Sight Reading Tips for Guitar Players
By Ryan Gloman

Sight reading is one of the most valuable skills that any musician should develop. At the same time, it is one of the least practiced skills in the music world. This is probably because it is often a tedious and frustrating task to practice. It is my hope in this article to give you some sight reading tips that will make your practice easier and more enjoyable. One last thing before I begin. The title of this article may be a bit misleading. I am a guitarist and I wrote this article with guitarists in mind, but the information in this article can translate to any instrumentalist or even singers.

My first tip is to always keep going. When you are practicing sight reading it will be extremely tempting to stop when you mess up and review the passage that you messed up on. I urge you not to do this. The goal in sight reading is to be able to play through an entire piece the first time you see it. If you are constantly stopping and starting, you are not practicing towards this end. This can be one of the most frustrating aspects of your sight reading practice but trust me, just keep going. If you need to, slow down your tempo. Which leads to my second tip...

Always use a metronome. This is the only way that you can be certain you are keeping good time. Most people don't keep time as well as they think they do. Add to this the fact that you are trying to decipher pitches and rhythms and you are bound to get off the beat. Just use a metronome to help guide you in this department. As with all metronome practice, start slow and increase in small steps.

My third tip is to read ahead. Think of it like walking or driving a car. You don't look at the ground in front of you. You look ahead several feet or several hundred feet. The same is true in successful sight reading. Try to read ahead by one or two measures and you will experience a smoother ride.

My fourth tip is to work on the rhythm first. This is often the most difficult part of sight reading. However, most people think they struggle with the pitches. This is not true. Rhythmic aspects of the music will trip up more would-be sight readers than pitches any day. In the beginning, try tapping the rhythm on your knee before playing through the piece.

My last tip is simply to practice and then to practice some more. Sight reading will never come easy. The only road to get there is the road of consistent and focused practice. Get some music you love. This can make practicing more enjoyable than only working with sight reading exercises. A transcription of your favorite artist can be an invaluable tool.

I hope that you are able to employ some of my sight reading tips in your musical future. It really will put you head and shoulders above the competition. I guarantee it. Good luck and remember - focused and consistent practice!

My name is Ryan Gloman and I have a passion for guitar and a passion for sharing information. I hope that this article helps you on your way to becoming a great guitarist. I understand that learning to play the guitar can be a daunting task at times. Luckily, you can find tons of helpful info on the net. Check out this site for some great tools.

Source: Ultimate guitar blog.