Level 35 of 36 · Book IV: Moving around
Sight-reading exercises in A, E♭, E and A♭ major
More keys: A major (three sharps), E flat major (three flats), E major (four sharps) and A flat major (four flats), with left-hand chords including the ii and vi chords.
- Hands together
- E, A♭ or A major
- 4/4 time
- = 52 to start
8 different exercises, each 8 bars. Listen first, or play it yourself: the music waits for each note.
What level 35 adds
The right hand plays halves, quarters and some eighths. The left hand plays triads two a bar, in close inversions, through I, ii, IV, V and vi. Each exercise is in one of the four keys.
What to watch for
- Three or four sharps or flats: more black keys than white ones in some chords.
- Telling the keys apart: count the sharps or flats every time.
- Black-key chords: in A♭ major, the I chord is A♭–C–E♭.
How to practise it
- Play the key’s scale or its I chord once before you start, to set your hand in the key.
- Think in the key, not in accidentals: in E major, F, C, G and D are simply black keys.
- Slow down for the first exercise in each new key.
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.