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Sight-reading and sight-singing do different jobs (see sight-singing):
| Sight-singing | Sight-reading | |
|---|---|---|
| What you do | sing | play |
| What it trains | inner hearing | reading and real-time response |
The core principle deserves stating first:
Sight-reading trains you not to stop. Err rather than stop.
Why "keep going" matters more than "get it right"
Because musical time does not wait for you:
| Choice | Consequence |
|---|---|
| stop and correct it | the whole thing collapses — the pulse breaks and neither you nor anyone else can rejoin |
| keep going with the error | the music stays whole, and the error affects one moment only |
This is not lowering the standard; the standard for sight-reading is simply different — its aim is to turn the page into continuous music, not to get every note right.
It is most obvious in ensemble playing: stopping means everyone waiting for you — so the first requirement of ensemble sight-reading is "keep counting whatever happens" (see ensemble listening).
A three-step procedure
| Step | Do this | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 scan | check key, metre, tempo and the hard places (leaps, accidentals, changes of rhythm) | a few seconds |
| 2 set a tempo | choose one you can sustain to the end | the key judgement |
| 3 start and persist | do not stop for errors, keep moving | — |
Step 1 does not mean reading everything: catching the key, the metre and "where it will stick" is enough — reading it all through makes you forget the opening.
Step 2 needs experience: too fast and it collapses, too slow and the music evaporates. Slower is safer — getting to the end slowly beats collapsing quickly.
A strategy you must learn: simplifying
Simplifying is allowed in sight-reading, and it is the right thing to do:
| What to drop | What is kept |
|---|---|
| inner voices, keeping outer voices and bass | melody and harmonic skeleton |
| ornaments and secondary notes | rhythm and durations |
| all but the essential notes of a complex chord | the chord's quality |
The principle: rhythm and durations first, then the melodic line, and only last the full texture. Because once the rhythm goes, the music falls apart, whereas playing fewer notes still holds together.
Diagram: not stopping is the core
Listen: the importance of continuity
Use rhythm on an even, unbroken shape — the state sight-reading must maintain: every note arriving on time, no pauses. Notice how much stability continuity itself provides.
Common misconceptions
- "Sight-reading means getting it right the first time." Its aim is continuity, not every note correct.
- "You should go back and fix mistakes at once." In sight-reading never go back — stopping breaks the whole
- "Read the whole piece before starting." Only scan the key, metre and hard places; **reading it all makes you
- "You must play every voice." Simplifying is allowed: rhythm and melody first; playing fewer notes beats
(worse still in ensemble).
forget the opening**.
collapsing. :::
Listen in the library
All tracks from midicn-lib — inline badge is the license tier (C1 commercial / C2 non-commercial / C3 study only).
Sources
- 视奏训练的核心原则为保持连续性（不停顿），优于逐个音的正确性，为通行乐器教学表述
- 视奏的预备流程（先看调号 / 拍号 / 难点与结构）与"必要时简化"的策略，为通行表述
Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.