2016 FMEA Professional Development Conference Dr. Jamey Kelley, presenter Friday, January 15, 2016 Florida International University

Building Musical Skills:

Techniques for Sight-Singing in the Secondary Classroom

Getting Started: Warming-up for sight-singing

  1. Include warm-ups that promote fluency of solfege

D D R D D R M R D D R M F M R D D R M F S F M R D …

D D T D D T L T D D T L S L T D …

-in canon

-add complexity for audiation work

  1. Echo games –

Could echo with the entire groups, parts, or individually

  1. Reinforce fluency of rhythmic syllables

Rhythm patterns on board – Rote/Echo process

  1. Mini – dictations

Provide opportunities for students to train their ears.

  1. Solfege Ladder –

Warm up challenges that you will present in the sight-singing example.

Pre-notational sight-singing

  1. Hand-notation

2. Syllablized notation – Choose your own adventure

Sight-singing Standard Notation

Materials:

Method books (Successful Sight-Singing by Telfer; Masterworks Press)

Folk-song anthologies (The Folk Song Sight Singing Series - Oxford)

Sight-singing texts (Anthology for Sight-Singing by KarpinskiKram)

Literature you’re working on

Self-made examples (noteflight.com - FREE)

State Music Association or Festival Sites: , AP College Board Music Theory Site

Process:

Review the exercise with student, ask leading questions but have students explain their thinking:

  1. What is key signature (or, what is do)? How did you figure that out? What are your starting pitches?
  2. What is the time signature? What does that mean?
  3. Help students locate repeated figures or possible challenge in the example.
  • For beginners – you will need to break down rhythm, then pitch, then combined
  • Have students evaluate their performance, or what needs to be addressed.
  • Develop both melodic and unison singing, as well as minor mode, compound meter, and different clefs.

Alternate Approaches:

  1. Anchor-note method

2. Backwards – reading

Assessment Ideas/Games:

  1. Recording

TRASHKETBALL

1You will need a wadded up piece of paper and a small trash can to sit on top of your piano. You will also need to pick two sight-reading exercises (either rhythm or pitch works fine). Be sure one is significantly easier than the other.

2Divide into teams. (I usually number the kids off) and have students sit on opposite sides of the risers, leaving a big gap in the middle.

3Flip a coin to decide which team goes first. Each student decided whether he/she will sing the easy exercise (for a two point shot) or the harder exercise (for a three point shot).

4If a student sings the exercise correctly, he/she gets to shoot. If you make your shot, you score. I use the first step of the risers for the 2 point shot and the third step for the 3 point shot. Each time one student sings, the next singer is from the other team (you alternate possessions just like in real basketball). Set a time or point limit or they will want to play all day.