Sight-reading cards · From Zero to Mozart

Your daily disposable stream. One card a day, at the level where it's almost easy. Pre-read it (the-pre-read), play it once, no stopping (the-never-stop-rule), judge it against the pass condition, then move on — don't replay, and don't come back to the same card. When a whole level goes cleanly at a slow click for a week, move up.

Pass condition, every card: a steady slow pulse start to finish · at least 8/10 pitches correct · no panic pause longer than one beat. (Reveal each card's answer only after you've played it.)

Level 1 — open strings · 4/4 · long notes

60 bpm

Open strings only. The only skill is the string crossing and the steady beat.

66 bpm

2/4, open A and E. Count '1 2' in every bar; the crossing is small.

Level 2 — one string at a time · quavers in pairs

72 bpm

All on the D string, C major (so F is low 2). Even quavers, then a quarter to land.

Level 3 — C & G major · whole strings

66 bpm

G major, first position, skips and steps. Ends on home.

66 bpm

C major — broken chords (C then D). Low 2 for F. The C-major hand.

Level 4 — D & A major · A & E minor · dotted crotchets · ties

69 bpm

D major (C and F are sharp), a dotted-quarter figure. Watch the high 2 for C♯ and F♯.

66 bpm

A natural minor — no sharps or flats, but it rests on A, not C. Hear the difference.

Level 5 — F major & D minor · the low-1 hand

63 bpm

F major — one flat. The B is B♭: LOW 1st finger on the A string. F is low 2 on the D string.

Level 6 — 6/8 · read in two

66 bpm

6/8 — count it as TWO big beats per bar (‘1-2-3, 4-5-6’), not six little ones. A lilting jig feel.

Level 7 — one chromatic note · the fermata

66 bpm

G major with one C♯ in bar 2 — a chromatic leaning note (it pulls up to d). It's a high 2 instead of the usual low 2 for C♮. The bar-line puts C back to natural in bar 3.

Level 8 — syncopation

69 bpm

Off-beat notes — a quaver, then notes landing on the ‘&’. Subdivide ‘1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &’ and keep it strict.

More cards

This is a starter set — one or two cards per level. The point is that each is played once and never again, so the ladder is meant to be much longer. Re-notate any tune you know into a new key and it becomes a fresh card; the ABRSM Violin Sight-Reading Trainer app and Read Ahead generate endless graded material when you run out. (Levels 11+ — positions, key changes — arrive with Stage 8b, after you can shift.)