I'm due to take my grade 7 violin exam next Monday and I'm coming unstuck with the sightreading, so I thought I'd come in here and ask for help!

I'm okay with the grade 6 sightreading but what really gets me is the hard key signatures, like 5 sharps/flats and then really complex rhythms involving tied notes and semi quaver rests all over the place.

I've been practising from the ABRSM sightreading book but I'm still not feeling very good about it.

So does anyone have any advice as to how to handle sightreading and at least pass it?!

Grade 7 sightreading.....yuk! I remember it well.

One tip I use for children who can't remember the key signatures for even the 8 bars of a Grade 1 piece, is to look through the music to locate notes affected by the key signature (or the bits of it you're least likely to remember - say the last two sharps or flats, for instance) so you have some rough idea of the geography of the piece, and they are less likely to arrive without warning.

For complex rhythms, try bowing them on an open string (or clapping them) so that you need only concentrate on the rhythm without worrying about the notes as well. Take time to think about how to count it so that tied notes won't trip you up. I have also found Paul Harris's Improve your Sightreading to be a useful tool.

Hope this helps.

Thanks, I think its more a problem with remembering sharps and flats than rhymns now, thing is I get very good marks (ranging from 27-30 in my last exam) in the peices, its just the ###### sightreading that lets me down!

I'll out your advice into action when I practise tonight