16.3 · 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 sit still. Look, then listen.
Why this is the skill
A skip on the page looks like a skip: the gap is visible. Once your eye reads gaps instead of letters, you know the next note from the last one, and reading gets close to automatic. It's also why melodic dictation gets easier: contour is what your ear already hears.
Quiz
1 / 3Read the shape: what does this melody do?