Sight Reading & Rhythm Every Day, Book 7: Piano Book

Book 7 strikes the right balance between challenge and achievability. The introduction of sixteenth-note figures in compound meters and three-part writing gives students genuine harmonic literacy without abandoning the sight-reading focus that makes daily work stick. The "DID IT!" boxes transform accountability into something students actually use.

Purposeful and progressive. Each day builds on what came before, and the variety of musical styles keeps the work from feeling like drill. Students feel themselves getting faster and more musical simultaneously.

Late intermediate pianists ready to handle compound meter rhythms and multi-voice writing without losing fluency. Students in this book have strong foundational reading skills and benefit from the daily consistency that turns sight-reading into an automatic skill rather than a labored process.

• Start with the rhythm exercises before tackling the melodic examples. Students who can feel sixteenth subdivisions independently will sight-read the longer passages with far fewer stumbles.
• Use the major/minor key reviews as ear-training moments, not just reading drills. Play two phrases and ask students which is the relative key. This connects visual notation to actual listening.
• When introducing three-part chorales, have students identify the harmonic progression first. Knowing whether they're reading through I-IV-V makes the actual note-reading easier.

Assign this as daily homework throughout the year, three to five minutes per student per day. The cumulative effect of consistent exposure to sixteenth rhythms and three-part voice leading directly supports repertoire choices at the late intermediate level, whether students are learning sonatas, character pieces, or larger ensemble arrangements.

• Reading sixteenth-note rhythms in compound meters (3/8 and 6/8)
• Recognizing and reading diminished and augmented chords
• Identifying relative major and minor keys by sight
• Parsing three-part harmonic writing with fluency
• Maintaining rhythmic accuracy across different note values and meters