If you haven’t yet discovered the brilliance of Angela Harman’s work, you’re in for a treat. Angela is widely known for her innovative, classroom-tested strategies that make string teaching more engaging, effective, and joyful. In today’s post, she dives into one of the most vital—and sometimes overlooked—skills for young musicians: note reading. With her signature blend of practicality and creativity, Angela shares a treasure trove of tools and approaches that empower students to read music with confidence and curiosity.

Empowered Note Reading by Angela Harman (www.orchestraclassroom.com)

As my beginning students practice reading music, I scan the room, looking at their eyes. Their eyes give it all away—whether they are really reading the notes or trying to cover the fact that they are lost or unable to read. There might be a student carefully watching their stand partner’s left fingers, trying to copy their movements. In a beginning class, some students can survive for a while without reading any notes by memorizing the music, since exercises and repertoire in an early ensemble are often simple and easy to remember. In my opinion, it’s impossible to be totally lost at note reading and thrive in orchestra class. It is an essential skill that students need in order to play in an orchestra. That makes note reading a very high priority as I teach my first-year players.

When I begin teaching students how to read notes, I tell them there is a secret to reading music: it’s to READ THE NOTES! It takes effort and focus to look at each individual note and decipher the correct note name and fingering. If a student gets lost, it can be tempting to stop playing or ‘fake it.’ That is why we practice tracking notes with our eyes. It is essential that students learn to keep following the notes, even if they make a mistake. There are a few ways to check that students are tracking the notes with their eyes:

• Stop Sign Game: Have students play (or follow along while the teacher or others play) a line in a method book. When the teacher says or signals ‘STOP,’ students must point to the note that was last played.
• Mute/Unmute: As students play, the teacher gives the command to ‘Mute’ or ‘Unmute.’ When muted, students raise bows off the string (either vertically or horizontally in the air) and the tempo/beat continues. Students must follow the notes to not lose their place. When the teacher says ‘Unmute,’ students begin playing on the string again. This might be easier pizzicato at first!
• Trick or Tweet: The teacher or a volunteer plays 2–4 measures. The player can decide to play the passage incorrectly (Trick) or correctly (Tweet). Students must decide if the performer ‘Tricked’ or ‘Tweeted.’

When I first started teaching, I had my students complete many note reading worksheets to help them learn notes. To an extent, that method works for most students. For some students, I noticed they were getting very good at writing note names and learning notes on paper, but were not fast enough at reading to actually keep up with the class during rehearsals. I set out to create a resource called ‘Empowered Note Reading’ where students learned notes by actually practicing reading and playing on their instruments. I have found this method helps my students gain confidence with note reading. This resource was created after much research into learning theory. To best aid students, the book is formatted to include multi-level parts to maximize engagement, student choice to create ownership, self and peer assessment for accountability, and creative exploration for student expression. With only a few notes introduced at a time, success is always within reach. The rhythms are simple throughout the book so students can focus solely on pitch recognition.

The key to really helping students succeed is to practice note reading in a number of different formats with a variety of materials, so it doesn’t seem tedious. Practicing note reading can be fun! Here is an assortment of resources and strategies I use to help students master note reading skills:

ONLINE TOOLS:

• Sightreadingfactory.com: Teachers can customize exercises for students to practice note reading. (Subscription required)
• Musictheory.net exercise customizer: Use this tool to customize note recognition exercises for students and challenge them to get 100 correct answers in 5 minutes or less. (Free)
• Flat.io music composition: Even before my students know how to read notes, I teach them how to use this online notation software. Students quickly learn about the staff and figure out how pitch moves up and down between the lines and spaces. They create some interesting compositions! (Student subscriptions required)
• Ningenius online note reading games: There are teachers in my district who love this platform because it tracks student progress and progresses through many levels of difficulty. (Teacher account required)

GAMES/CHALLENGES:

• Make flashcards for students with notes you would like them to practice. I use the notes of the D major scale. Challenge students to pass off all 8 flashcards in 10 seconds or less. I require them to say the note name and pluck the note on their instruments in order to pass it off. Once they successfully complete the challenge, they get to sign a huge poster called the ‘Wall of Fame.’
• Speed Challenges: Use a timer to challenge students to note-read while playing a passage (pizzicato). Let students see how far they can read in the time limit.
• Create leveled challenges: I use Google Slides to create note reading challenges. The first level requires students to know only 2 notes. Each level advances in difficulty. There are a few ways for students to practice: play each line over and over until there are no mistakes, then move to the next level; or the extreme version—play as far as possible through the page until a mistake is made, then start at the top again. I let students choose what game play they would like to use when they practice. They feel very proud of themselves when they make it through. The last line introduces one of our concert pieces.
• Create a composition assignment where students must write 8 measures of music that they are able to play themselves. Drawing notes on the staff helps with memory and it’s great practice for students to play what they write.

We can’t expect all students to learn at the same rate, but we can help students work and progress on their level. By providing diverse, engaging ways for students to practice note reading, we not only build their musical skills, but also their confidence and independence. Let’s continue to make note reading engaging, accessible, and fun for all learners. With the right support and opportunities, every student can develop the skills they need to succeed and discover the lifelong rewards of music.

Angela Harman has been teaching public school orchestra for 19 years. She has substantially grown the orchestra program at her school, currently teaching over 400 students each day.

Angela is the founder of www.orchestraclassroom.com, where she posts ideas and methods that she uses in her classroom. Her blog is well known in the string teacher sphere, and many find inspiration in her articles.

As a sought-out presenter, Angela frequently teaches at professional development conferences including national NAfME, ASTA, state MEA conferences and school districts. She is a contributing author of the book ‘The String Teacher’s Guide to Recruiting and Retention.