Hello and welcome back. I'm Joseph Hoffman.
Today we're going to take another sight reading challenge, so let's come to the piano to get started.
Here's our first sight reading challenge.
Every day when you sight read, I'd like you to follow some steps, and you can find these steps in your Sight Reading Trainer Book 2.
First step is to perform the rhythm. So what's our time signature?
If you look here, you can see it's 3/4, so we'll be counting three beats in every measure.
And since we have eighth notes, let's go ahead and count the subdivided beat.
So it will sound like this: 1-& 2-& 3-&, 1-& 2-& 3-& etc.
All right, now if you need the extra help, you could pause the video and write in the subdivided counts.
Like 1-& 2-& 3-&, but eventually I'd like you to get to the place you could do that in your head.
Okay, try and imagine the beats that each note is taking up. You know this half note takes two beats,
so when you get to beat 3, you've got to be doing that quarter note okay?
Pause the video and try tapping these
this rhythm as you count the beat out loud, then press play and we'll try it together.
Okay, let's try this. I'll count 3 beats to get us ready, then we'll start.
1-& 2-& 3-&, 1-& 2-& 3-&
1-& 2-& 3-&
Great, now once you've done the rhythm, the next step is to look at the intervals. How the notes are moving.
Can you tell me the interval from here to here? Actually, first let's name
the note that we start on. What's the letter name?
If you said B you're correct.
If here's my middle C,
this challenge is starting on B, and then how does it move next? What interval from here to here?
If you said down a fifth, you're correct. We go from B down to E, then what?
Back up a fifth.
Now pause the video, and I'd like you to name all the notes. Tell me how they're moving.
You don't have to name the letter names, just say down a step or down a second and continue on from there.
Then press play and I'll tell you the correct answer.
The correct answer was, we already did down a fifth, up a fifth, then down a step, or you could have said down a second.
Both of those mean the same thing, right?
Up a step or up a second, down a fifth, up a third, up a step, up a step, down a fourth, down a step, up a step, up a step, down a third.
Now I'd like you to pause the video and point and say the letter name for each note.
And by now maybe you're thinking, Mr. Hoffman why are there so many steps? Why do I got to name this and name that?
Well, trust me. Doing all these steps is going to help make you a pro sight reader.
Eventually you'll be able to do this all in your head. You'll be able to see any note and boom, instantly know.
But we've got to practice, we've got to drill, and do these steps so that you can quickly name, identify and play any note you see.
So trust me, do these steps. Someday you'll thank me.
Pause the video, name the letter names, then press play and I'll tell you the correct answer.
Okay, you should have said B E B A B E G-sharp, don't forget the sharp.
That's going to be important when we play it. A B F-sharp E. What about this one? Is this F?
No. It's an F-sharp. Remember a sharp lives until the bar line.
So this F is also F-sharp, G-sharp, E.
So what pentascale are we in here?
You notice the lowest note was E, the highest note was B.
We also had an F-sharp and a G-sharp and an A.
Do you recognize that pentascale? It's e major.
Now,
with your right hand in the E major pentascale, right hand because we're in treble clef,
when we have notes in the treble staff, that's usually going to be played by your right hand.
So finger 5 starting on B, I'd like you to pause the video and try to play this melody
while you count the beat out loud.
All right, try that on your own until you feel like you've played it with no missed notes, and then I'll show you the correct answer.
Okay, I'm placing my right hand finger 5 on B, and I'm covering up the E major pentascale,
and here's what it should sound like:
1-& 2-& 3-&, 1-& 2-& 3-&
1-& 2-& 3-& 1-& 2-& 3-&
Now, if that's what it sounded like when you played, great job.
If you need to fix something, then you can always pause the video and work on correcting it before we go on.
Here's our next sight reading challenge for today:
First, I'd like you to pause the video and you're going to do the rhythm for me.
If you want you can write in the subdivided counts for this melody,
but if you think you can do that in your head that's fine too. On your own, tap the rhythm while you count the beat.
We have 2 beats per measure, because we're in 2/4.
So it would be 1-& 2-&, and the rest I'm going to let you figure out. So pause to tap the rhythm while you count the beat.
Writing in the counts is optional, and then press play and we'll do it together.
Now I have a super challenge for you. As we do this together, can you not just tap the rhythm but can you
follow the dynamic markings.
So see if you can speak the rhythm piano. Tap it piano, and then we'll crescendo here, and then decrescendo to the end.
Let's try that. I'll count 2 beats, and then we'll start.
1-& 2-&,
1-& 2-&, 1-& 2-&
Great, now pause the video and I'd like you to tell me how the notes are moving.
You can say start on G, because I can see we're a step above the F line,
then down a second, repeat, and then you do the rest.
Pause to say how the notes are moving by steps, or repeats, or the interval if it's a skip, and then press play and I'll tell you the correct answer.
For the correct answer, if you want to say it along with me you can. Start on G,
step down, repeat, skip up a third, step down, repeat, skip up a third, step down, repeat, step up, step up,
repeat, step down, step down, step down, repeat, step down.
Lots of stepping and repeating in this one.
All right pause the video one more time, and I'd like you to say all the letter names with flats if appropriate.
And remember, a flat symbol lives until the bar line, don't forget that.
Pause to name all the letter names of the notes, then press play and we'll check the right answer.
All right you should have said, if you want to try saying it along with me you can,
G F F A-flat, G G B-flat, A-flat, A-flat, B-flat, C C B-flat, A-flat, G G F
What pentascale are we in?
You can pause the video if you want a second to try and figure it out
on your own, but let's look at this. The lowest note is what?
It's this F. Bass F below middle C, then we had a G, and we had an A-flat, we had a B-flat, and then we had a C.
Do you recognize that pentascale?
We are in the F minor pentascale.
Now, I'd like you to pause the video and try to play this melody while you count the beat out loud using which hand?
Your left hand will almost always take notes that you see in the bass staff.
So with your left hand counting the beat out loud, try to play this melody.
Try and follow the dynamics,
and remember one of the key tricks to good sight reading is to keep your eye on the notes not on your fingers.
See if you can challenge yourself by never looking down at your fingers.
A good sight reader is going to keep his or her eyes on the notes.
Pause to try sight reading this challenge, then press play and we'll check it out together.
So, I'm going to take my left hand finger 4 on G,
and my other fingers will fall into this F minor pentascale,
and this should sound like this:
1-& 2-&, 1-& 2-&,
1-& 2-&, 1-& 2-&
Here's our last sight reading challenge for today.
You'll notice that we're in the grand staff this time, so we'll need to be using both hands. Right hand up here, left hand down here.
What's our time signature?
It's 5/4. It's a little bit rare of a time signature, but it's a cool time signature. We're going to count 5 beats per measure.
If you scan through a melody and you don't see any eighth notes, we don't really need to count the subdivided beat. It may be simpler
since there are no eighth notes to just count 1 2 3 4 5
Just name the beats themselves.
And what I'd like you to do right now is pause the video, and as you count the beat
remember 5 beats per measure before the bar line then it starts over at 1,
and I'd like you to use your left hand to tap the base staff notes, and use your right hand
to tap the treble staff notes. 1 2 3 4 5
Alright, pause the video to try that once on your own, then press play and we'll try it together.
All right, let's tap this rhythm while we count the beat.
I'll count 5 beats, and then we'll start here on beat 1.
Ready, here we go: 1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
I tapped a little extra out on this one because of the accent symbol.
As your sight reading, try to not just look at the notes and rhythms but also try and incorporate the dynamics too.
Now the next step is usually to name how the notes are moving or the intervals.
Let's focus on the right hand first.
This is what's called a harmonic interval when you play two or more notes at the same time the distance between any two notes played together
is called a harmonic interval. If I played them one at a time, we'd call that a melodic interval,
but because they're bunched like this with one stem, we know that's played like a chord.
What interval do you see?
That's a second, or a step is the more
common or casual term for it, but technically a second here, and then what interval do we go to here?
If you set a third, you're correct.
The C stayed the same, but the top note stepped up. Top note. Try saying that five times fast.
Now what interval do you see here?
If you set a fourth, you're correct. Fourth, fourth, what do you see here?
Third, fourth, and what's this one? Another fourth.
Great, let's look at the left hand. What note do we start on? Can you tell me the letter name?
If you said bass F you're correct. Good old bass F, repeat, step up. Now you go on by yourself.
You should have said G, repeat, step up, step down, step down, repeat, with lots of these quarter rests in between.
You'll notice every time one hand is playing, the other hand is resting.
So we're going to take turns until we get here to the last measure we're playing hands together.
Now, do you see any sharps or flats in this exercise?
No, so this won't necessarily be in a certain pentascale. Let's look at what the position for our hand will be.
Fingers 1 and 2 are on C and D, so try that for your right hand,
and then for your left hand, finger 3 is on this bass F.
So that's the position for this example, this challenge.
Now, pause the video and on your own see if you can play this challenge while you count the beat.
Don't just play the notes, try to also incorporate the dynamics.
and once you feel like you've done that, you can press play and I'll show you the correct answer.
Remember, keep your eyes on the notes, eyes on the page, not on your fingers.
So I've got my left hand finger 3 on F, my right hand fingers 1 and 2 on C and D,
and here's what this one sounds like:
1 2 3 4 5
Great work and concentration on the sight reading challenge today.
Why do we practice sight reading?
It's a super useful skill. I'll give you a real life example.
One time, someone called me up and said, I'm supposed to sing at church tomorrow and I need a pianist to play for me!
It was a musical emergency, as my wife likes to call it.
We only had time to practice it one time together, so they brought me the music and I simply had to sight read it.
Fortunately, I'd been practicing my sight reading skills for a long time, so I didn't even sweat it.
I was able to play it no problem on my first try, and the performance at church went great.
That's not because I'm so gifted at music,
it's because I've spent a lot of time practicing my sight reading,
so I can open up almost any piece of music and play it on my first try if it's not too hard.
And that's why I encourage you to practice your sight reading skills every day.
Happy practicing, and see you next time!
Time to practice my sight reading
Oh, Scuba. You look really tired this morning.
Yeah, I was up all night!
Up all night? What were you doing?
Well, I was trying forever to figure out where the sun had gone,
and then it dawned on me.
Haha, dawned on you, eh? Good one.
You know, the two of us should really write our own theatrical performance all about puns.
Yeah, I guess we'd call that a play on words. Hahaha.