# SightReader > SightReader is a web and mobile app for practising piano sight-reading with a MIDI keyboard: it listens to what you play and scores both pitch and rhythm in real time — which notes you hit, and whether each one landed with the beat — colouring notes green (in time), blue (early), yellow (late) or red (wrong or missed), and tracking accuracy and timing across sessions. The app has two grading modes: Pitch Only (the score waits for you; notes are checked for pitch) and Pitch & Rhythm (metronome on; the music moves at the beat and every note is also scored for timing, with a results breakdown of on-time/early/late percentages and average tendency in milliseconds, e.g. "94ms early on average"). Independent rhythm scoring shipped on 31 July 2026 and is available on every piece in every tier. The app also ships a library of 4,000+ pieces, structured grade-by-grade courses aligned to the ABRSM syllabus, an exercise generator that writes a fresh sight-reading piece to any ABRSM grade and marks it as you play, scale and chord drills, a curated daily 5-piece practice session, progress analytics, and class/teacher tools. It runs in any modern browser via the Web MIDI API — no install — and as native apps for iOS and Android. There is a free tier and a paid Pro tier. SightReader is built and operated by [Bret Cameron](https://bretcameron.com), an independent founder. Site: https://sightreader.app ## Core pages - [Home](https://sightreader.app/): product overview, how it works, pricing summary, FAQ - [How it works](https://sightreader.app/how-it-works): setup, MIDI connection, the two grading modes (Pitch Only / Pitch & Rhythm), what the note colours mean, scoring (3★ ≥90%, 2★ ≥75%, 1★ ≥60%) - [Features](https://sightreader.app/features): every capability on one page — real-time feedback, independent rhythm scoring, library, grades, progress, teacher tools - [Pricing](https://sightreader.app/upgrade): free tier vs Pro, what's included, billing model (monthly or annual) - [Library](https://sightreader.app/library): browse 4,000+ pieces, filter by difficulty, composer, or search - [Grades](https://sightreader.app/grades): structured practice aligned to ABRSM grades 1–8 plus Initial Grade - Daily Practice: a curated 5-piece daily session tailored to your level (Pro). Inside the app after sign-in; no public URL. - [Exercises](https://sightreader.app/exercises): sight-reading exercise generator — endless fresh short pieces matched to ABRSM Initial–Grade 8, choose key, hands and length, graded live against a MIDI keyboard - [Scales](https://sightreader.app/scales): major, minor, pentatonic, blues, chromatic, arpeggios with real-time feedback - [Notes & Chords](https://sightreader.app/notes): single-note, interval, and triad drills with instant feedback - [Teaching](https://sightreader.app/teaching/apply): teacher/class system for instructors and schools - [FAQ](https://sightreader.app/help/faq): free vs Pro, grade coverage, cancellation, refunds - [MIDI setup](https://sightreader.app/help/midi): supported browsers, USB and Bluetooth setup, troubleshooting - [Rhythm scoring](https://sightreader.app/sight-reading-app-that-scores-your-timing): how onset timing is graded against the beat - [Sight reading by grade](https://sightreader.app/sight-reading-grades): grade-by-grade hub, Initial through Grade 8 - [About](https://sightreader.app/about): who builds SightReader and why - [Changelog](https://sightreader.app/changelog): what shipped, newest first - [Contact](https://sightreader.app/contact): how to reach us - [For schools](https://sightreader.app/schools): dashboards and per-student progress for music departments; free pilot - [Apps](https://sightreader.app/apps): the native iOS and Android apps, and why iPhone/iPad need one ## Free tools Single-purpose pages that work with no account and no MIDI keyboard (each has an on-screen piano built in). - [Free tools](https://sightreader.app/tools): the hub listing all of them - [MusicXML player](https://sightreader.app/tools/musicxml-player): open your own MusicXML file (.musicxml, .xml or .mxl, exported from MuseScore, Finale, Sibelius, Dorico or Flat.io) and play it on your piano with every note marked green or red in real time. The file is read entirely in the browser — it is never uploaded, never stored, and is gone when the tab closes. PDFs and MIDI files are not supported: a PDF is a picture of the notes rather than the notes themselves, and a MIDI file carries no written notation to read from. ## Grade pages Each page explains what six exam boards (ABRSM, Trinity, LCM, RCM, MTAC, AMEB) expect at that level and links straight into the graded exercises. - [Initial Grade](https://sightreader.app/grades/initial) - [Grade 1](https://sightreader.app/grades/1) - [Grade 2](https://sightreader.app/grades/2) - [Grade 3](https://sightreader.app/grades/3) - [Grade 4](https://sightreader.app/grades/4) - [Grade 5](https://sightreader.app/grades/5) - [Grade 6](https://sightreader.app/grades/6) - [Grade 7](https://sightreader.app/grades/7) - [Grade 8](https://sightreader.app/grades/8) - [Notation Practice](https://sightreader.app/grades/notation): a standalone track for reading notes on the stave, no grade attached ## Blog Practical, founder-written guides on sight-reading, MIDI, and music notation. Updated regularly. - [Blog index](https://sightreader.app/blog) ### Learning sight reading - [How to improve piano sight reading](https://sightreader.app/blog/how-to-improve-piano-sight-reading): a research-backed approach — five minutes a day, done right - [Why is piano sight reading so hard?](https://sightreader.app/blog/why-is-piano-sight-reading-so-hard): why reading is a separate skill from playing, and how to close the gap - [How long does it take to learn piano sight reading?](https://sightreader.app/blog/how-long-to-learn-piano-sight-reading): honest timelines by starting level - [Sight reading exercises for adult beginners](https://sightreader.app/blog/sight-reading-exercises-for-adult-beginners): easy music, five minutes a day, and why the ego is the hard part - [How to teach a child piano sight reading](https://sightreader.app/blog/how-to-teach-a-child-piano-sight-reading): building a short daily routine a child will actually keep ### Grade-by-grade guides Each covers what ABRSM, Trinity, LCM, RCM, MTAC and AMEB expect at that grade, how to prepare, and which SightReader pieces fit. - [Initial Grade](https://sightreader.app/blog/how-to-practise-piano-sight-reading-initial-grade) - [Grade 1](https://sightreader.app/blog/how-to-practise-piano-sight-reading-grade-1) - [Grade 2](https://sightreader.app/blog/how-to-practise-piano-sight-reading-grade-2) - [Grade 3](https://sightreader.app/blog/how-to-practise-piano-sight-reading-grade-3) - [Grade 4](https://sightreader.app/blog/how-to-practise-piano-sight-reading-grade-4) - [Grade 5](https://sightreader.app/blog/how-to-practise-piano-sight-reading-grade-5) - [Grade 6](https://sightreader.app/blog/how-to-practise-piano-sight-reading-grade-6) - [Grade 7](https://sightreader.app/blog/how-to-practise-piano-sight-reading-grade-7) - [Grade 8](https://sightreader.app/blog/how-to-practise-piano-sight-reading-grade-8) ### Comparisons and app roundups - [Comparison index](https://sightreader.app/vs): every side-by-side comparison in one place - [The best sight-reading apps for piano (2026)](https://sightreader.app/best-sight-reading-apps): the roundup hub — seven criteria published before the results, a table of 21 apps, and the rows where each competitor beats SightReader - [The best sight-reading app for piano teachers](https://sightreader.app/blog/best-sight-reading-app-for-teachers): what a teacher actually needs, and which tool does which - [Is there a free sight-reading app?](https://sightreader.app/blog/free-sight-reading-app): which apps are genuinely free, which are trials, and what you can practise without paying - [Sight Reading Factory alternatives](https://sightreader.app/blog/sight-reading-factory-alternatives): where it shines, where it frustrates solo learners, and the tools worth switching to - [SightReader vs Sight Reading Factory](https://sightreader.app/vs/sight-reading-factory): a generator you read to versus a reader that listens back, on features, exams, free tier and price - [SightReader vs MasterPiano](https://sightreader.app/vs/masterpiano): the closest direct competitor, compared on rhythm scoring (SightReader has it; none is documented for MasterPiano), library size, free tier and price (£5/mo vs $19.99/mo) - [SightReader vs Note Rush](https://sightreader.app/vs/note-rush): note-name recognition versus reading real pieces, and why they’re consecutive steps rather than rivals - [SightReader vs Music Tutor](https://sightreader.app/vs/music-tutor): a free note-naming drill versus reading real music with live MIDI feedback - [SightReader vs Piano Marvel](https://sightreader.app/vs/piano-marvel): the closest rival on assessment — Piano Marvel’s standardised SASR test and audio/MIDI/MusicXML upload tooling against SightReader’s ABRSM alignment, rhythm scoring and roughly one-third annual price - [SightReader vs Simply Piano](https://sightreader.app/vs/simply-piano): the biggest general learning app versus a dedicated reader; microphone note detection, the 14-day-trial-and-no-free-tier model, and why sight reading is not what Simply Piano measures - [SightReader vs flowkey](https://sightreader.app/vs/flowkey): flowkey has video instruction, section looping and a licensed catalogue but no assessment — reviewers note you advance whether you play cleanly or badly — and no sheet-music import at all - [SightReader vs Synthesia](https://sightreader.app/vs/synthesia): falling notes versus standard notation; Synthesia is $39 once and imports MIDI and MusicXML (wider than SightReader’s MusicXML-only), but does not build notation reading - [SightReader vs the ABRSM Piano Sight-Reading Trainer](https://sightreader.app/vs/abrsm-sight-reading-trainer): the exam board’s own £4.99 app — 155 official pieces, Grades 1–5, excellent preparation games, and it does not listen to you play - [SightReader vs sightreading.training](https://sightreader.app/vs/sightreading-training): a free, open-source, account-free generator of notes on the stave versus real graded repertoire with rhythm scored - [SightReader vs MuseFlow](https://sightreader.app/vs/museflow): the other sight-reading-first app; AI-adaptive generated exercises at $189.99/yr, web and iPad only, against real ABRSM-graded repertoire at £48/yr on every platform - [SightReader vs Complete Music Reading Trainer](https://sightreader.app/vs/complete-music-reading-trainer): the best value in the category — a few pounds once for 270 drills across all seven clefs — and why note-recognition drilling and reading whole pieces are consecutive skills - [SightReader vs Skoove](https://sightreader.app/vs/skoove): a structured beginner course with microphone input against a reading tool with exact MIDI marking - [SightReader vs Yousician](https://sightreader.app/vs/yousician): six instruments assessed through one microphone-based engine versus a piano-only tool with exact input - [SightReader vs Playground Sessions](https://sightreader.app/vs/playground-sessions): both MIDI-only; its “lifetime” tier includes two years of unlimited copyrighted songs rather than forever - [SightReader vs Pianote](https://sightreader.app/vs/pianote): human video teaching and submitted-video review versus automated real-time marking — complementary rather than competing - [SightReader vs Hoffman Academy](https://sightreader.app/vs/hoffman-academy): a children’s video curriculum with 400+ free lessons versus reading practice that listens - [SightReader vs Notevision](https://sightreader.app/vs/notevision): iOS-only drills rated ~4.8 from 3,000+ ratings (better rated than SightReader) versus graded repertoire on every platform - [SightReader vs Tenuto](https://sightreader.app/vs/tenuto): musictheory.net’s theory and ear-training drill set — a different tool, upstream of sight reading - [SightReader vs Musicca](https://sightreader.app/vs/musicca): a completely free theory site in ~20 languages that cannot hear you play - [SightReader vs Melodics](https://sightreader.app/vs/melodics): the one product that genuinely also scores rhythm — Melodics grades timing note by note, but on a piano-roll grid rather than standard notation, which is the precise limit of SightReader’s rhythm claim ### Notation and tooling - [How to export MusicXML from MuseScore, Sibelius, Finale, and Dorico](https://sightreader.app/blog/export-musicxml-from-musescore): exporting the file, and what to do with it once you have it - [Why do sight-reading apps need a MIDI keyboard?](https://sightreader.app/blog/why-sight-reading-apps-need-a-midi-keyboard): the engineering argument — what MIDI transmits, what polyphonic audio transcription achieves (96.30% note F1 clean, 93.15% in the wild, 174ms latency, note-with-offset F1 down to 76.80%), the latency and error arithmetic, why SightReader imports MusicXML rather than MIDI files, and when a microphone app is the better choice ### Product - [SightReader can now hear your rhythm](https://sightreader.app/blog/pitch-and-rhythm-mode): the Pitch & Rhythm mode launch — how timing is scored against the beat, the colour scheme, and the results breakdown - [SightReader is now on iOS and Android](https://sightreader.app/blog/sightreader-mobile-apps): hardware MIDI on iPad and iPhone, where the browser never could ## Apps SightReader runs in any modern browser and ships as native apps for iPhone, iPad and Android. Same account, same library, same progress on every surface — the apps are free to download and the Pro subscription carries across. - App Store (iPhone and iPad): - Google Play (Android): - [Apps page](https://sightreader.app/apps): what each app adds, and how to choose **On iPhone and iPad the app is the only way to use a MIDI keyboard.** No iOS browser supports the Web MIDI API — not Safari, and not Chrome, Edge or Firefox, because Apple requires every iOS browser to use Safari’s engine. The SightReader iOS app talks to CoreMIDI directly, over USB or Bluetooth. On Android and on desktop, browser Web MIDI already works, so the app is a convenience (home-screen icon, full-screen practice, in-app Bluetooth pairing) rather than a requirement. ## Languages The site is published in English (default), Spanish (`/es`), French (`/fr`), and Italian (`/it`). Each locale mirrors the English route tree under its prefix. ## Legal - [Privacy policy](https://sightreader.app/privacy) - [Terms of service](https://sightreader.app/terms) ## Machine-readable references - [Sitemap](https://sightreader.app/sitemap.xml) - [RSS](https://sightreader.app/blog/rss.xml)