30-day sight-reading challenge
A new short piece every day for 30 days, written for your level. Everyone at a level gets the same piece on the same day, so day 12 is day 12 for everyone. Play each one once, all the way through, and tick it off.
Each day's piece uses only what a reader at that level has met. Where a level has more than one key, the days go from the fewest sharps and flats to the most, so the month ends in the keys that level finds hardest.
Each day
- Take thirty seconds first: the key signature, the time, where the hands start, anything that jumps.
- Count a bar in, slowly, and play at that beat to the end.
- Keep going through mistakes. Your eyes stay a bar ahead; your hands follow.
- Tick the day off, whatever the marks say. Reading improves by reading every day, not by getting each piece right.
Level 4: 30 days
Both hands. Up to 2 sharps or flats. 4/4 and 3/4. Some pieces open on an upbeat, and their last bar is short by as much time. 8 bars a day.
| Day | Piece | Play | Printed | Done |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | C major · 4/48 bars · both hands | Play | ||
| Day 2 | C major · 3/48 bars · both hands · chromatic notes | Play | ||
| Day 3 | A minor · 4/48 bars · both hands · upbeat | Play | ||
| Day 4 | A minor · 3/48 bars · both hands · chromatic notes | Play | ||
| Day 5 | F major · 4/48 bars · both hands · upbeat · chromatic notes | Play | ||
| Day 6 | F major · 4/48 bars · both hands · upbeat | Play | ||
| Day 7 | G major · 4/48 bars · both hands · upbeat · chromatic notes | Play | ||
| Day 8 | G major · 4/48 bars · both hands · upbeat · chromatic notes | Play | ||
| Day 9 | G major · 3/48 bars · both hands | Play | Print (no. 1) | |
| Day 10 | G major · 3/48 bars · both hands | Play | ||
| Day 11 | F major · 3/48 bars · both hands | Play | ||
| Day 12 | E minor · 4/48 bars · both hands · upbeat | Play | Print (no. 2) | |
| Day 13 | D minor · 4/48 bars · both hands · upbeat | Play | ||
| Day 14 | E minor · 4/48 bars · both hands · chromatic notes | Play | ||
| Day 15 | D minor · 4/48 bars · both hands · upbeat · chromatic notes | Play | Print (no. 3) | |
| Day 16 | E minor · 3/48 bars · both hands · chromatic notes | Play | ||
| Day 17 | E minor · 3/48 bars · both hands · chromatic notes | Play | ||
| Day 18 | D minor · 3/48 bars · both hands | Play | ||
| Day 19 | B♭ major · 4/48 bars · both hands · upbeat · chromatic notes | Play | ||
| Day 20 | B♭ major · 4/48 bars · both hands · upbeat · chromatic notes | Play | ||
| Day 21 | D major · 4/48 bars · both hands · upbeat | Play | ||
| Day 22 | D major · 3/48 bars · both hands · upbeat · chromatic notes | Play | ||
| Day 23 | D major · 3/48 bars · both hands · chromatic notes | Play | ||
| Day 24 | B♭ major · 3/48 bars · both hands · chromatic notes | Play | Print (no. 4) | |
| Day 25 | G minor · 4/48 bars · both hands · upbeat · chromatic notes | Play | Print (no. 5) | |
| Day 26 | B minor · 4/48 bars · both hands | Play | ||
| Day 27 | B minor · 3/48 bars · both hands · upbeat | Play | ||
| Day 28 | G minor · 3/48 bars · both hands | Play | ||
| Day 29 | B minor · 3/48 bars · both hands | Play | Print (no. 6) | |
| Day 30 | G minor · 3/48 bars · both hands · upbeat | Play |
Level 4, 30-day sight-reading challenge, from clefsight.com/sight-reading/30-day-challenge?level=4. Play each day's piece there and get every note marked.
Questions
How does the challenge work?
Choose your level, then play one short piece each day for 30 days. Look over the piece for half a minute, count a bar in and play it once without stopping. The pieces are fixed, so everyone at your level plays the same one on the same day.
Do I need a keyboard?
A MIDI keyboard in Chrome, Edge or Firefox on a computer, or Chrome on Android, gets every note you play marked. Without one, play on the keys on screen. Printed, this page is a tracker to tick by hand.
Which level should I choose?
The one where day 1 feels easy and day 30 a stretch. The piano level test finds it in three minutes. If a day stops you every bar, drop a level; if every day is clean, move up one.
What if I miss a day?
Play the next one when you come back. The day numbers are an order, not a calendar, and nothing is lost.
What comes after {days} days?
The next level's challenge, or fresh sight-reading, which writes a new piece every time from what your reading profile says you can read.
More to read: the sight-reading guide, the exercises by level to print, and exam sight-reading for ABRSM and RCM.