Posted by art H on November 15, 2001 at 20:07:22:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Sightreading posted by Erik on November 15, 2001 at 17:43:28:
When I had a symphony gig I taught myself to count on my fingers in binary. You can get up to 31 on one hand, and over a thousand with both, while reading science fiction. -But it has to be simple fiction. Bradbury was too complicated.
A more important skill is to jot down notes about who comes in in what bar during the long rests, so you won't have to count again.
As far as sight reading is concerned, it's very hard to learn when you are practicing alone because you tend to adjust tempos for convenience and to practice the same stuff every day. You end up learning how to play from memory instead of from the chart in front of you. If you can't play in a group reading new stuff every day then the next best thing is to use a metronome while reading new stuff every day.