Think you have what it takes to beat Kate Warren in sight reading? Take MakeMusic’s Sight Reading Challenge to find out! Using Sight Reading Studio, MakeMusic’s sight reading music generation app, Kate has created three different sight reading templates of increasing difficulty level that will put your skills to the test.

If you’re up for a challenge, here’s the 4 steps for how to participate:

Step 1) Create a MakeMusic Cloud account

To participate in the challenge, you’ll need a free MakeMusic Cloud account—if you don’t already have one yet, you can sign up completely free by clicking on the button below (no credit card required):

Already have a MakeMusic Cloud account? Click “Log in” on the Create an Account page, or Sign in with Google.

Step 2) Select your difficulty level

Now that you’re in MakeMusic Cloud, it’s time to take on the challenge. Kate has created three sight reading presets that increase in difficulty, Enthusiast, Expert, and Virtuoso. 

You can access the sight reading presets for all difficulty levels by clicking the corresponding button below. Each difficulty level playlist has a preset for 23 different instruments. Simply click the Play button icon on the instrument of your choice to get started!

Instrument-specific notes:

• For piano/keyboard players, only one-handed exercises are supported by Sight Reading Studio currently. To generate a one-handed exercise, select any Flute template from a playlist below.
• For vocalists, solfege is not required.
• For rhythm players, the template will generate a Cowbell, but any percussion instrument or sound can be used, including snare, snaps, or claps.

Select your difficulty below! From there, you will be taken to the MakeMusic Cloud Practice app. 

Level 1: Enthusiast

Kate’s score: 98%

Example Enthusiast exercise:

Level 2: Expert

Kate’s score: 92%

Example Expert exercise:

Level 3: Virtuoso

Kate’s score: 90%

Example Virtuoso exercise:

In the Practice app, a few things will happen:

• First, setup and calibrate your microphone
• Once calibrated, a random sight reading exercise will be created based on Kate’s difficulty preset
• You’ll have 45 seconds to study the piece and prepare to perform. You can also the double-arrow icon next to the timer to get started as soon as you’re ready. 
• As you play, you’ll receive feedback on your playing in real-time. Green notes were played correctly, while red notes were played incorrect. Once you’re finished playing, you’ll also receive a percentage score telling you how well you did!

For best results, we recommend using a desktop computer (PC, Mac, or Chromebook) with the Chrome web browser. MakeMusic Cloud will not work on mobile devices.

Step 3) Share your performance

Did you beat Kate’s score on any of the three difficulty levels? Record yourself playing along and tag @makemusiccloud on Instagram for a chance to be featured on our story!

Step 4) Keep practicing

The sight reading fun doesn’t end when the competition does. Sight Reading Studio is free until the end of June, which means you can keep improving your skills free of charge for months to come.

With Sight Reading Studio, you can generate your own sight reading templates and exercise based on any settings you choose. Access Sight Reading Studio at any time by selecting the Sight Reading Studio icon from the MakeMusic Cloud sidebar.