Reading faster

Key idea Reading faster is not naming each note faster; it is reading shapes: steps, skips, and chords. Know the first note and read the rest by distance.

Good readers see a group of notes the way you see a word, without spelling out each letter. They name the first note, then follow the direction: up a step, down a third, same note.

Three shapes to spot

• Steps: line to the next space. Next finger, next key.
• Thirds: line to line or space to space. Skip a finger.
• Chords: a "snowman" stack. Read the bottom note and the shape, not each note.

A routine for reading new music

1. 30 seconds before playing: key signature, time signature, highest and lowest notes, repeated patterns.
2. Eyes ahead of hands by at least a beat. While you play beat 1, you are already reading beat 2.
3. Never stop to fix. Keeping the beat matters more than every note.
4. Easier than your level, a new piece every day, just 5 minutes.