Integrating Sight-Singing into the Choral Rehearsal

Abstract The lesson models in chapter 4 demonstrate how sight-singing can be presented systematically to choirs at beginning and advanced levels to build essential skills. The lesson models are all designed to be presented as a separate part of the rehearsal, distinct from work on the performance literature, though the lesson material can be based on music taken from choral literature. However, it is important that a teacher’s commitment to sightsinging not end at the moment that the rehearsal of the literature begins. When a IO-minute sight-singing lesson is followed by a rehearsal in which parts are pounded out on the piano, sight-singing becomes an academic exercise rather than a useful skill. However, we must acknowledge that our students’ voices and musicality are often developed well beyond their musicianship skills and that there is often a wide range of reading abilities within a single ensemble. To provide literature that keeps students challenged as performers, teachers often choose music that is beyond the choir’s ability to sight-read successfully. How do we deal with the challenge of incorporating reading into the rehearsal without compromising the quality of the literature we perform? Solutions to this challenge may be found in the organization of the choir program itself, the choice of literature, and the teaching approaches utilized in the rehearsal.