Did you LEARN TO SIGHT READ late in life?

Question:I am an accomplised guitar player learning to sight read at 30 years old. It's tough...any advice?
Did you start late?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: I am an accomplised guitar player learning to sight read at 30 years old. It's tough...any advice?
Did you start late?

I posted this else where in regards to sight reading -

Sight Reading - There are several ways to improve sight reading... the first is quite simple... Read music. Never look down at the fretboard. You have to get use to reading music and moving your hands and fingers accordingly. You can't sight read if you can't read music. But you're thinking "I can read music".... truthfully, you can't... Let me explain. You can read music as in read the notes, rhythms, dynamics. Sure, but when you read it is slowly and at your pace. Once you learn the music and begin to memorize people tend to look away to test memory. When you have the music in front of you, you are not truly reading, you are looking at it while your fingers move due to muscle memory.

Reading music means actively telling yourself what to do. Commanding the fingers. Try it, put something in front of you and verbally tell yourself what to do. You will find it not so easy. Always be conscious about your practice. Constantly tell yourself notes, patterns, if you see scales, fingerings, countings... etc.

Second - read duets with someone who is better than you. This way you will be forced to keep up with the other person. In sight reading we tend to go slowly and slow down when things get hard. Well when you read with someone who is better than you, you will be force do read faster and react quickly to what is going on. You can't stop... if you make a mistake, you have to learn to jump or if things get tricky, learn to reduce, leave out a hand until you can get it back in or play chords.

Third - recognize patterns. If you see a scale in sight reading, quickly glance the rhythm, starting/ending notes, any accidentals. If it is a C scale, then you know the fingering, just keep the rhythm and then focus on the other hand. Do this will all patterns you see

Four - Use your ear. Most of the time you can predict where the melody is going. Trust your ear. Music is about listening. Try to be proactive by listening for resolutions and predicting where the music will end up.

Five - Reduce - drop notes, play the top note of a chord. It is more important to keep going than to stop and correct mistakes! You are sight reading. The goal is to always move forward. Leave out challenging parts if you have to and play the other hand.

Again - practice reading! That is the most important thing. If the music is in front of you, don't look down. When you look down it takes time to look up, find the music and then look down to find the notes. Keeping your eyes on the music will also train your hands to learn the fretboard geography. And tell yourself what you are playing. Always be conscious and direct your hands to where they have to go.

I startes in the varsity choir in 8th grade. I had been singing for years but just by ear so when the director found out i couldnt sight read she was a little shocked. I still havent learned and never took another choir class because she made that the worst year of my life just beacause i could not learn how to sight read.. Its not the way i was used to singing. Im 19 now and still sing by ear. Forget sightreading!

Make up a bunch of staffs of random notes (within a comfortable range for you) and using solfege (do rei me etc.) sing through the notes. At first, you can play through with yourself on the piano or guitar or whatever. Once you start to get the hang of it, however, don't play along on an insturment and check yourself occasionally to make sure you are still singing on pitch. It took me a lot of effort and a long time to be able to sight read passably through this method, but I can pick up a piece of music and read through my part fairly accurately now. Really the best way to get better is practice, even though I'm sure thats the last answer you want to hear.
I'm still pretty young, so I wouldn't say I started late, but I know it is more than possible to pick it up at your age. My father had never been musically inclined but he learned to play the guitar, the drums, and the saxophone, as well as sight read all after the age of 45. Good luck!

I'm your age and I feel your pain. It's like learning paint by numbers in the dark . I used to write the name of the notes over the staff until i could read by site. That was in 1988 and I was in middle school, and I have forgotten all of it. Swithched to the guitar 15 years ago, and barely know the modes. I just play what sounds good. I don't think its ever to late to become a better musician with a stronger knowledge of his craft.

Yes... I'm still learning now (27). This book was a pretty neat read... It opened my mind to the world around me as far as just listening and understanding that there's music everywhere. I'll find pitch in the sound of water moving... wind... anything.

"Hearing and Writing Music. Professional Training for Today's Musician" By: Ron Gorow

Best to you - you're never too old to keep learning! :)

I started a bit later than you. The most important thing to start with is getting the lines and spaces memorized. Then, the note lengths. Flash cards can help you with these. Then learn to associate the note with the proper pitch and how to play it. For example, have someone turn over a card with middle C and you play it.