Jon Finn - Senior Guitar Instructor at Berklee School of Music.

I love that movie (The Karate Kid). Not because of any accuracy in it's portrayal of martial arts and Far Eastern culture, but because it reminds me that martial arts are, at their essence, a defensive art. The ultimate skill is to maintain balance regardless of whatever challenges face you.

Sight reading is also a defensive art. It's a simple question of maintaining "musical balance". When reading, it is almost impossible to play everything perfectly the first time. This article makes some suggestions on how to deal with exactly that.

Reading music is also like learning to read another language. Literally, that's what you're doing. The best thing that you can do for yourself is to do it every day. It's not like riding a bike.

A technique I use with my students is what I call "The Hierarchy of Reading". If you try to jump in and read (allowing yourself no room for error) you set yourself up for failure. The Hierarchy of Reading:

1. Know Where You Are.

When you begin a piece, don't stop (or go back and fix wrong notes). Your most important task is to be in the right place, even if you play nothing. Work on "following the music" before you attempt to play it.

2. Rhythms.

If you play the right rhythm, there is a 1 in 12 chance the note you choose will be the right one, even if it's a guess. Plus, the right rhythm will get the sound in your head more quickly. It's always better to hit the wrong note in the right place than vice versa.

3. Notes.

Most people make this the most important issue. That is always the fatal mistake. If all the other things are not "in place", there's a high probably that the sound you make won't make any sense (even if the notes are right). This will leave you feeling nothing but frustration. Most people know when they've hit a wrong note. When it happens, just make a mental note to go back later and fix it. Pretty soon, you'll find yourself able to get a good handle on a piece in the first or second pass.

The weirdest part of reading is understanding the idea that black dots on a page represent a sound. It's up to the player to turn those black dots in to a living, breathing piece of music.

Jon Finn