What Do You Know?
Ask a teacher or read a book on the subject, and you’re likely to learn a trick or two that will help you remember what to pay attention to when you start sight-reading a piece. For example, there’s the mnemonic device “TRaK,” a reminder to start by looking at the time signature, rhythm, and key.

But in order to use a memory nudge like that, you have to have all the basics down—how to count consistently, which notes belong in that key, and how those pitches on the page translate to positions on your strings.

Once you have that background knowledge, you can start a sight-reading exercise by running through whatever checklist you find helpful, whether it’s TRaK or something else. Skim over the music, on the lookout for traps. (Glancing over the music just before you start playing is not cheating.)

“Another useful skill is developing the ability to transfer a concept you’ve learned from one piece to another,” Wimsatt points out. “The better we are at doing that, the better we are at sight-reading. It could be knowing rules about bowings, like that a pickup note is often played with an up-bow. Once you know that, the minute you see a pickup note in your sight-reading, you automatically know how you’re going to start.

“And this goes beyond patterning. It’s taking concepts from your solo piece and seeing those attributes in something entirely different, like an orchestra piece.”

Think Fast
The second aspect Wimsatt emphasizes is the speed at which you can process information. “That involves a lot of fun things,” she says, “like reading ahead in the music, reading and thinking in terms of patterns and phrases rather than individual notes, using mental pictures of what the pitches are going to sound like, looking at how far apart the notes are, and imagining what that might sound like ahead of time. Does the melody walk along in steps, or are there leaps in it?

“The speed of information processing is important because a lot of the time, sight-readers are under time pressure, or they have to perform without stopping. It’s important to practice pieces without stopping; that’s practicing for sight-reading.

“Start a piece, and if you stop, go back to the beginning. Or say, ‘I’m going to play through this solo and try to get all the fingerings and pitches, but if I make a rhythmic goof I’ll keep going.’ Or, ‘I’ll play for the rhythms, but if I goof up a fingering or a pitch, I’ll keep going.’

“Just pick a priority and promise that no matter what, you won’t stop even if you make errors in other parts of the piece. Great sight-readers overlook the mistakes they make.

“The biggest problem is that we’re always practicing for performance: correct your mistakes, focus on details, use correct fingerings and bowings, avoid playing wrong notes or omitting notes. But when you practice for sight-reading, you shouldn’t correct a mistake. Don’t focus on details; focus on the big picture. You’re just trying to get to the notes however you can. Wrong notes and omitted notes are largely inevitable.”