Ricquier - Reading music by educarting the eye

Reading music by educating the eye by Michel Ricquier

A manuel inspired by modern speeding-reading techniques

Expanded version including specific exercises for keyboard players by Bob Revel

This work is intended for music professionals as well as young students. Straightaway, the young musician is confronted with the problem of reading. From the start, it is important to instillin him basic reflexes enabling him to read as quickly and as well as possible with a minimum of fatigue. It will be easy for the beginner to absorb this technique, not having known the difficulty of getting rid of interfering. bad habits. This is why the use of this method in the first years of musical education is actively advised.

As for professionals, experiments have been conducted with a large number of professional musicians, and it is interesting to note that even very good sightreaders have increased their reading speed.

A good reader's secret is certainly learning to read ahead in order to have time to see any difficulties which may entrap him. This means readding very quickly, quicker than the tempo, whatever it may be.

It is necessary to pre-view (view before) what is going to come along to be able to be in control of everything: notes, rhythms, alteration, time, tempo and key changes, etc...

What do we normally do to try to read quickly ? We make our eyes run across the stave as rapidly in order to register the maximum amount of information.

It is not, however, in this way that we will improve our reading speed, but rather by using a much more effective and much less tiring method.