Free Sight Reading Resources
Sight reading is often a nightmare for classical guitarists. But if you dedicate yourself to the skill, it means you can read through pieces fluently the first time through. This means you can save HOURS of tedious practice learning notes and rhythms. Problem is… there are very few effective and relevant resources out there for us classical guitarists!
Here are all the resources you need to become a fluent reader:
1) Teoria: click
This website provides you with all the tools you need to master your knowledge of theory in a practical way. Gain fluency in your recognition of notes, intervals, chords, scales, key signatures and more.
Master your fluency of music theory. Use this process to help:
1) Identify
2) Sing
3) Play
2) Complete Giuliani Scores: click
Giuliani was a highly acclaimed composer of his time and still is to this day! There’s a reason for it - his music is very well crafted. This means that you can learn a lot about music by playing Giuliani’s pieces. There should be enough here to choose from to keep you going for a long time. Just click around until you find something you’re comfortable with (but not too comfortable!) - the difficulty level will vary.
A random click
Clicking on ‘Op.2 Six Variations’ brings you to this. Should make for some nice sight reading!
3) Boije’s Collection: click
This site has hundreds of public domain pieces by various composers. Go through randomly, or alphabetically. Below is the first example from the ‘A’ page - a few very chordal pieces by Adege.
A Challenge… But
Notice how much detail is given - you get position, string and fret number. This is how you should always THINK when sight reading.
4) Bonus: Supercharge Your Sight Reading
CCG has together an online course and eBooks that guide you through the process of sight reading. It’s all broken down into bit-sized tasks that help you see music in a whole new way.
Sign up to CCG and you can access the course, or check out the 5 volume eBook set here.
eBooks: 5 Volumes
"There is much more to sight reading than simply reading notes on a page. With this course you will be introduced to all the things you should be focusing on to improve your reading and musicianship.
— Christine