Best way to practice sight reading ?

[Doddy]

[quote name='fatback' timestamp='1351001508' post='1846053']
OK, but what about fingering and positions? Do you readers normally analyse first?
[/quote]
If I'm on a reading gig,I very rarely analyse anything first because often there is only enough
time for a quick glance through. With regards to fingering and position,I play whatever is
easiest and comfortable as long as the note is right.As long as you know where the notes are
all over the fingerboard there's no problem.

[quote name='fatback' timestamp='1351001508' post='1846053']
Is there anything less pleasant than trying to read those dots?
[/quote]

Piles.

[enricogaletta]

There are two book I highly suggest to learn and improve sight reading:

- Reading Modern text In 4/4 by Louis Bellson
- Sight Reading for the Bass by Ron Velosky

The first one is to improve your rhythm reading and the second to improve your quick sight reading. If you do both page after page, without rush and giving yourself the time to learn accurately you won't have any problem to read good and than you can move to the next step, working on real music charts, even in this second part you need to study first simple charts and than moving to complex ones, it doesn't matter if them come from different music styles, pop, rock, jazz, ballad etc etc, probably the diversity will help to improve your sight reading.
Never forget that sight reading is a true fitness, when you practice it every day you get it sharpen, vice versa you'll lose a little bit the speed in reading.
Anyway if you need any help feel free to PV. I have a reading class program and I will be happy to help you.
Cheers.
P.s. another good challenge is apply the sight reading to slap exercises.

[Bilbo]

Enrico is right. Sight reading is a muscle that you need to exercise regularly. If you don't read for a while, you lose the ability; not in it's entirity and you can get it back bery quickly but it would be a fool who didn't read for years and then expected to hit the mark first time out. I find that my own reading generally starts to come back to speed after a couple of rehearsals. Most bass reading is quite easy (e.g. read the first two bars and then repeat) and you only get tough lines occasionally so it's rarely a total trainwreck but, yes, you have to do it regularly to stay match fit.

[Faithless]

Joe Hubbard had just released his new book on Sight- Reading (which is actually 4 books in 1) - it's absolutely killing, and there are exercises you wouldnt find in any other reading book- it focuses on reading [b]on Electric Bass[/b] - and bass is a tough instrument to do that - I highly recommend you check that out - Joe's been my teacher for nearly two years now, and I know that his stuff can take your playing (and reading, in this case) to another level, if you do what he says properly, trust me!

eaasy
L

[TheG]

When reading on a gig you only get one chance. Thats sight reading! ie you may have never seen the music before perhaps. To get as close to this as possible (practicing sight reading), as touched on above, is by setting a metronome and playing some unfamiliar music once without dwelling on mistakes or inaccuracies. Then going on to the next piece.

Obviously you need to practice a slow and more methodical approach to get your accuracy up as a separate exercise but on a gig you don't get this sort of luxury.

I always say the best way to practice sight reading is by sight reading.

One tip I can share is first look at the key signature and keep it in mind as far as hand positions/fingering go. Although the music may stray from this often it is a good common ground to start from and come back to as at least some of the notes will fall comfortably.