It's that time again! A new month means another opportunity to explore a new musicianship skill with your students! (Want to learn more about Musicianship Monthly and see past activities? Click HERE!)
This month, we are wrapping up the school year with an important skill that your students can practice all summer long: sight-reading! Read on for my favorite resources and tips for turning your students into super sight-readers--along with a fun "super sight-reader" challenge chart!
Sight-reading is an extremely valuable skill. While some people seem to be "born sight-readers," I think any student can become a super sight-reader with the right tools and lots of practice.
This month, use some of the following handy resources with your students to work on their sight-reading skills!
5 Tips for Turning Your Students into Super Sight-Readers
If you haven't already read this article, start here! It is full of helpful strategies that will help your students get the most out of their sight-reading practice.
Free Patriotic Name That Tune worksheets
These fun "name-that-tune" worksheets are a great way to get your students sight-reading during lessons. They are also perfect to use around Memorial Day and the Fourth of July! Each level contains 4 excerpts from well-known American patriotic songs. Students sight-read each line and try to "name-that-tune."
Free Sheet Music at G Major Music Theory
This website (run by Gilbert de Benedetti) is one of my favorite resources for finding free sheet music at a variety of levels--from beginning to late intermediate. Lots of great sight-reading pieces right at your fingertips here! I like to choose pieces one to two levels lower than my students are currently playing to use for sight-reading practice.
Chord and Interval Exercises at MusicTheory.net
Teaching students to look for patterns such as chords and intervals is a great sight-reading strategy. The free exercises at MusicTheory.net (also found on the app Tenuto) are customizable for any level of student. I like to have students play each chord or interval on the piano as it comes up in the exercise.
Piano Maestro for iPad
Finally, if you have an iPad, the app Piano Maestro is an excellent tool for sight-reading. My favorite thing about this app is that the music scrolls across the screen as the student plays--so there is no stopping and no going back to the beginning of the piece. There are also a variety of levels to choose from.
This month, use some of the following handy resources with your students to work on their sight-reading skills!
5 Tips for Turning Your Students into Super Sight-Readers
If you haven't already read this article, start here! It is full of helpful strategies that will help your students get the most out of their sight-reading practice.
Free Patriotic Name That Tune worksheets
These fun "name-that-tune" worksheets are a great way to get your students sight-reading during lessons. They are also perfect to use around Memorial Day and the Fourth of July! Each level contains 4 excerpts from well-known American patriotic songs. Students sight-read each line and try to "name-that-tune."
Free Sheet Music at G Major Music Theory
This website (run by Gilbert de Benedetti) is one of my favorite resources for finding free sheet music at a variety of levels--from beginning to late intermediate. Lots of great sight-reading pieces right at your fingertips here! I like to choose pieces one to two levels lower than my students are currently playing to use for sight-reading practice.
Chord and Interval Exercises at MusicTheory.net
Teaching students to look for patterns such as chords and intervals is a great sight-reading strategy. The free exercises at MusicTheory.net (also found on the app Tenuto) are customizable for any level of student. I like to have students play each chord or interval on the piano as it comes up in the exercise.
Piano Maestro for iPad
Finally, if you have an iPad, the app Piano Maestro is an excellent tool for sight-reading. My favorite thing about this app is that the music scrolls across the screen as the student plays--so there is no stopping and no going back to the beginning of the piece. There are also a variety of levels to choose from.
 | Finally, put all of these resources to the test! Encourage your students to take the super sight-reader challenge and sight-read a new piece of music each day this month! Click HERE to download your free challenge worksheet! |
What do you think? Are your students super sight-readers? What are your favorite strategies for working on sight-reading with your students? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments!
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