Sight reading a melody over left-hand chords

What level 24 adds

The right hand plays halves and quarters, with steps, skips and jumps up to a fourth. The left hand plays triads in half notes, two per bar, in close inversions. In C major the new chords are D minor (D–F–A) and A minor (A–C–E).

What to watch for

• Two kinds of reading at once: a single line on top, shapes underneath.
• New chord shapes: ii and vi chords bring notes that I, IV and V don’t use together.
• The right hand runs ahead of the left: keep both in the same beat.

How to practise it

• Read each beat top to bottom, then move on, rather than reading one hand’s line ahead.
• If chords slow you down, play an exercise once with the left hand alone.
• Listen first: knowing how the harmony sounds helps you catch a wrong chord.

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.