Reading guitar music.

Reading music is a matter of reading the music (keeping your eyes on the notes you have to play), processing the information you read (while keeping your eyes on the music and the notes you have just read) and then sending a message from your brain to your left and right hands without taking your eyes off the notes you have just read.

This may sound very difficult at first, especially if you have already played or messed around on the guitar before while looking at your left hand.

The secret of success in anything you do, is the habits you develop that run subconsciously, while you concentrate on the notes you have to play or how you play the notes in the case of reading music. When you see a master play the guitar you are actually seeing the subconscious habits they have developed so that they can concentrate on the expression and feeling of the notes they are playing. A sportsman is also constantly working on the subconscious habits they use (breathing, stride length etc.) while they are competing in their sport. The secret in mastery is the unconscious muscular sequences that get used to achieve the goal.

Like any reading is a matter of associating a shape with a set of muscular motions to make a particular sound, so reading music is a matter of associating a symbol in a certain place, with a muscular movement to create a particular sound using your left and right hands. Just like you have developed muscular memory to read something aloud, so you will have to develop muscular memory to play music while keeping your eyes on the music, to keep track of where you are in the particular piece of music.

You do this by memorizing the position of each particular written note on the guitar fret board, and then training your muscles to move to each position without looking at your left hand. To do this you start by teaching your muscles all the positions in the open position by doing the following exercise for 30 min every day for a week to start the process of muscle memorization.

While you are looking in front of you and doing this exercise, it is helpful to visualize the guitar fret board in your mind’s eye. See where your fingers are going in your minds eye. Feel the frets and the strings, as you move along them.

Here are the individual steps to practice sight reading guitar music

1. Look straight ahead of you.

2. Keep your thumb upright between the first and second frets.

3. Hold your wrist forward so that your hand forms a cup and does not touch the bottom of the neck.

4. First finger will press just behind the first fret (on the nut side of the fret).

5. Second finger will press just behind the second fret (on the nut side of the fret).

6. Third finger will press just behind the third fret (on the nut side of the fret).

7. Fourth finger will press just behind the fourth fret (on the nut side of the fret).

8. Keeping your eyes looking straight ahead feel with your first finger from the nut till you feel the first fret.

9. Bring your second finger down, along the first finger until it is pressing the string as well.

10. Slide the second finger along until you feel the second fret.

11. Bring your third finger down, along the second finger until it is pressing the string as well.

12. Slide the third finger along until you feel the third fret.

13. Bring your fourth finger down, along the third finger until it is pressing the string as well.

14. Slide the fourth finger along until you feel the fourth fret.

15. Then carry on with the method until you have reached the open sixth string.

16. Once you have done this start from the open sixth string and retrace your steps note for note, using the same method until you have reached the fourth fret on the first string.

17. Now repeat this process until you have done it for 30 min.