Beyond Sight Reading

Do the words "how's your reading" cause you to get an uneasy feeling in the pit of your stomach? Or how about: "There will be a singer coming up in the middle of the set and they have charts that we will sight read."

These situations can make you want to be anywhere except the bandstand...you have spent countless hours shedding: learning scales, modes, tunes, feels, styles, etc., and then as soon as a chart is put in front of you, lock-up!

Being a good "reader" is more than just playing the notes on a page—sure, you need to know the notes, rhythms, time signatures, the fingerboard and all that ….the basics…but being a good sight reader means being able to play a chart for the first time and make it sound like you have played it twenty times.

The key to being a good sight reader is the ability to "multi-task". Many times I have noticed that while reading a chart, I have caught myself focusing only on the notes on the page—as if I have tunnel vision. I might have played every note correctly but did I lock in with the drummer, did I react to a soloist? Did I catch a dynamic change that wasn't noted on my chart?

Here is where multi-tasking comes in. You need to segment your brain, eyes, ears and chops to be able to:

1. Watch the notes on the page, figure out (in advance hopefully) the best position on the fingerboard to play the piece (path of least resistance?)
2. Make sure you are grooving with the rhythm section.
3. Listen to the lead instrument/soloist/singer for dynamic changes, differences in phrasing, if they SKIP a section (as a rhythm section player, our job is to make the singer/soloist sound right...you can argue about mistakes off the bandstand!)
4. Watch the conductor/leader
5. Keep your place in the music, watch ahead for repeats, codas, signs, key changes, etc. but again-don't bury your head in the chart.
6. Recover. Mistakes are going to happen...
7. Make sure you are grooving with the rhythm section!!!!

In other words, is it possible to be creative while sight reading? I believe it is and you can have fun while doing it!!

A really great advantage to playing in a band where everyone sight reads is that it cuts down on rehearsal time, (how about none!), enables the repertoire to increase quicker—and it makes you a better musician.

Personally, I enjoy the challenge of sight reading-it keeps me on my toes, makes me focus on the "big picture" and makes me a better musician. I play with leaders who do not think twice about bringing in a new piece to play in a concert…a situation that makes you trust your senses!

The next time a chart is put in front of you, jump in with your head, eyes, ears and those great chops and play it like you own it!!!

(...and by the way, even if you don't read or are just starting to learn, these "multi-tasking" concepts will help you become a better player!)

Jeff Carswell
jeff@jeffcarswell.net
www.jeffcarswell.net

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