Sight Reading For Guitar

"Finally! A classical guitar sight reading page
with great suggestions that are useable..."

A lot of guitarists worry about learning to sight read. It is like anything else to do with guitar�you just need regular (hopefully daily) practice.

Another thing to consider is not trying to read music that is beyond your technical capabilities. You need to "hasten slowly" as it were.

A good habit to get into is to read the piece "mentally" before actually playing it. Just take a minute or so to familiarize yourself with the piece. This will help you notice any "danger" areas before you actually play it and you will find that you actually have more confidence when you play.

Also you should not try to play the piece too fast although it should be as close to a "performance" as possible. You'll find that as you get better your playing will be closer to actual speed more and more until it becomes second nature to you.

It's like anything when you begin - it's hard! But given time and quality practice it'll become easier and easier.

Another thing to remember is not to get too fussed about mistakes and keep going back to the start when you sight read.

Just play the piece at a slower tempo and "roll with the punches" accepting any mistakes for what they are�yes that's right! - learning opportunities!

According to David Braid writing in Play Classical Guitar the Ninth Position of the guitar is important when you sight read... "not only because it completes the fingerboard, but it's also another very commonly used position - finger 4 plays the 12th fret here (the octave point)."

The point being made is you need to know certain positions and points on the guitar as it makes it easier, especially in the higher positions so spend a little time to pre-learn these.

Here is a graphic of what he means...

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Additionally, you might use these great books by Robert Benedict...

Sight Reading for the Classical Guitar - Levels 1 to 3 Written by Robert Benedict. Instructional book for classical guitar. With standard guitar notation, instructional text, musical examples and introductory text. 43 pages. Published by Belwin. (AP.EL02942)
See more info...

Sight Reading for the Classical Guitar - Levels 4 to 5 Written by Robert Benedict. Instructional book for classical guitar. With standard guitar notation, instructional text, musical examples and introductory text. 64 pages. Published by Belwin. (AP.EL02943)
See more info...

I hope these little tips help you to improve!

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