Level 5 of 36 · Book I: Single lines
Grand staff sight-reading exercises: hands taking turns
The grand staff: both clefs at once, treble above and bass below, joined by a brace. The hands don’t play together yet. They take turns every two bars, so the work is in switching your eyes from one clef to the other.
- Hands take turns
- C major
- 4/4 time
- = 60 to start
8 different exercises, each 8 bars. Listen first, or play it yourself: the music waits for each note.
What level 5 adds
Each exercise hands the melody back and forth every two bars. Both hands stay in C position, with steps and skips of a third, in whole, half and quarter notes. While one hand plays, the other staff has a rest.
What to watch for
- The hand-over: look ahead to the next two bars before the current hand finishes, so the other hand is ready.
- Which clef you are in: a note just below the treble staff and a note just above the bass staff can look alike. Check the clef, not the position on the page.
- Whole-bar rests: a rest in one staff means that hand waits, not that the music stops.
How to practise it
- Keep both hands on the keys in C position the whole time, even when one is resting.
- During the last note of each two-bar turn, glance at the other staff to find the next hand’s first note.
- Keep the beat going through the hand-over. A steady count matters more than a perfect note.
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.