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I stumbled over an blog entry I wrote about a year ago about the similarities between music and climbing. I talked about how daily sight-reading sessions are key to building skill as a musician:

If you've got the time, the absolute best thing you can do is "perfect" a one-page piece in a single sitting, like this:

1. Sight read straight through, no stopping.
2. Go back and take a few minutes (no more than 15) to work up those sections that gave you trouble. If you managed to get through a section, don't work on it. Return only to those sections that you could not sight read.
3. Play the whole thing through again, no stopping.
4. If (and only if) you feel like you can really nail the whole thing, go over the trouble spots one more time, then play it again. But only do this if you're confident in moving beyond the notes.

Compare that to Monday's session at the climbing gym, when I worked on and eventually got a new climb:

1. I started the route, not looking at the grade.
2. Fell, worked the crux a few times, came down to rest.
3. Tried again, got the crux, then fell off the last move.
4. Worked the last move until I got it, then lowered off to rest.
5. I felt like I had all the moves, so I tried it again, getting the whole thing without falling.
6. My climbing partner discovered a nicer solution to the last move, so I tied in again, and did the whole thing again, this time using the new finish.

Pretty much identical, eh?

I've been concentrating on new stuff for the last year, and I've become a much stronger climber. I've only moved from 5.10a to about 5.10c/d, but I'm getting climbs in a single projecting session, rather than working on them for weeks before a successful ascent. In short: my sight reading skills have vastly improved, and I've got a lot more tools in my toolbox.