Hands together sight-reading exercises: left hand in half notes

What level 9 adds

There are now two places in each bar where both hands play at once. The bass notes follow the chords (I, IV and V in C major), and the right hand moves by step and skip in C position.

What to watch for

• Beat 3: the left hand changes in the middle of the bar. Count “one, two, three, four” so you know where it lands.
• Where a right-hand quarter note meets the bass change, both go down together.
• The bass line jumps: from C to G or F is a bigger move than in the right hand. Know your C, F and G in the bass clef.

How to practise it

• Count out loud. Half notes in the left hand land on “one” and “three”.
• Look for the bass pattern: it often goes C–G, C–F or G–C. Seeing the pair is quicker than reading two notes.
• Try the same exercise in “Play it yourself” and then without stopping, in time with your own count.

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.