Sight Reading in Chunks
Sight readers are often incredibly worried about accuracy. That’s normal! We want what we do to sound and feel good. But this can go too far: when we’re so focused on getting each note absolutely perfect, we might miss that they can be perceived in small (and, sometimes, large) groups. Seeing those groups actually facilitates greater accuracy, since a three-note group requires less processing power per note than three individual notes. It also facilitates greater musicality, since this “chunking” helps us see the larger picture: not just each note in and of itself, but where it has come from, where it is going, and perhaps why. So ironically, focusing on the perfection of each note often actually distracts from each note’s true “perfection.”
We covered chunking in detail in the chapter on Memory. You may wish to revisit that chapter. Now, we just need to put it into practice!
Our chunking abilities probably improve over time merely by learning, reading, and performing a lot of music. But to make our learning more efficient and quicker, we’ll pair that intuitive, unconscious learning with a conscious effort.
One way to focus on chunking is to choose a common chunk type, then scan some actual music, identifying that chunk type wherever you can find it as quickly as you can. Particularly common types of chunks include arpeggios, neighbor tones, and rhythmic motives (repeating rhythmic patterns).
Another way is to look at a new piece of music and, given a short amount of time, simply describe it in as few words as possible. This forces us to think about how we might group the notes together.
A certain number of chunks are common across many styles, and we’ve tried to focus on those. However, any given repertoire (based on composer, genre, historical style, ensemble type, etc.) will likely have its own characteristic chunks. As you learn more and more music in any given style, you will internalize more and more of its characteristic chunks, improving your ability to work with it efficiently. Don’t forget to note those chunks consciously as you learn, to strengthen whatever intuitive learning might be happening.
Goal: Develop the habit of seeing notated music in 3-to-5-note units (chunking).
Before you start: This can be a group activity or an individual activity. If working in a group, do step 2 individually and then discuss together to compare the ways different members of the group found to chunk the melody.
Directions:
- The list below includes links to several melodies. Choose one, open the link, and then click the notated first note to show the full notation.
- Scan over the melody, looking for ways to group the notes together. Be sure to put these into words: for example, “tonic triad arpeggio followed by a repeated rhythmic motive on scale degree 7.” As you get comfortable with this skill, you may wish to give yourself a 20- or 30-second timer and see how many ways of grouping/chunking you can find in this amount of time