Read at Sight
Volume 3: Two Voices
The left hand gets its own music: broken chords, Alberti basses and real second voices, in 6/8 time and in keys with up to two sharps or flats.
Contents
Each unit adds exactly one new idea to everything before it.
- Unit 1 Broken ChordsTriads; the left hand plays I, IV and V7 one note at a time
- Unit 2 The Alberti BassBroken chords in eighth notes: low, high, middle, high
- Unit 3 Six-Eight Time6/8: two beats in a bar, each beat split into three eighths
- Unit 4 D MajorTwo sharps (F-sharp and C-sharp); D major and its chords
- Unit 5 B-flat MajorTwo flats (B-flat and E-flat); B-flat major and its chords
- Unit 6 AccidentalsSharps, flats and naturals inside the bar; the raised 7th in minor keys
- Unit 7 Two Notes at OnceRight-hand thirds and sixths: reading two notes together
- Unit 8 Two Independent VoicesA left-hand melody against the right hand: contrary and parallel motion
- Unit 9 ImitationSimple counterpoint: one hand answers the other with the same tune
- Unit 10 ReviewEverything in Volume 3 together
How to use this book
What is new in Volume 3
In Volumes 1 and 2 the left hand mostly held long notes while the right hand played the tune. Now both hands have something to say. The left hand plays broken chords and Alberti basses, then a melody of its own, and the right hand starts to play two notes at once. You will also meet 6/8 time, the keys of D major and B-flat major, and sharps and flats that are not in the key signature. Start this book when you can read Volume 2 music, with shifts, dotted rhythms and dynamics, in C, G and F major and their relative minors.
The five rules
1. Never stop: keep the beat going, even after a wrong note. 2. Count out loud and use a metronome at the speed shown. 3. Keep your eyes on the music, not your hands. 4. Read the shape: up, down, or the same, and by how much. 5. Play each exercise once, tick its box, and move on. Come back only after a few weeks.
Before every exercise: 10 seconds
Check the clef and time signature. Find the first note and its finger number. Scan for the highest and lowest note, and for any bar that repeats an earlier one. Then count one bar in and play.
How each unit is laid out
A unit opens with what is new, a keyboard picture of the hand position, and reading tips. Then come Parts A, B and C, which grow slightly harder. Pieces come next, and the unit ends with a checkpoint that tells you when to move on.
A daily routine (15-20 minutes)
Warm up by playing the five notes of the hand position up and down, saying their names (2 minutes). Read 6-10 new exercises, one pass each (10 minutes). Play one piece, aiming for steady and musical (5 minutes).