Sight-reading exercises with ledger lines, high and low

What level 43 adds

The right hand plays from the G above middle C up to the C on the second ledger line and the D just above it, in halves, quarters and some eighths, moving to a new five-note position between phrases. The left hand stays low, from the C two ledger lines below the bass staff up to about the staff’s middle line, in halves and wholes. The pieces are in any key up to three sharps or flats, major or minor, with expression marks.

What to watch for

• Counting ledger lines: one above the treble staff is A, two is C. One below the bass staff is E, two is C.
• Notes between ledger lines: B sits between the two lines above the treble staff, D between the two below the bass.
• Position changes: the right hand moves to a new place between phrases. Look at the next phrase’s highest note before you get there.

How to practise it

• Learn the two landmarks, high C and low C, each two ledger lines from its staff. Read the other notes out there as a step or skip from them.
• Find each hand’s first note before you start: it may be far from where your hands usually sit.
• Use rests and long notes to move the right hand.

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.