Sight Singing

Sight singing is the ability to read and sing a piece of music at first sight, without learning the notes and rhythms beforehand. This is a very helpful skill to develop for singers as it will help your ability to read music, your pitch accuracy, and your ability to learn music quickly. In this module, we will review all the aspects you need to identify in a piece of music before sight singing, how to develop your sight singing skills, and how sight singing will aid in your overall development of music skills.

Terminology

• Clef A symbol at the beginning of the staff to determine the pitch of a particular line. It also provides reference for the pitch or key of all the notes to follow.
• Key Signature The notation of the musical key, including sharps (raising the pitch) and flats (lowering the pitch).
• Time Signature A sign, usually written as a fraction, that indicates the notation of the beats per measure or pattern of rhythm in music.
• -Tempo: how fast or slow the rhythm is
• IntervalsThe measurement between two pitches, either vertically or horizontally.
• Solfège a music education method that teaches aural skills, pitch, and sight-reading using syllables and hand signals.