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Build your own practice URLs

September 23, 2026

Every setting in SightRead.org lives in the URL. That means any exercise configuration you like can be bookmarked, shared with a friend or a student, pasted into a lesson plan, etc. And you don't need an account to do so.

This post is the complete reference for how those URLs are put together.

Pick a quest with a search parameter

The part before the # chooses which of the four practice modes you get.

  • ?sight-reading — melodies with pitches, not just rhythm. This is the default, so a bare https://sightread.org/ gives you the same thing.
  • ?rhythm-reading — read and clap or play the notated rhythm.
  • ?rhythm-dictation — hear the rhythm first, notation stays hidden until you reveal it.
  • ?melodic-dictation — hear a melody first; the notes stay hidden until you reveal them, while the clef, key and time signatures and the first note show.

Settings live in the hash

Everything after the # configures the exercise itself. Parameters are joined with &, in any order.

For example, https://sightread.org/?sight-reading#t=72&m=8&l=2&ks=0,1,-1&lp=third is sight reading at 72 BPM, eight measures, level 2, up to one sharp or flat, with leaps up to a third. And https://sightread.org/?rhythm-dictation#t=70&m=4&l=2&ts=44 is rhythmic dictation at 70 BPM, four measures, level 2, in 4/4.

Default values are left out when the app builds a shareable URL, and unknown keys or invalid values are ignored, so you can leave a stray parameter in a URL without breaking it.

Core settings

Defaults differ slightly across quests — for instance, reading quests default to 8 measures while dictation quests default to 4, and the melody quests default to piano playback while the rhythm quests default to percussion.

  • t — tempo in BPM: integer, 30 to 200 in the UI. Default 60.
  • m — number of measures: 2, 4, 8, 12, 16 or 32. Default 8 for ?sight-reading and ?rhythm-reading, 4 for ?rhythm-dictation and ?melodic-dictation.
  • l — difficulty level: 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5. Sight reading and melodic dictation use gentler rhythm patterns at each level than rhythm reading and rhythmic dictation. Default 2.
  • c — metronome mode: yes, no, only (click without notation) or four (four-on-the-floor). Default yes.
  • z — rhythmic solmization syllables: yes or no. Syllables such as 1 e & a or 1-la-li go under the notes. Default no.
  • cn — chord symbols above the staff: yes or no. Default no.
  • y — dynamics markings (pp-ff and hairpins): yes or no. Default no.
  • p — playback instrument: percussion or piano. Default piano for ?sight-reading and ?melodic-dictation, percussion for ?rhythm-reading and ?rhythm-dictation.
  • tr — playback transposition of the melody in semitones: 12 (octave higher, piccolo), 0 (as written), -2 (major 2nd lower, B♭ clarinet, trumpet), -7 (perfect 5th lower, F horn), -9 (major 6th lower, E♭ alto sax), -12 (octave lower, guitar, tenor voice, double bass) or -14 (major 9th lower, B♭ tenor sax). Use it for transposing instruments and octave-transposing parts. Default 0.
  • pb — background synth pad playing the chord progression: 1 or 0. Default 0.
  • s — click volume on strong beats: 0 to 100. Default 60.
  • w — click volume on weak beats: 0 to 100. Default 30.
  • d — click volume on subdivisions: 0 to 100. Default 0.
  • ts — time signatures: comma list such as 44,68,98x, see the time signatures below. Default 44.
  • tc — allow the time signature to change mid-exercise: 1 or 0. Default 0.

Melody settings

In ?sight-reading and ?melodic-dictation, these parameters control the key, scale collection, written range, clef and melodic motion.

  • ks — key signatures as signed accidental counts: comma list of -7 to 7, with 0 for none, positive counts for sharps, negative for flats. Each exercise picks one at random from the list. Default 0,1,2,3,-1,-2,-3 for ?sight-reading, 0 for ?melodic-dictation.
  • co — scale collections: a comma-separated list of major, melodicMinor, naturalMinor and harmonicMinor. Each exercise picks one at random: major uses the key signature's major key, and the minor collections use its relative minor. Default major,melodicMinor for ?sight-reading, major for ?melodic-dictation.
  • r — written melody range: lowest and highest natural note (piano white key) joined by a dash, such as B3-B5, each A0 to C8. Default B3-B5.
  • cl — clef for the notated melody: treble, bass, soprano, mezzosoprano, alto, tenor or baritone. Default treble.
  • lp — largest melodic interval between consecutive notes: step (steps only), third, fourth, fifth, sixth or octave. Default step.
  • la — which chord tones a leap may connect: any, tonic (tonic triad: do, mi, sol) or dominant (dominant triad: sol, ti, re). Has no effect with lp=step. Default any.
  • so — scale degree the melody starts on: do, mi or sol. Default do.
  • v — melody variety: balanced or adventurous (wider tessitura, more leaps and chord outlines). Default balanced.

Instrument and voice range presets

Picking a preset in the Melody tab sets r and cl to the written range of that instrument or voice. For transposing instruments and octave-transposing parts, add tr so playback matches what sounds.

Instruments:

  • Violin: r=G3-E6&cl=treble
  • Viola: r=C3-A5&cl=alto
  • Cello: r=C2-A4&cl=bass
  • Double bass: r=E2-G4&cl=bass&tr=-12
  • Flute: r=C4-C7&cl=treble
  • Piccolo: r=D4-C7&cl=treble&tr=12
  • Clarinet in B♭: r=E3-C6&cl=treble&tr=-2
  • Trumpet in B♭: r=G3-C6&cl=treble&tr=-2
  • Horn in F: r=G3-C6&cl=treble&tr=-7
  • Alto sax: r=C4-F6&cl=treble&tr=-9
  • Tenor sax: r=C4-F6&cl=treble&tr=-14
  • Trombone: r=E2-F4&cl=bass
  • Guitar: r=E3-E6&cl=treble&tr=-12

Voices:

  • Soprano: r=C4-A5&cl=treble
  • Mezzo-soprano: r=A3-F5&cl=treble
  • Alto: r=F3-D5&cl=treble
  • Tenor: r=C4-A5&cl=treble&tr=-12
  • Baritone: r=A2-F4&cl=bass
  • Bass: r=E2-E4&cl=bass

Time signatures

The ts parameter uses a compact form: drop the slash, and mark asymmetric meters with a trailing x.

  • Simple meters: 24 for 2/4, 34 for 3/4, 44 for 4/4.
  • Compound meters: 68 for 6/8, 98 for 9/8, 128 for 12/8.
  • Asymmetric meters: 58x for 5/8, 78x for 7/8, 98x for 9/8, 118x for 11/8.

Note that 98 and 98x are different exercises. The first groups nine eighth notes as three dotted-quarter beats, the second groups them unevenly.

List several to mix them, as in ts=44,68,98x. Add tc=1 and the exercise will switch between them mid-piece.

Custom levels

If the five preset levels do not match what you want to drill, name the exact rhythm patterns yourself with up, as a comma-separated list of pattern IDs, and tune ties and rests on top of them.

  • up — custom rhythm pattern IDs: comma list of the pattern IDs below.
  • ut — probability of ties within a beat: 0 to 1. Default 0.
  • ua — probability of ties across measures: 0 to 1. Default 0.
  • ur — probability of rests: 0 to 1. Default 0.

Supplying up automatically puts you in custom mode, so you can leave l out entirely. Conversely, l=custom without a up list is ignored, and so are ut, ua and ur: the preset levels bring their own ties and rests.

One thing worth knowing about dictation: it forces ties and rests to zero when it generates an exercise. If you put ut, ua or ur above zero in a ?rhythm-dictation or ?melodic-dictation URL, the quest overrides them. That is deliberate, since guessing a tied or rest-heavy rhythm by ear is a much harder skill than the mode is aimed at.

Match your pattern IDs to your time signatures. Simple-meter IDs have no prefix, compound IDs start with c, and asymmetric IDs start with a2 or a3. Mixing categories, like asking for compound patterns in 4/4, produces nonsense.

Simple-meter pattern IDs

Use these with ts=24, 34 or 44.

  • Plain values: q (quarter), h (half), h. (dotted half), w (whole)
  • Eighths: ee (two eighths), q.e (dotted quarter and an eighth), eeq (two eighths and a quarter), qee (quarter and 2 eighths)
  • Tuplets: eee3 (eighth note triplets), t12 (triplets with notes 1 and 2 tied), t23 (triplets with notes 2 and 3 tied), 3qqq (quarter triplets), qq (quarter quintuplets), 8q (8th quintuplets), 16q (16th quintuplets), ee16q (quintuplet eighth, eighth, 16th), 6q (quarter sextuplets), 616 (16th sextuplets), 7q (quarter septuplets), 7e (eighth septuplets), 7s (sixteenth septuplets), 9s (sixteenth nonuplets)
  • Sixteenths: ssss (4 sixteenths), sstss (4 sixteenths, notes 2 and 3 tied), ses (sixteenth, eighth, sixteenth), sse (2 sixteenths, 1 eighth), ess (1 eighth, 2 sixteenths), e.s (dotted eighth and a 16th), e.se (dotted eighth, 16th, and eighth), se. (16th and a dotted eighth), 1638 (16th triplet and an eighth), 8163 (eighth and a 16th triplet)

Compound-meter pattern IDs

Use these with ts=68, 98 or 128.

  • Plain values: cq. (dotted quarter), ch. (dotted half)
  • Eighths: ceee (three eighths), cqe (quarter and eighth), ceq (eighth and quarter)
  • Tuplets: cee2 (duplets), ceeee2 (quadruplets)
  • Sixteenths: cssssss (six sixteenths), cessss (eighth and four sixteenths), csssse (four sixteenths and an eighth), cssess (two sixteenths, an eighth, and two sixteenths), cesse (eighth, 2 sixteenths, eighth), cssee (2 sixteenths, 2 eighths), ceess (2 eighths, 2 sixteenths), ce.se (dotted eighth, sixteenth, and eighth)

Asymmetric-meter pattern IDs

Use these with ts=58x, 78x, 98x or 118x. Asymmetric meters are built from two- and three-eighth groups, so the IDs come in matching families.

  • Two-eighth groups: a2q (quarter), a2ee (two eighths), a2ssss (four sixteenths), a2ses (sixteenth eighth sixteenth), a2sse (two sixteenths and eighth), a2ess (eighth and two sixteenths), a2e.s (dotted eighth and sixteenth), a2se. (sixteenth and dotted eighth)
  • Three-eighth groups: a3q. (dotted quarter), a3eee (three eighths), a3qe (quarter and eighth), a3ssssss (six sixteenths), a3essss (eighth and four sixteenths), a3sssse (four sixteenths and eighth), a3ssess (two sixteenths, eighth, two sixteenths)

Ready-made practice links

Configurations worth bookmarking, across all four quests.

The easiest way to build your own is to set everything up in the Settings panel, then copy the URL out of the address bar. It updates as you go.

Happy sight reading! 👀

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