How to Improve Your Sight Reading

Sight reading is an area in which many musicians struggle. I think that in order to be a good musician, you need to be strong in all areas of your technique. Here are some tips to help you improve your sight reading:

1. Work out the speed in your head before you start. Look at the time signature, clap a pulse and go through the music in your head.
2. Rhythm. Look at any difficult rhythms and clap them out loud whilst keeping the pulse in your head.
3. Look at the key signature. An important step to work out any sharps or naturals that you have to play.
4. Pitch notes in your head before you play them. This step is especially important for brass players to ensure there are no split notes. 
5. Look at dynamics, articulation, changes in tempo etc. The final step to make your performance musical and to add expression to the music. 

First Steps to Transposition

Transposition is a very useful skill to have, especially for orchestral trumpet playing where parts are often written in a different key. When first learning to transpose start with the most simple and most common key, C:

• Every note has to be moved up a tone (one step). C becomes D, G becomes A and so on.
• Watch out for accidentals. G# becomes A#, Ab becomes Bb. However up a tone Bb is going to become C natural. I find it helpful to imagine a piano keyboard.
• Add two sharps to the key signature (#s will cancel out bs) or work out what key the music is in and take it up a tone. Cmajor + 2#s = Dmajor (2x #s), F major (b) + 2#s = Gmajor (#).
• Start slowly with easy exercises. Don't be disheartened if you can't do it straight away - it takes practice.

Trumpet in C

Trumpet in Bb

Read my previous post on transposing from all keys here.