Websites that offer free speed reading lessons also provide guides on how to improve your speed reading skills through the various tips and techniques they offer. Most people can read at an average of 200 to 400 words per minute, even while they are in college where much reading is done. People can still enhance this skill like working out a muscle and can reach reading speeds five times faster or more.

Techniques and Tips used by Free Online Speed Reading Courses

Speed reading coursesprovided free online utilizes certain techniques in helping people develop their speed reading skills. The following are some of these tips and techniques which anyone can utilize and take advantage of in developing their skills.

* Sight Reading

The main technique in free online speed reading is to read by sight and not by mouth. A person can only vocalize an average of 200 words per minute so reading with sub-vocalization can definitely slow down your reading speed. Reading by sight absorbs more information at a faster rate.

* Avoiding Regression

Regression refers to the act of going back or back-skipping to previous words that you have already passed through. This is a very wasteful move and slows down your reading speed as well as cause comprehension problems. Going back through words previously read could send confusing signals to your brain causing it to process information more slowly thus resulting in a slower reading speed. Your free online speed reading course can help you overcome this dilemma.

* Eliminating Bad Habits

People have certain habits while reading that cause them to slow down more. This comprises motor habits like flicking hands, tapping their fingers or tapping their foot. These people have developed the habit of requiring movement in their bodies in order to read. One bad habit that will surely slow down reading speeds is moving your lips while reading. This is akin to voicing out words and slows you down considerably. As you progress through your free online speed reading course, you will learn how to eliminate these bad habits.

* Controlling Eye Fixations

Some people have difficulty in reading with their eyes smoothly as their eyes tend to fixate word per word. This slows the reader down as he or she needs to stop at every word. Fixations can affect your level of concentration and lessen your comprehension.

* Increase Eye Spans

A wider eye span means more words are taken in at a single look, which starts from a single word up to a whole paragraph. The more words you can look, the faster you can assimilate information from what you are reading.

Tip # 1. Key Signature.  Pay close attention to the key signature of the piece you are about to play.  Try to remember the appropriate sharps and flats in that key signature so you will know to play those whenever they occur throughout the song. 

Tip # 2. Time Signature.  This is also important to look at before you start sight-reading the piece.  You will need to know what kind of note gets one beat. One question to always ask is “how many beats in a measure”.

Tip # 3. Key or Time Signatures Changes.  Check through your music for any changes to the key signature or time signature.  Not knowing about a transition will obviously affect the quality of your play. 

Tip # 4. Starting and Ending Notes.  It helps if you are familiar with the starting and ending note or chord of a song before you start playing.  These are good reference points to guide you during your sight-reading.

Tip # 5. Note the Rhythm.  Refer to tip # 6 as well. It is easy to play simple melody notes. What makes for a much more interesting sound is the addition of chords, or the rhythm.  As you look through the song, you usually can get an idea of how it will go.  This will ease you through when trying to play the correct rhythm during sight-reading.

Tip # 6.  Play the Melody First.  Also look through the right hand melody line. Play this through first.  This will help give you an idea of the sound of the song and then you can put it all together and you will be able to identify the unique melodic line.

Tip # 7.  Check for Other Markings.  You should know all about loudness/softness, speed, and other technical aspects of music. Check the printed sheets for these markings and make a mental note of them. 

Tip # 8. Relax and Focus. Finally, before you play it is important to take a deep breath and relax yourself.  Focus on what you are about to play.  Try to play the song all the way through for your first sight-reading.  This gives you a general idea of what the song will sound like.  Later you can break it down and work on each measure or group of measures as you see fit. Remember. We are playing music for the love of it, not as a chore.  

Maybe you are asking yourself why you should learn to sight-read music.  Why not just learn the song a little bit at a time?  Sight-reading forces you to move forward at a faster pace until you finish the song, ultimately helping you learn to play music faster.  This helps you get rid of the bad habits that lead to starts and stops when first playing a new piece of music.  Sight-reading is an important skill to learn if you wish to become a good piano player.

For more tips about learning to play piano, including a free mini-course, visit the Learning To Play Piano Today site.