Sight-Reading

30-second scan (STARS):

S - Sharps/flats:  What key? Count sharps or flats in key signature
T - Time signature: 4/4? 3/4? 6/8? Affects how you count
A - Accidentals:   Any sharps/flats not in key signature?
R - Rhythm:        Spot the hardest rhythms, count them in your head
S - Structure:     Repeats? D.C.? Coda? Don't get lost

Then:
  Set a SLOW comfortable tempo
  Count one bar in your head before starting
  DO NOT STOP for mistakes — keep going

Eyes ahead:
  Read 1-2 beats ahead of where you're playing
  Like reading text — your eyes lead your hands

Don't stop:
  The #1 rule of sight-reading
  Wrong note at the right time > right note at the wrong time
  Keep the pulse going no matter what

Simplify on the fly:
  Can't play all the notes? Play the melody/top voice
  Can't play the rhythm? Play on the beat
  Reduce to what you can manage while keeping time

Don't read note-by-note — read patterns:

Scales:    stepwise ascending/descending runs
Arpeggios: chord shapes broken apart
Intervals: recognize the distance visually
Sequences: same pattern repeated at different pitches
Rhythmic groups: common rhythm cells (dotted-eighth-sixteenth, etc.)

The more patterns you recognize, the faster you read.
It's like reading words instead of spelling out letters.

Minimum 5 minutes per day of NEW material

Sources:
  Sight-reading books graded by difficulty
  Music you haven't seen before (borrow from library)
  Different styles: classical, jazz, folk, pop

Progression:
  Level 1: Simple rhythms, C major, small range
  Level 2: Key signatures up to 2 sharps/flats, varied rhythms
  Level 3: All major keys, dotted rhythms, syncopation
  Level 4: Minor keys, accidentals, compound time
  Level 5: Chromatic passages, complex rhythms, key changes

Never sight-read the same piece twice — that's practice, not sight-reading