Level 31 of 36 · Book IV: Moving around
Sight-reading exercises with rests
Rests: beats where a hand stays silent. Counting through them is the work, because the music goes on even when nothing sounds.
- Hands together
- G, F or C major
- 4/4 time
- = 56 to start
8 different exercises, each 8 bars. Listen first, or play it yourself: the music waits for each note.
What level 31 adds
The right hand has quarter and half rests among its notes, and the left hand some half rests. Rests in the two hands don’t always line up. Exercises are in C, G or F major.
What to watch for
- Rest lengths: a quarter rest is the squiggle; a half rest is a small box sitting on the middle line (a whole rest hangs below the fourth line).
- Lifting the hand: let the key up during a rest, so the silence is heard.
- Coming back in: the note after a rest starts on its beat, not when you are ready.
How to practise it
- Count the rests out loud, as you would a note.
- Use a rest to look ahead: it is free reading time.
- Listen to an exercise once and notice how the silences keep time with the clicks.
Each exercise is new music, written for this level by the same generator the app uses, so you can’t have learned it by ear. Read it once before you play, keep a steady beat, and play on through mistakes. Play it yourself checks your notes from a MIDI keyboard, the mouse or your computer keys, and Print gives you the music alone, to read at the piano.
A new piece every day, at your level
Pianomi is the app these exercises come from. It listens to your MIDI keyboard, grades every note and every beat, and moves you up the 36 levels as your reading improves. It’s free.