Tools

Alto Sax sight-reading

A new 4-measure melody every time, written for your part. Play along after the count-in and see which notes were right and on time.
Who's reading
Level
Time signature
Tempo
80 BPM
Length

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

Sound

You hear a recorded alto sax. On a slow connection you hear the synthesized one.

Example 4548 · Concert B♭ · written in G · 4/4
44

Play along after the count-in. Headphones keep the click out of the microphone.

How to use it

Study the example first with the sight-reading checklist: clef, key signature, time signature, and the rhythms. Press Hear it to check yourself afterward, not before.

Press Play along, wait for the count-in, and play. Each note turns green when it was right and on time, amber when it was the right note but early or late, and red when it was wrong or missed.

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.

Alto Sax scale sheetAlto Sax fingering chartSaxophone guides and practice
Other instruments
FluteOboeClarinetBassoonTenor 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.