Blake asked:


A few months ago, i started learning to play the cello, and as you can imagine, we had to learn to read music first. Then we started to learn how to play certain notes in first position. I practiced a lot at home and memorized all of our notes so far in first position, and I can play the notes when I see them on the staff. However, my teacher tells us to write in the note numbers and I did once but it didn’t make it easier. My question is why is it easier for me to play when looking at the actual notes and which do you think is better for a beginning student to do: Write in finger numbers underneath/ on top of the music, the notes, or just learn to read looking at the quarter/eighth/etc notes themselves?

Sight Reading Music Lessons

Hannah asked:


PLEASE READ EVERYTHING. I have been playing flute and violin for about four years. When playing these instruments, I would like to know how I could play faster(sixteenth note and above) and play at a good pace when sight reading.

For flute, I would like to learn how to double tongue and triple tongue. I search online and the advice given is still hard for me to understand. Every so often, I take out my flute and start to play but when i play, I have a bad tone and can’t hit higher notes as well as i know i can. How can I prevent that?

For violin, how can I learn bow techniques? There are many to learn and the music I try to play but i’m too slow or the tone is bad. I need “faster fingers” and better tone. And the biggest problem I have is that I only know first position…

Also what books can help me solve those problems. To practice daily is it a good plan to practice scales with a metronome and then etudes.
Sorry if this was too long. Thank you.

how to sight read music