The Importance of Sight Reading for Guitarists

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

A Controversial Subject

It's a little bit of a controversial subject among popular guitarists. We're kind of renowned for perhaps not being the best readers among other musicians, which is perhaps true of some groups. However, sight reading is a really, really useful skill.

It's come in handy for me ever since I've made it a focus to improve my skills. Although it can seem like quite an overwhelming topic, we can break it down into nice, easy, digestible steps.

Additional Resources

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

Exam Requirements

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

Benefits of Sight Reading

Not only is it useful for exams, but it also aids in:

• Learning your pieces: Rather than just having to focus on learning by ear from backing tracks, if you can read, then you can learn directly from the sheet music.
• Transcribing your own solos: Understanding the process of sight reading allows you to write out your solos effectively.

Career Opportunities

Looking ahead into potential careers as a musician, if you end up wanting to work in theatres or pit orchestras, then sight reading is an absolutely essential skill. You can't work those jobs without being able to read music.

In many gigs, you're usually presented with charts, especially if you're covering for someone. It's really helpful not to feel the pressure of looking at a page and thinking, "I have no idea what this is."

So, just some basic reading skills can really help you go a long way. Please do download that PDF and check it out!