In 1984, I attended a master class lead by the great David Hickman at the St. Louis Conservatory of Music. David opened my eyes to the importance of mastering sight reading. Hearing him say to keep your eyes one measure ahead of where you're reading music was life changing for me. I immediately ran to the practice room and became a much better sight reader. Every practice session for the next 30 years involved sight reading an etude, solo piece, for the first time and playing it as if I'd played it hundreds of times! Upon attending the Juilliard School from 1986-1991, I began a free lance career of subbing on Broadway musicals, playing recording sessions for television ads and major motion pictures having no idea what I'd be playing until I arrived. Mastering sight reading allowed me to be incredibly successful in being able to play anything with success that was put on the music stand at any given time! Here are the seven important rules to successfully master sight reading:
1. Time signature
2. Key signature
3. Articulations
a. Staccato
b. Legato
c. Slurs
d. Accents
4. Dynamics
5. Look at the fastest notes and choose a tempo that will not allow you to slow down when you play the fast notes.
6. Most important aspect: If you make a mistake, do not go back and fix it. Play through the etude without stopping!
7. Keep your eyes one measure ahead of where you're reading.