Read at Sight
Volume 5: Repertoire Reading
Real piano music: two voices in one hand, chorales, chromatic notes, triplets, every key, the pedal and ornaments, with pieces by Bach, Beethoven, Schumann and Chopin.
Contents
Each unit adds exactly one new idea to everything before it.
- Unit 1 Two Voices in One HandA tune and a held voice in the same hand: stems up and stems down
- Unit 2 ChoralesFour voices on two staves; chords on every degree of the scale, and first inversions
- Unit 3 Chromatic NotesChromatic passing and neighbour notes, V7 of V, the melodic minor
- Unit 4 Triplets and New Time SignaturesEighth-note triplets; 3/8, 9/8, 12/8 and 2/2 (alla breve)
- Unit 5 Four Sharps and Four FlatsE major and A-flat major; C-sharp minor (B-sharp) and F minor (E-natural)
- Unit 6 Every KeyFive, six and seven sharps or flats; enharmonic keys (F-sharp = G-flat)
- Unit 7 Pedal, Clefs and the Whole KeyboardThe sustain pedal; the left hand in the treble clef and the right hand in the bass clef
- Unit 8 Counterpoint, Ornaments and ReviewSequences and imitation; trills, mordents, turns and grace notes; review
How to use this book
What is new in Volume 5
This is the last volume. The hand positions of Volumes 1-4 give way to reading as pianists do: by key, by chord shape and by pattern. Finger numbers now appear only where a passage needs a particular fingering. You will read two voices in one hand, four-part chorales, chromatic notes, triplets and four new time signatures, every major and minor key, the sustain pedal, clef changes and ornaments. Most of the pieces are real music: Bach chorales and inventions, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Chopin and Satie. Start this book when you can read Volume 4 music: chords in both hands, ledger lines, syncopation, sixteenths and keys with three sharps or flats.
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
Name the key (the key signature and the last bass note) and the time signature. Look at the left hand's pattern: held chords, a waltz, a broken chord, a second voice? Find the highest and lowest notes, any accidentals, and 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, short examples, and reading tips. Parts A to C (sometimes D) are generated exercises that practise the new idea. The pieces come next: in this volume they are the heart of each unit, and most are real music by the great composers. A checkpoint ends the unit.
A daily routine (15-20 minutes)
Warm up with the scale and the I, IV and V chords of the day's key (2 minutes). Read 4-6 new exercises, one pass each (8 minutes). Then read one piece, or a page of one, and practise a passage from it (8 minutes).