Choral Sight Reading

Choral Sight Reading provides a practical and organic approach to teaching choral singing and sight-reading. The text is grounded in current research from the fields of choral pedagogy, music theory, music perception and cognition. Topics include framing a choral curriculum based on the Kodály concept; launching the academic year for beginning, intermediate, and advanced choirs; building partwork skills; sight-reading; progressive music theory sequences for middle to college level choirs; teaching strategies; choral rehearsal plans as well as samples of how to teach specific repertoire from medieval to contemporary choral composers. This volume includes basic and advanced music theory concepts to develop fluent sight-reading skills for reading standard choral repertoire, providing examples for the process outlined in Chapters 6-8 of Volume 1 (Choral Artistry). This guide provides choral directors with a choral curriculum and choral rehearsal models that place performance, audiation, partwork, music theory, and sight-signing skills at the heart of the choral experience, through a 'sound thinking' approach to teaching that results in greater efficiency in creating independent choral singers with a well-rounded repertoire.

Micheál Houlahan is Professor of Music Theory and Aural Skills and Chair of the Tell School of Music at Millersville University of Pennsylvania. He is also a visiting professor of music at the China Conservatory of Music, Beiijing. Philip Tacka is Professor of Music at Millersville University of Pennsylvania. He is also currently a grant evaluator on the American Fellowship Panel for the American Association of University Women.

Unit 1 Phrase and FormUnit 2 Beat, Meter, RhythmUnit 3 Simple Melodic PatternsUnit 4 Simple Rhythm Patterns: First Division of the BeatUnit 5 Orientation to the Pentatonic Scale: Trichord 1Unit 6 Orientation to the Pentatonic Scale: Trichord 2Unit 7 Simple Meter: Second Division of the Beat and Basic PatternsUnit 8 Major Pentatonic MelodiesUnit 9 Simple Meter: Second Division of the Beat and More Complicated PatternsUnit 10 The Extended Pentatonic ScaleUnit 11 UpbeatsUnit 12 SyncopationUnit 13 Minor Pentatonic MelodiesUnit 14 Dotted NotesUnit 15 Orientation to the Major Scale Pentachord and Hexachord MelodiesUnit 16 Simple Meter: Second Division of the Beat and Dotted Note CombinationsUnit 17 Major ScaleUnit 18 Triple Meter and Changing MeterUnit 19 Orientation to Minor ScalesUnit 20 Compound Meter: First Division of the BeatUnit 21 Natural Minor ScaleUnit 22 Compound Meter: Second Division of the BeatUnit 23 Harmonic Minor ScaleUnit 24 Compound Meter: Second Division of the Beat and Dotted NotesUnit 25 Melodic Minor ScaleUnit 26 Renaissance Style CompositionsUnit 27 Baroque Style CompositionsUnit 28 Classical Style CompositionsUnit 29 Romantic and Twentieth Century Style Compositions