--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You can sightread better if you know your…" description: "\"You can sightread better if you know your scales and arpeggios.\" — James Galway" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eae/james-galway-27970_scales_you-can-sightread-better-if-you-know-you_2008368.png" --- # You can sightread better if you know your scales and… ![“You can sightread better if you know your scales and arpeggios.” quote by James Galway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eae/james-galway-27970_scales_you-can-sightread-better-if-you-know-you_2008368.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eae/james-galway-27970_scales_you-can-sightread-better-if-you-know-you_2008368.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eae/james-galway-27970_scales_you-can-sightread-better-if-you-know-you_2008368.png) > “You can sightread better if you know your scales and arpeggios.” [James Galway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-galway/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He explains that knowing scales and arpeggios improves sight-reading ability. **In simple terms:** Mastery of scales aids sight-reading. Key Takeaway Practice scales to read music faster. Themes music education skill development technique Mood encouraging practical Type educational technical When to use this quote - practice - performance - teaching - personal development Key Concepts scales arpeggios musical literacy Questions to Reflect On - How do you practice sight-reading? - Which exercises work best? A Different Perspective Not all musicians find this helpful. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) ## Related quotes > [By the time I got to the Paris Conservatoire I was very good at the scales and arpeggios.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-galway/by-the-time-i-got-to-the-paris-conservatoire-i-was-very-good-at-the/) [James Galway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-galway/) > [... I practice more than ever ... mostly scales and arpeggios ... and anything I can't do ...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-bream/i-practice-more-than-ever-mostly-scales-and-arpeggios-and-anything-i/) [Julian Bream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-bream/) > [At the piano, scales, arpeggios And chords, the morning exercises, The afternoon's reading, the night's reflection, That's how to produce a virtuoso.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/at-the-piano-scales-arpeggios-and-chords-the-morning-exercises-the/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [I didn't take lessons, and I don't know my scales.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsey-buckingham/i-didn-t-take-lessons-and-i-don-t-know-my-scales/) [Lindsey Buckingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsey-buckingham/) > [If you've stacked on the weight over time, and if you don't have any health issues, you don't realise. So you'll see yourself in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-o-farrell/if-you-ve-stacked-on-the-weight-over-time-and-if-you-don-t-have-any/) [Barry O'Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-o-farrell/) > [Before you can apply chromatic ideas to scales and arpeggios, you have to get the chromatic scale itself under your fingers. You should learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-petrucci/before-you-can-apply-chromatic-ideas-to-scales-and-arpeggios-you-have/) [John Petrucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-petrucci/) > [The concept is basically; that the pieces we know and love are made up of scales, arpeggios, and the like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lara-st-john/the-concept-is-basically-that-the-pieces-we-know-and-love-are-made-up/) [Lara St. John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lara-st-john/) > [I always get frustrated when I hear someone talking about sweep arpeggios. 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Humphrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hubert-h-humphrey/) ## More by James Galway > [The mind of the performer is a very strange thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-galway/the-mind-of-the-performer-is-a-very-strange-thing/) [James Galway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-galway/) > [The quickest way to unlock your talent is to take the flute out of the box.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-galway/the-quickest-way-to-unlock-your-talent-is-to-take-the-flute-out-of/) [James Galway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-galway/) > [It is normal to be nervous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-galway/it-is-normal-to-be-nervous/) [James Galway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-galway/) > [I have to report to those of you who think diamonds make a difference that I cannot tell what it is. 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Humphrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hubert-h-humphrey/) > [Each child’s story is worthy of telling. There shouldn’t be a sliding scale of death. The weight of it is crushing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anderson-cooper/each-child-s-story-is-worthy-of-telling-there-shouldn-t-be-a-sliding/) [Anderson Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anderson-cooper/) > [The next time you're looking at a charity, don't ask about the rate of their overhead. Ask about the scale of their dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-next-time-you-re-looking-at-a-charity-don-t-ask-about-the-rate-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When a new idea comes our way, we must put it on our mental scales and weigh it carefully before deciding its value.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/when-a-new-idea-comes-our-way-we-must-put-it-on-our-mental-scales-and/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [Except for the scale of the operation, there was nothing unusual about Hitler's massacre of the Jews. Genocide's an old tradition, as human as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/except-for-the-scale-of-the-operation-there-was-nothing-unusual-about/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [The pace of global warming is accelerating and the scale of the impact is devastating. 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Eg. cancer patients are more likely to survive if they're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-diener/being-too-happy-is-bad-for-you-8-on-1-10-scale-is-just-right-eg/) Ed Diener > [Inflation is not caused by the actions of private citizens, but by the government: by an artificial expansion of the money supply required to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/inflation-is-not-caused-by-the-actions-of-private-citizens-but-by-the/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [ Rather than comparing \[war\] to art we could more accurately compare it to commerce, which is also a conflict of human interests and activities;… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-clausewitz/rather-than-comparing-war-to-art-we-could-more-accurately-compare-it/) [Carl von Clausewitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-von-clausewitz/) > [I try not to be either optimistic or pessimistic. I try not to think about outcomes on that scale. My job, it seems to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/i-try-not-to-be-either-optimistic-or-pessimistic-i-try-not-to-think/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [Making an average pitch to average people, or having an average gala for average people isn't going to scale anymore. You've got to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/making-an-average-pitch-to-average-people-or-having-an-average-gala/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) Browse all 1,708 Scales quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You can sightread better if you know your scales and arpeggios.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "James Galway" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-galway/you-can-sightread-better-if-you-know-your-scales-and-arpeggios/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Scales" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-galway/you-can-sightread-better-if-you-know-your-scales-and-arpeggios/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eae/james-galway-27970_scales_you-can-sightread-better-if-you-know-you_2008368.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eae/james-galway-27970_scales_you-can-sightread-better-if-you-know-you_2008368.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eae/james-galway-27970_scales_you-can-sightread-better-if-you-know-you_2008368.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You can sightread better if you know your scales and arpeggios.” — James Galway", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "James Galway", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-galway/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You can sightread better if you...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-galway/you-can-sightread-better-if-you-know-your-scales-and-arpeggios/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-galway/you-can-sightread-better-if-you-know-your-scales-and-arpeggios/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```