singing that much music all the time youre really thrown in at the deep end, and you cant afford not to learn.
Once learned, its not something you forget, and I would encourage everyone to try, because it opens so many doors in terms of being able to enjoy the music youre making rather than just playing the notes :smile:


Yes, yes, yes. I totally agree with you. I learned to sight-sing too :smile: And yeah, sight-reading does open up a lot of doors.
Reply 15
Avatar for Odium
Odium
15
i cant sight read at all its so bad lol rip
Can't sight read but can read music if I actually sit and work through it. Got to grade 5 piano learning all the pieces by heart and can still play a lot of them now :biggrin: I couldn't tell you the notes but my fingers just know where to go - the human brain is an amazing thing!*
can't sight read for sh*t... when the exam reaches the sight reading section I almost have panic attacks :lol:
Original post by LavenderBlueSky88
Can't sight read but can read music if I actually sit and work through it. Got to grade 5 piano learning all the pieces by heart and can still play a lot of them now :biggrin: I couldn't tell you the notes but my fingers just know where to go - the human brain is an amazing thing!*

And that's why I say that exams are a terrible indicator of how talented/skilled you are. It's merely an indicator of how many times you practised and how well you can remember positions and stuff like that.

PS No offence to you though. Grade 5 is amazing :smile: Was it TCL or ABRSM? I did Grade 6 of Piano as well, now I learn freestyle :biggrin:
Original post by Cascadess
Wondering how many of you can or can't sight read (can read and play sheet music you have never seen before to an alright standard), in what instrument, and how it came about? :biggrin:


sight reading is the death of me when it comes to exams really, simple stuff i can do with like loads of quavers and stuff or simple themes in the right and left hand, i can play at an ok pace but when you start adding chords my speed decays exponentially

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