RCM sight reading: what the test asks and how to practice at home

In an RCM practical exam, sight reading has two parts. The student taps or claps a short rhythm, and then plays a short passage of music they have never seen. The RCM Piano Syllabus describes it as rhythm reading and sight playing of short passages. In piano exams it is worth 10 marks out of 100. The best preparation is five minutes of new, easy music every day.

The two parts

Rhythm. The student is shown a short rhythm and performs it while keeping a steady beat. Under RCM’s 2024 update, the student taps a steady beat for one measure before beginning.

Playing. The student is shown a short passage, looks it over, and plays it.

In the Level 1 piano exam, rhythm is worth 3 marks and playing is worth 7. At the Preparatory levels, each part is worth 5.

How the playing test grows

The 2022 Piano Syllabus builds the test in small steps.

Level	Playing test
Preparatory A	Two four-note melodies, one for each hand, moving by step
Preparatory B	A short melody shared between the hands
Level 1	A four-measure melody shared between the hands
Level 2	Melodies that move beyond one five-finger position
Level 3	A four-measure passage played hands together

The passages stay easier than the pieces a student is preparing for the same exam.

What examiners listen for

A steady beat comes first. Teachers stress keeping the beat going, even when a note goes wrong.

After the beat come the right notes, the right rhythm, and any marks for loud and soft.

A five-minute daily routine

1. Look before playing. Give your child half a minute with the music. Check the clef, the key signature, and the time signature. Find the first note for each hand. Look for steps, skips, and repeated notes.

2. Tap the rhythm. Count one bar out loud, then tap the rhythm of the passage on the closed lid or on a knee.

3. Set a slow beat. Use the metronome for kids at a speed where the hardest bar is possible.

4. Play it once without stopping. No going back. If a note is wrong, keep going.

5. Say one thing. What went well? What would you watch for next time? Then move on. Sight reading is about the next new piece, not about fixing this one.

What to read

The music has to be new and easy. Material two or three levels below the student’s pieces is about right.

Good sources are old method books, easy duet books, hymn books, and beginner collections from the library. The Four Star books from RCM’s publisher have a short exercise for each day. RCM also sells an online sight-reading program.

A book only works once. After a passage has been played a few times, it is no longer sight reading.

Rhythm practice away from the instrument

Write four bars of rhythm on blank staff paper or pick a line from any book. Have your child tap a steady beat with one hand and the rhythm with the other. Or count out loud and clap.

Note values explained and time signatures explained cover what the symbols mean.

Common habits to fix

Stopping to correct. Practice with a metronome so the beat pulls the student along.

Starting too fast. The first note sets the speed for the hardest bar.

Looking at the hands. Cover the hands with a book held above them, so the eyes stay on the page.

Skipping the look. Make the half-minute look a rule.

Start early

Reading grows the way reading words does, a little each day for a long time. Put it on the practice chart every day, starting months before the exam.

For the listening half of the musicianship marks, read RCM ear tests explained. For the full timeline, read how to prepare for an RCM practical exam.

Sources: RCM Piano Syllabus, 2022 Edition and the RCM Musicianship Addendum, 2024, checked in November 2026.