A Singer's Resource for Competitive Sightsinging
Composed by McGill & Stevens
Instrumentation: Book/CD
Catalog number: ALLI AMC 2010

This sight reading workbook targets the secondary choir student preparing for vocal sight reading auditions. There are several sight reading methods that could be used. These include moveable do solfege, fixed do solfege, numbers, etc. It is the hope of the authors that with daily usage, this workbook will build the singer's confidence and sharpen sight reading skills as they prepare for sight reading auditions. The eight-measure exercises are a combination of original compositions and prior sight reading audition examples. The key signatures were selected to fit the comfortable vocal range of each voice part. The helpful hints are compilations of nearly fifty years of successful secondary choral teaching.

This workbook is designed to prepare secondary choir students for sight reading auditions by providing them with materials for individual study. The book is designed to give the student three exercises a day, five days a week for eighteen weeks. This is the equivalent of a school semester. Each week's exercises progress in difficulty.

The warm-up exercises are designed with two possible uses in mind. First, the novice will find the easier exercises very helpful in developing confidence and security in the sight reading process. The exercises have no intervals larger than a major 2nd, and therefore, develop strength in sequencing syllables together. Second, the exercises also are intended to be used by the experienced reader any time during the 90 day program for review or confidence building.

Rehearsal CD: The CD track number beside each exercise refers the singer to the correct keyed accompanied track for that particular exercise. On each track, the singer will hear a tonic triad in broken style, followed by the starting pitch, then thirty seconds of silence. After the period of silence, the tonic triad in broken style will be replayed, followed by the starting pitch.