Page 13 - 2017-BMR-September

Developing Sight-reading Skills

Year Round

Asa Burk

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Sight-reading can be stressful and How Sight reading Is Different There are also big picture reasons
intimidating for both students and Reading music is much different. to incorporate sight-reading into your
teachers. Often, we spend too little Generally, the musician already curriculum. Sight-reading easily lends
time on it to see meaningful results. has the skills needed for successful itself to formative assessment. Armed
With a plan in place and a mindset performance. The music is easier and with this information directors can
dedicated to developing sight-reading less technically demanding and as a evaluate and refine their curriculum.
skills year-round, you can improve result, can be read at performance Students get instant feedback on their
your ensemble’s musical literacy and tempo and performed with minimal performance. Using sight-reading
build the confidence of the individual explanation and no rehearsal. While as the basis for a lesson plan helps
musicians. Here are a few tips and sight-reading may not demonstrate the directors create lessons based on
techniques you can use to improve highest level of polish and refinement, the students’ needs and current skill
sight-reading year-round, as well as there are still some expectations of levels.
some pointers specific to the day of minimum performance quality. Plus, sight-reading can be fun.
your UIL Sight-Reading Evaluation. We often lose sight of the fact that
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Benefits of Sight reading many kids sign up for band to play
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Long Term Performance Why should you take time away tunes. There is an inherent sense of
Preparation from performance preparation to work satisfaction and enjoyment in playing
Preparing and rehearsing for a on sight-reading? Developing student all the way through a piece.
music performance is much different literacy is just one of many reasons. Reading a piece, all the way
than reading a piece of music at Sight-reading develops a greater sense of through, can make your pacing seem
sight. We tend to spend most of ensemble awareness. It allows students faster and can foster enhanced student
our time and energy creating a series to practice and refine their listening enjoyment. Time flies when you play
of musical performances throughout skills in the actual musical context that a new tune all the way through, and
the year. Some of these performances we want them to be fluent in. It fosters that same feeling rarely occurs when
will require weeks and months to musical accountability in that it requires practicing how to start a concert F for
prepare. Typically, new performance that students be musicians. 30 minutes.
skills will need to be taught and these Sight-reading requires students to
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skills will require several repetitions process all the information that is given What Should You Sight read?
for students to acquire. These pieces on the page. Perhaps the biggest benefit The choice of what to read shouldn’t
are generally rehearsed at a much is that the students are responsible for be difficult. You probably already have
slower tempo to facilitate learning, processing, evaluating and adjusting many resources that you can use as
and the complexity of the music likely their performance in real time. Without sight-reading material. Start with a
necessitates that small chunks of spoken instructions they have to aurally rhythm line. Move to any unison line
music be learned and pieced together agree as an ensemble by asking and in a method book. Use sight-reading
for the entire performance. Finally, responding to questions like: Do I have to introduce any exercise that will
these performances will require an the melody or am I accompaniment? become a part of your daily drill or
overall higher level of polish and How loud do I play for balance? What warm-up. Sight-read a duet.
refinement. is the style of the piece? What/where is (contined)
the basic pulse/tempo?

Bandmasters Review • September 2017 11 Texas Bandmasters Association