Note reading trainer
Name the note on the staff and get instant feedback. Notes you miss come back more often until you know them. Treble clef, bass clef or both.
Type the words in order. Put a hyphen between syllables of one word (lit-tle) and a space between words. Each syllable goes under the next note. Type _ to skip a note, for a syllable held over several notes. During playback, each syllable lights up with its note.
Click a note in the first measure you want, then one in the last measure. The dark notes are the ones that will be imported.
Send this code to a friend or student. They open My music on this site, press Open a code, and paste it. The code holds the notes, rhythm, clef, key, time signature and title.
Read the notes first, then press Play to hear how they go, or Check me to play along and have each note marked. Shortcuts: Space play, N new exercise, H hear the starting note.
How it works
How the note trainer works
A note appears on the staff. Tap its letter name, or press A to G on your keyboard. Right answers turn green and you hear the note; wrong answers show the correct name before the next note appears.
The trainer remembers how often you get each note right. Notes you miss come up more often, so practice time goes where you need it. The list of notes to practice under the staff shows which ones are giving you trouble.
Letters or piano keys
Answer with letter names to learn the staff, or switch to Piano to answer on a keyboard and learn where each note is. In piano mode you can add sharps and flats, and connect a MIDI keyboard to answer on real keys.
How to get faster
- Practice three minutes a day rather than half an hour once a week.
- Learn a few landmark notes first, such as middle C, treble G and bass F, and read other notes as steps from them.
- Once you get most notes right, start the 60-second sprint and try to beat your best score.
- Add ledger lines when the staff feels easy.
- For a change of pace, race the clock in Ledger Dash, the note reading game.
Exercises at your level
Six levels, from your first five notes to ledger lines, accidentals and sixteenths, in treble or bass clef and any key or time signature. Every exercise is new.
Checks you as you play
Play along on the screen piano, your computer keyboard, a MIDI keyboard or into the microphone. Each note turns green or red as you go.
Practice your own music
Enter the passage you are learning, hear it at any tempo, check yourself against it, and send it to a student or friend with a link.
More practice tools
Ledger Dash: note reading game
Notes race toward the gold line, and you name each one before it arrives. Treble, bass, ledger lines and the grand staff, with personal bests to beat.
Play Ledger Dash →Practice toolSight reading practice
New sight-reading exercises at six levels, in any key and time signature, with every note checked as you play.
Practice toolTreble clef practice
Learn the notes of the treble clef until you can read them at a glance, then put them to work in short melodies.
Practice toolBass clef practice
Learn the bass clef on its own terms, from G on the bottom line to middle C above the staff and the low notes below it.
Practice toolPiano sight reading practice
Fresh exercises at your level every time, checked note by note as you play them on your piano, a MIDI keyboard or the keyboard on screen.
Practice toolSight singing practice
Hear your starting note, sing the melody, and let the microphone check every pitch. Short exercises at your level, in any key.
Practice toolPractice your own sheet music
Bring in the passage you are learning, hear it at any tempo, check yourself as you play, and send it to a student or friend.
Lessons
How to read sheet music: a beginner’s guide
The staff, clefs, note lengths, time and key signatures, and the other markings you will meet.
Reading notesHow to read treble clef notes
Lines, spaces, landmark notes and ledger lines for the treble staff.
Reading notesHow to read bass clef notes
The F clef, its landmark notes, and how it connects to the treble staff.
RhythmRhythm basics: note values, rests and counting
Whole to sixteenth notes, dots, time signatures, and how to count them.
TheoryKey signatures made simple
The order of sharps and flats, naming the key, and how accidentals work.
Reading notesReading intervals: steps, skips and leaps
See the distance between notes at a glance, and hear it before you play or sing.
PracticeHow to practice sight-reading
A 10-minute daily routine and the habits that make reading faster.
SingingHow to sight-sing
A step-by-step method for singers: finding home, solfège, intervals and checking yourself.
Questions
Which notes does the trainer include?
Choose On the staff for the notes on the five lines and four spaces plus the notes just above and below, or add one or two ledger lines above and below the staff.
Can I practice treble and bass clef together?
Yes. Choose Both and the trainer mixes treble and bass clef notes, which is good practice for reading piano music.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes. The note buttons are sized for fingers, and your progress is saved in your browser.
Is Sight Reading Practice free?
Yes. Sight Reading Practice is free to use with no account. A few clearly marked ads, kept away from the practice controls, pay for running the site.
Do I need an instrument?
No. You can sing or hum the notes, tap them on the on-screen piano, or use your computer keyboard. If you do have an instrument, play along and let Sight Reading Practice listen.
How does “Check me” work?
Press Check me, then play the exercise one note at a time. Each note turns green when you play the right pitch and red when you don’t, with the note you played written underneath. It checks pitches, not rhythm, so take it at your own speed.