Shanghaiceltic,

My experience is that the best approach to reading music is to
practice sight-singing. It's the way to hear what's on the page otherwise it becomes a painting-by-numbers game.

To be a reader, I think you need to know your major and minor
scales. And to really know them, sing them.

Internalizing the music by hearing it in your head is the way
to do it IMHO.

Studying chord construction and chord progressions also help.

Frank