Sight Reading Challenge

Hello and welcome back. I'm Joseph Hoffman. Today we're going to take another sight reading challenge, so let's come to the piano to get started. Here's our first sight reading challenge. Every day when you sight read, I'd like you to follow some steps, and you can find these steps in your Sight Reading Trainer Book 2. First step is to perform the rhythm. So what's our time signature? If you look here, you can see it's 3/4, so we'll be counting three beats in every measure. And since we have eighth notes, let's go ahead and count the subdivided beat. So it will sound like this: 1-& 2-& 3-&, 1-& 2-& 3-& etc. All right, now if you need the extra help, you could pause the video and write in the subdivided counts. Like 1-& 2-& 3-&, but eventually I'd like you to get to the place you could do that in your head. Okay, try and imagine the beats that each note is taking up. You know this half note takes 2 beats, so when you get to beat 3, you've got to be doing that quarter note okay? Pause the video and try tapping these this rhythm as you count the beat out loud, then press play and we'll try it together. Okay, let's try this. I'll count 3 beats to get us ready, then we'll start. 1-& 2-& 3-&, 1-& 2-& 3-& 1-& 2-& 3-&, 1-& 2-& 3-& 1-& 2-& 3-&, 1-& 2-& 3-& 1-& 2-& 3-& Great, now once you've done the rhythm, the next step is to look at the intervals. How the notes are moving. Can you tell me the interval from here to here? Actually, first let's name the note that we start on. What's the letter name? If you said B you're correct. If here's my middle C, this challenge is starting on B, and then how does it move next? What interval from here to here? If you said down a fifth, you're correct. We go from B down to E, then what? Back up a fifth. Now pause the video, and I'd like you to name all the notes. Tell me how they're moving. You don't have to name the letter names, just say down a step or down a second and continue on from there. Then press play and I'll tell you the correct answer. The correct answer was, we already did down a fifth, up a fifth, then down a step, or you could have said down a second. Both of those mean the same thing, right? Up a step or up a second, down a fifth, up a third, up a step, up a step, down a fourth, down a step, up a step, up a step, down a third. Now I'd like you to pause the video and point and say the letter name for each note. And by now maybe you're thinking, Mr. Hoffman why are there so many steps? Why do I got to name this and name that? Well, trust me. Doing all these steps is going to help make you a pro sight reader. Eventually you'll be able to do this all in your head. You'll be able to see any note and boom, instantly know. But we've got to practice, we've got to drill, and do these steps so that you can quickly name, identify and play any note you see. So trust me, do these steps. Someday you'll thank me. Pause the video, name the letter names, then press play and I'll tell you the correct answer. Okay, you should have said B E B A B E G-sharp, don't forget the sharp. That's going to be important when we play it. A B F-sharp E. What about this one? Is this F? No. It's an F-sharp. Remember a sharp lives until the bar line. So this F is also F-sharp, G-sharp, E. So what pentascale are we in here? You notice the lowest note was E, the highest note was B. We also had an F-sharp and a G-sharp and an A. Do you recognize that pentascale? It's e major. Now, with your right hand in the E major pentascale, right hand because we're in treble clef, when we have notes in the treble staff, that's usually going to be played by your right hand. So finger 5 starting on B, I'd like you to pause the video and try to play this melody while you count the beat out loud. All right, try that on your own until you feel like you've played it with no missed notes, and then I'll show you the correct answer. Okay, I'm placing my right hand finger 5 on B, and I'm covering up the E major pentascale, and here's what it should sound like: 1-& 2-& 3-&, 1-& 2-& 3-& 1-& 2-& 3-&, 1-& 2-& 3-& 1-& 2-& 3-& 1-& 2-& 3-& Now, if that's what it sounded like when you played, great job. If you need to fix something, then you can always pause the video and work on correcting it before we go on. Here's our next sight reading challenge for today: First, I'd like you to pause the video and you're going to do the rhythm for me. If you want you can write in the subdivided counts for this melody, but if you think you can do that in your head that's fine too. On your own, tap the rhythm while you count the beat. We have 2 beats per measure, because we're in 2/4. So it would be 1-& 2-&, and the rest I'm going to let you figure out. So pause to tap the rhythm while you count the beat. Writing in the counts is optional, and then press play and we'll do it together. Now I have a super challenge for you. As we do this together, can you not just tap the rhythm but can you follow the dynamic markings. So see if you can speak the rhythm piano. Tap it piano, and then we'll crescend ...