What material can be used for sight-reading?

The answer here is any and all music should bereally give vitality to your keyboard explorations,
considered music that can be used forif you do that.
sight-reading. For best results I would suggestTed Greene in his book Chord Chemistry extols
picking music that is a couple of grades belowthe virtues of learning to navigate your way on
your optimum performance level. For instance, ifpiano as beneficial to all musicians. A fantastic
you feel you are a comfortable Grade 5 thenmusician and jazz educator Greene suggests as a
Grade 3 Repertoire should pose little challenge."real brain-melter" reading piano music in concert
In Scotland we are blessed with a huge array ofpitch on the guitar. He says it gave him a real
Celtic music for fiddle, penny whistle and lots ofinsight in to how harmony works.
other folk instruments. These make excellentA great classical guitarist "Allan Neave" suggested
exercises for sight-reading due to the varieties ofonce that you should maintain a pile of books that
dances like the Reels, Strathspeys, Jigs and Polkasare set aside for the purpose of sight-reading and
each with their own intriguing rhythms.as your work through the material you should
The violin studies of Kreutzer and Kayser are alsoplace it to the bottom of the pile and not return
worth a look. As are the Partitas of J.S.Bach.to it until it arrives at the top once again. This
Music for the Flute, Saxophone, Trumpet andstrategy helps to maintain the freshness of your
Clarinet adapts quite nicely too to the guitar. Givensight-reading practice time.
their range of notes they are excellent readingAnother great insight to incorporate into your
between the Fifth and Seventh positions on thesight-reading regime is to "Never Stop".
guitar.We are not looking for perfection here, we are
As teachers of the guitar still requiring a methodtraining the eyes, brain and hands to work as an
to better their own skills I would suggest givingefficient "Machine" as it were. In a sense speeding
your self a scare and try sight- reading someup our response time to musical symbol
music written in Bass Clef, just read it an octaverecognition.
higher. Getting used to reading in Bass Clef will