Posted by Leland on November 16, 2001 at 03:10:06:
In Reply to: Sightreading posted by Allan on November 15, 2001 at 13:35:36:
Yes, it will come with practice and experience.
I find myself sightreading a performance every now & then in one community band or another. Playing trombone in a jazz band also helped me tremendously with seeing complex rhythms, often with the same rhythm written differently (and vice versa).
The way I do it -- Keep your mind free of expectations, and play the dots on the page regardless of what you hear; At the same time, listen for whether you sound right or are drastically wrong; Count, count, count; Look for the downbeat; and have NO fear, just play the horn.
The more music you play, the more patterns will be familiar. Sightreading will only get easier.