Level 42 of 44 · Book V: Minor keys and new rhythms
Sight-reading exercises in 6/8 time
6/8 time: six eighth notes in a bar, grouped in two threes. It is counted in two beats, each a dotted quarter, so it rocks: ONE-two-three, FOUR-five-six.
- Hands together
- C, G, A or E♭ major, or A or D minor
- 6/8 time
- = 40 to start
8 different exercises, each 8 bars. Listen first, or play it yourself: the music waits for each note.
What level 42 adds
The right hand mixes groups of three eighths, a quarter and an eighth, and dotted quarters, ending on a dotted half. The left hand holds single bass notes for a whole bar (a dotted half) or a beat (a dotted quarter). The pieces are in any key up to three sharps or flats, major or minor.
The tempo counts dotted quarters: ♩. = 40 is 40 beats a minute, so the eighths go by at 120. Listen clicks twice a bar, with the eighths ticking softly in the bar that counts you in.
What to watch for
- Beats, not eighths: once the eighths feel even, count two beats a bar rather than six.
- Quarter then eighth: together they fill one beat, long–short, with a lilt.
- Dotted notes are the beats: a dotted quarter is one beat, a dotted half the whole bar.
How to practise it
- Count “one-two-three, four-five-six” at first, leaning on one and four. Then count only “one, two”.
- Read in threes: the beams show where each beat begins.
- Think of “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”: it is in 6/8.
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 44 levels as your reading improves. It’s free.