How to get good at sightreading ONCE AND FOR ALL

[rachmaninoff_forever]

So I know this dude who met this other dude who was able to sightread everything you put in front of him.  So he told him that all he did was sightread through all 555 Scarlatti sonatas to get good.

Now as you all may know I kinda suck at sightreading.  I mean I'm better than I was before I entered college at least.  So I'm not THAT bad.  But it's weird I'm not very good at reading super thin textured stuff, I prefer flats over sharps, etc...  I'm graduating next week and I'm gonna start teaching over the summer (two guaranteed students so far ), and maybe apply for church, wedding, and hotel gigs so I'm like that seems like kind of a good idea. 

If I do two a day and take the weekends off that'll be less than a year right?

So anyways I'm gonna start tomorrow or within the next few days and post my progress.

[toughbo]

Great, maybe record it as well, so we/you can hear the progress and problem points.

[outin]

So he told him that all he did was sightread through all 555 Scarlatti sonatas to get good.

Everyone should do that anyway, great stuff!

[erry]

How did it work out?

[suoyung]

Wow, that is interesting! But I don't think it will give much, if you just sit and try to read (as I did...) I have read, I guess, at least 100 of it, just for fun, not trying to find patterns how to read easier, and it didn't help that much :/ I mean I am not bad at sight-reading, I can still do it better than others in my group, but I can't read, for example the same Scarlatti perfectly.

[timothy42b]

So I know this dude who met this other dude who was able to sightread everything you put in front of him.  So he told him that all he did was sightread through all 555 Scarlatti sonatas to get good.

That will make you really good at sightreading Scarlatti.

You will make almost no improvement sightreading other genres.

And when you see a syncopated jazz rhythm you will crash and burn.

Sightreading is far more specific to the type of patterns inherent to styles of music than you realize.  There is no shortcut to getting good at them all. 

But any one style of music has a shared set of patterns.  SATB hymns are harder than they look, until you get good at them.