| As an organist, I have been working in club land in | | | | then start to play, but do not stop. If you make |
| the North of England for the past 30 years or so | | | | a mistake it doesn't matter, you're not learning |
| and one of the crucial qualifications in this | | | | how to play the piece of sheet music you are |
| environment is the ability to sight read music on | | | | learning to sight read it. You have to be strict with |
| demand. When I say music this can be anything | | | | yourself and don't stop playing, even when there |
| from a beer matt to a ripped piece of paper | | | | are lots of mistakes. |
| repaired with selotape and stained with beer. | | | | When you have finished playing the piece of |
| To be fair most of the music is written by | | | | sheet music, you can then go back to the parts |
| professionals and is nice to read but not always | | | | of the music that were giving you problems and |
| easy. As a club organist, you do not get a band | | | | learn how to play it. |
| call. In fact, you are lucky to get five minutes to | | | | Basically sight reading, is the ability to recognise |
| scan through between 10 and 15 pieces of music. | | | | musical phrases instantly. For instance if I ask you |
| Some written in different keys and some organist | | | | to read and play a 1 bar phrase consisting of |
| will tell you they hate it when they get a piece of | | | | Middle C, D, E and F, all crotchets, you should be |
| sheet music written in six sharps, six flats, or | | | | able to play this phrase almost instantly without |
| even seven sharps, and there is a solo especially | | | | even thinking about it. Now, if I write the same |
| for you. Oh the joys of live music. | | | | phrase out again but two octaves higher, you |
| So how do you improve your sight-reading? Well I | | | | might have to look at it twice. This is because the |
| asked my music teacher this very question when | | | | notation, two octaves above Middle C, is not as |
| I first started playing in clubs, because I knew I | | | | common. |
| would have to play sheet music that I had never | | | | Musical phrases are like words, we tend to learn |
| seen before. His answer was to practice | | | | what we need then stop learning new ones. So |
| sight-reading. He went on to tell me that session | | | | it's probably no surprise that the intelligent people |
| musicians practice by picking up any music book | | | | of the world know lots of words and really good |
| start playing on page one and continue until they | | | | keyboard players know lots of musical phrases. |
| have finished the book. | | | | If you really want to test yourself. Get yourself |
| Does it work? Yes it does. Try it for yourself, | | | | an audience. I practice my sight-reading every |
| pick up any piece of music you can find, | | | | week in front of a 200 plus audience. It certainly |
| preferably one that you are not that familiar with, | | | | makes you concentrate. |