Want to be a GREAT sightreader?

In the past few days I have had the most incredible epiphany regarding sightreading. I used to feel as though I was the worst sight-reader in the entire world and, you know what, I really was! If anyone so much as mentioned the word "sight-read," my mind went immediately into "tilt" and even if I could have played the thing, the fact that they said "sight-read" was enough to fry my brain-cells.

My first break-through came some years ago when I heard about "reading every note accurately" (as opposed to reading fast and grabbing what you could).

I then thought it was OK to read fairly comfortably, counting out loud, and permitting the tempo to go faster or slower, depending on how complicated the music was.

Now, the really great break-through!! Read REALLY slowly, counting out loud, WITH THE METRONOME! Somehow, if you really do go slowly enough, you have time and space to see in advance what you need to see next, and, here is the real kicker, it really sounds just like the piece is supposed to sound (even if rather slow).

I feel so empowered by these experiences!! I feel as if I want to read every piece of music ever written and I can't wait to read something new every day. As an added bonus, I feel as though I have half learned every one of the pieces I have read since this breakthrough. I hope you have as much fun with it as I did.