Tools

Sight-reading generator

A new 4-measure melody, written out for every part at once. Project it for the full band, play it with a count-in, or print it.
Who's reading
Level
Time signature
Tempo
80 BPM
Length

Whole, half, and quarter notes. Do to sol, mostly steps.

Keys: P play, N new, F full screen
Example 1335 · Concert F · 4/4
CFlute, oboe, mallets
44
B♭Clarinet, trumpet, tenor sax
44
E♭Alto sax, bari sax
44
FHorn, mellophone
44
Bass clefTrombone, euphonium, bassoon, tuba
44
SnareSnare drum
44

How to use it

Every part reads the same melody, written in its own key: C for flute, oboe, and mallets; B♭, E♭, and F parts; bass clef; and a snare line with the rhythm. Give students a minute to study it with the sight-reading checklist, then play it together. Press Play to hear it with a one-measure count-in (two measures in 2/4).

Change the level, time signature, key, or length, and every new example follows them. Eight-measure examples scroll along as they play. To bring back an example, type its number: the same number with the same settings always gives the same music.

Practicing alone? Pick One instrument above for just your part, with feedback as you play.

About sight-reading

Why practice it

Sight-reading is playing music you have never seen before. It comes up in chair tests, auditions, and the sight-reading room at festival, and it is also how fast you learn every new piece. Like scales, it gets better with a few minutes a day, more than with one long session.

Read before you play

Take the time you are given. Check the clef, the key signature, the time signature, and the tempo, then look for the hardest measure and the accidentals. Count the rhythms in your head and finger or stick through the hard spots silently. The sight-reading checklist walks through it step by step.

Keep going

Once you start, don't stop to fix a mistake: keep the beat and get back in at the next note you can. A steady pulse with a few missed notes sounds better, and scores better, than the right notes with stops in between. Pick a tempo slow enough to make it to the end.

Sight-reading for one instrument
FluteOboeClarinetBassoonAlto SaxTenor SaxBari SaxTrumpetFrench HornMellophoneTromboneEuphonium / BaritoneTubaMalletsSnare Drum

Read more

Band skillsA sight-reading checklist to run before playingWhat to check before you sight-read, what comes first when time is short, and how to keep going once you start.Rhythm1 e & a and other ways to count rhythmNumber counting, Takadimi, Kodály, and Gordon syllables compared, and why shared rehearsal words help your whole band.Band skillsKey signatures: which notes are sharp or flat, and remembering themHow to read a key signature, name the key, and stop missing sharps and flats in the middle of a piece.