While reading Sheet music, Shall I read with respect to relative intervals or with respect to the names of lines and spaces?

Question

I'm a beginner in reading sheet music. I want to know the better way to read. Shall I read with respect to the relative interval of Current note from previous note? Or Shall I remember the line and space names corresponding to the Clefs and Play with respect to them? Which One is a good method and I'll be happy to know any other better ways too.

Answer 1

Eventually, assuming you continue to learn to sight-read, this question will become meaningless to you because you will use neither approach. For now, it kind of depends upon your instrument. If you are playing an instrument that allows for chord voicings (piano, guitar, etc.) then you will train your mind to read all of the lines of the staff (and maybe two staves) for at least two or three measures at once. You will come to recognize chords by their shapes on the staff and in your hands, and you will think in terms of key and chord rather than intervals, line spaces, or even note names. Even arpeggios will appear as chords in your head, which are usually just legato chord forms anyway.

It was easier for me to think in terms of a root note and intervals from the root. For me, moving the root around by thinking of the distance between a particular note and the next note was too confusing because of the accidentals, so I just started with the tonic and used the particular key or mode the piece was in (if it had one) to assist me in finding the notes on the staff relative to the root. (Atonal stuff that breaks key a lot is a challenge for me.) But like I said, you will eventually not bother with such minutia and it will become a subconscious effort. As a bad pianist who became a competent guitarist, my mind was trained to think of the chord shapes and relate them to my fingers. Accidentals can be a problem, but learning the chords will help you there too because accidentals will usually fall into familiar voicings like dominant chords, etc. It always created trouble for me when a piece had odd chord voicings for familiar chords because I would have to consciously think about those spots in a piece rather than let myself just flow along in the key. I was never a gifted sight-reader like others I know, but I am competent.

If your instrument is linear, like say a flute or other woodwind, you will still come to recognize the positions of notes and their relative intervals from the root, but you will probably be less inclined to think in terms of the chords that are present in the particular key or mode you are working in. I don't know because I only played trumpet (badly) for a short while in Jr. High. As I recall, the act of reading music was simpler for the trumpet.

It's like when a person learns to type. They start by punching each key deliberately and spelling each word letter by letter. As they get better at it, they start thinking in words rather than letters, and eventually they can put together entire sentences without ever thinking about typing the letters. It just becomes automatic from muscle memory. Stick with it because it does get easier and eventually, you will be glad that you did. Learning to read music will greatly expand your opportunities to play all kinds of music.