18.3 · The Grand Staff
Read by shape
Fluent readers don't spell words letter by letter, and fluent sight-readers don't name every note. They read shape: a note moving to the next line or space is a step; jumping a line or space over is a skip; staying put is a repeat. Name the first note, then ride the contour.
The three shapes
Steps fill every position in turn: line, space, line, space. Skips go line to line or space to space, leapfrogging one. Repeats keep the same position. Look, then listen.
Why this is the skill
A skip on the page looks like a skip: the gap is visible. Read the gap and you know the next note from the last one.
Quiz
1 / 3Read the shape: what does this melody do?