Level 2 of 36 · Book I: Single lines
Right-hand sight-reading exercises: skips of a third
Still the right hand alone in C position, but now the melody can skip a note: C to E, D to F, E to G. Skips are where reading by shape starts to pay off.
- Right hand alone
- 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 2 adds
A skip of a third jumps over one key. On the staff it goes from a line to the next line, or a space to the next space, with exactly one line or space left out between them. These exercises mix skips with the steps from level 1, in whole, half and quarter notes.
What to watch for
- Line to line, space to space: if both notes sit on lines (or both in spaces) next to each other, it is a skip, and you jump one finger.
- Steps and skips side by side: a step changes line to space; a skip keeps line to line. Check which it is before you move.
- Skips that come back: E–C–E or C–E–C patterns are common. Spot them as one shape.
How to practise it
- Say “step” or “skip” for each move the first time through, without playing. Then play it.
- A skip is always finger to finger with one between: 1 to 3, 2 to 4, 3 to 5. If your fingers stay over C to G, you never need to look down.
- Listen to an exercise first if the rhythm feels unsure, then play it yourself.
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.