The Musician's Reading Companion

A Systematic Approach to Note-Reading Based on Immediate Visual Recognition™

Eric Marler, M.M.

• An Indispensable Supplemental Note-Reading Workbook for Musicians of All Levels and Ages

• Contains Systematic Reading Exercises Designed to Develop Immediate Visual Recognition of the Notes on the Staff

• Ideal for Pianists, Vocalists, and Other Musicians Learning to Read Music or Wanting to Increase Reading Speed and Accuracy

• Easier to Use and More Effective than Flashcards

• Also Includes Systematic Exercises for Learning the Names of the White Keys on the Piano

© 2011, 2013 Eric Marler

All Rights Reserved

Copies of The Musician's Reading Companion may be purchased directly from Eric Marler (emarler@kent.edu, 208-477-9481).

Copyright Notice: Reproduction of the pages of The Musician's Reading Companion by any means is strictly prohibited and is punishable under federal copyright law.

Sample Pages

Introduction from The Musician's Reading Companion

The Musician's Reading Companion offers an exciting, revolutionary new approach to the process of learning to read music. For many years now, teachers have taught their students to read music from the staff using acronyms similar to the following: “Every Good Boy Does Fine” and “F-A-C-E” for treble clef notes, and “Great Big Dogs Fight Animals” and “All Cows Eat Grass” for bass clef notes. While this approach certainly gives students a formula to execute when they encounter an unfamiliar note, long-term reliance on this approach ultimately retards progress as it requires time for the student both to recall the correct formula for the specific clef and to “count up” the staff in order to identify the note. If the student is to become a fluent and proficient musician, they must move away from these formulas and learn to quickly identify notes at sight. It is to this end that the Immediate Visual Recognition™ exercises contained in this workbook were initially written and are now compiled into The Musician's Reading Companion.

Common to all fields of education, music included, learning and memorization happens best with multiple exposures over time to a relatively small group of new material. This concept is the basis for this workbook and its IVR™ exercises. It is repetitious exposure to the same relatively small group of notes that will allow the student to become familiar with them, recognizing them immediately and accurately at sight.

In my many years of teaching private lessons I have found that, in the majority of cases, a student's playing ability far out-weighs their reading ability. As a result, they spend a significant portion of their weekly practice time struggling to read and remember their new notes instead of practicing them on their instrument. Considerably more frustrating, they arrive in their lesson after a week’s practice only to be informed that they have learned any number of incorrect notes and must spend the following week's practice time working to correct those mistakes. With implementation and consistent use of the IVR™ Note-Reading Exercises in The Musician's Reading Companion, the student will learn to quickly and accurately recognize notes on the staff which will, in turn, allow them to spend more of their weekly practice time playing and interpreting the correct notes of their repertoire.

These IVR™ exercises have shown themselves to be embraced enthusiastically by students of all ages and levels. This positive reception is, I believe, due to three factors. First, students want to read music quicker and with more accuracy. Often, they recognize that their playing ability far out-weighs their reading ability and they are eager to improve on that deficiency. Second, they view the exercises as a challenge and enjoy pushing themselves to see how quickly they can get through the notes. Finally, they find that in using these exercises their reading ability does improve which, in turn, encourages them to confidently tackle more challenging literature.

Diagnostic reading exercises are included to assist the established student in determining which notes are already familiar and which notes need further study. Also included in The Musician's Reading Companion are Keyboard Worksheets and IVR™ Key Recognition Exercises for learning the white keys of the piano.

All best as you work through these exercises! Just as you strive to be fluent in your spoken languages, strive to be a fluent musician!

- Eric Marler, M.M.