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The Importance of Sight Reading for Guitarists

Okay, guys,
I just want to quickly talk to you about sight reading and how useful this can be to you as a guitarist and as a musician.

A Controversial Topic

It's a little bit of a controversial subject among popular guitarists. If you like, we're kind of renowned for perhaps not being the best readers amongst other musicians, which is perhaps true of some groups.

However, it is a really, really useful skill. It's come in handy for me ever since I've made it a focus of mine to get better at it. Although it can seem like quite an overwhelming topic, we can really break it down into nice, easy, digestible steps.

Downloadable Resource

What I've done is prepared a PDF for you to download that walks you through the basics of how to approach sight reading.

• For Rotschool Students: If you are doing the Rotschool syllabus, this may be a necessary part of your exam.
• Improvisation Option: If you opt out of doing the improvisation section, then you'll be doing sight reading instead.

Benefits of Sight Reading

Sight reading is beneficial not just for exams, but also for:

• Learning Pieces: Rather than just having to focus on learning by ear from the backing tracks, being able to read allows you to learn from the sheet music itself.
• Transcribing Solos: If you understand the process of sight reading, you can write out your own solos.
• Potential Careers: Looking ahead into potential careers as a musician, if you end up wanting to work in theatres or pits, sight reading is an absolutely essential skill.
  • You can't work those jobs without being able to read.
  • On many gigs, you're usually presented with charts if you're covering for someone, so having basic reading skills can really help alleviate the pressure of looking at a page and thinking, "I have no idea what this is."

Conclusion

So, please do download that PDF and check it out! It's a skill that can take you a long way in your musical journey.