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Music Tutor (Sight Reading)?
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Popularity Score: 13
This app was mentioned in 13 comments, with an average of 2.00 upvotes
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I like Music Tutor, it's simple enough but helps a lot.
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jsplash.musictutor&hl=en
iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/music-tutor-sight-reading/id514363426?mt=8
On sight reading: if you can play through a given passage/piece at a consistent tempo by reading the sheet, you're sight reading it. It doesn't really matter how slow you go, so long as the tempo is consistent. For a total beginner, this sort of sight reading is very difficult, and I wouldn't worry too much about it. What I'd do instead is focus on improving your note recognition and your sense of rhythm. To improve the former, get an app (like this) or some flashcards to drill your recognition of notes as they appear on both clefs. To improve your sense of rhythm, take the pieces that you've been trying to sight read, and just focus on tapping out the rhythm with your left and right hand. Make sure you count yourself in and stick to a steady tempo. After a few days of doing this, you should feel more confident going forward.
On music theory: knowledge of at least basic theory definitely helps. This website has some very useful introductory lessons. In particular, having a good understanding of intervals will help your sight reading a lot: it's faster to spot an interval between two notes than it is to consciously identify both notes and work out the distance between them.
So I looked, you would need to use it for piano. Here is another app that might work better for learning sheet music without an instrument.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jsplash.musictutor
I've found this app to be really helpful so far. You can set the range of notes, I started with G-A and then slowly added more in.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jsplash.musictutor
Your comment reminded me to redownload this app that I used to learn the bass clef (I play trombone as well so I needed to learn it). I recomend you do the same. It's not much, but it will gamify the process of learning the notes.
I played as a teenager, quit in my twenties, then picked it up again now in my thirties during lockdown, too. Apart from the cliché of practise, practise, practise, what helps me at least is:
- Studying at least a weeny bit of music theory as that helped me with my sight-reading. I enjoy playing more now than I did in my teens (and I swear my sight-reading is better now than after five years of playing the first-time round) because I can read the grand staff moderately well. I use this app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jsplash.musictutor, but there's heaps of others and games that can make it slightly less dry.
- Playing songs that I know and like. I am practising songs from Annie atm and although one is giving me grief, I LOVE the song so I am motivated to keep learning.
- Articulating at least some vague goals. I want to be able to sight-read and play at performance level some day, but right now my goal is to play that Annie song properly.
- Don't be afraid to be discerning with teachers. They all have different styles and will have different backgrounds, so you are totally allowed to find someone that is happy to work with you on your goals, not theirs. I tried a few before I found my current teacher who is adorably enthusiastic and supportive.
Hopefully that helps you! Update us on how you go.
If you're on Android then Music Tutor would do the job perfectly.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jsplash.musictutor
I'm sure there's something similar on ios
Yeah, I started piano 2/14/18. I took one look at sheet music (close look - of course I'd glanced at it before as a non-musician) and knew I'd need help so downloaded that app. I'm a big believer in gamification. Make it fun, shoot for higher points and before you know it (in my case, 2 days), you'll be doing whatever the gamified app is supposed to have you be doing.
So I've heard about this app on android. Can't vouch for it though, but it looks like it would get the job done. You can also look for apps that look like out right games. The more of a game, the less of a pain ;)
BTW, when I say you'll be reading in 2 days, I hope you don't understand this to mean you will be fluent. Nope. If you remember learning to read individual letters one by one as a child, well that will be you after 2 days. But once you can sound out the letters, you'll be able to read entire words soon enough. I am almost to that point myself! ;)
Here's a link to that app.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jsplash.musictutor this one is what I use, should help.
I use this one on android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jsplash.musictutor