6/13/2017

Expert Tips On Sight Reading Music For Singers

By Jose Morris


An impressive choir member is one who can pick a musical piece and begin to sing immediately. This is a fete that requires dedication, extensive practice and a lot of effort. Unfortunately, many are unable to achieve this because they lack professional input. Here are expert tips that will make sight reading music for singers effortless. Mastering the tricks will make you a jewel in whichever choir you join.

You need to think of three elements as you read your piece. There is rhythm, pitches and words. The advantage for a singer is that you only have to concentrate on one line. For an instrumentalist like pianist, you have to read all staves. The only complication for a singer is if the language is foreign.

One skill that will transform your singing career is concentration. Even the most experienced singer will not achieve anything without concentration. This is a tip that sounds mundane and obvious but it will define your career success. It makes it easier for you to achieve accuracy and find the notes easier to read. Avoid scanning the audience in front or worrying about your performance. Once you deliver what is on the paper, you have done your part.

Increase the length of block you look at as you sing. This will give you confidence and help you avoid struggling with pace of rhythms. Concentrating on single notes as you play them will create tension and take away your focus on the entire piece. Read huge blocks which prepare your mind before your fingers hit the actual note. This could mean focusing on the entire bar or even two bars at a time. By the time you are hitting the notes, focus will be on rhythm or words.

Practice how to recognize different rhythms at a quick glance. There are very few rhythms in music. Even for an experienced singer, the rhythms can be counted. With knowledge of the rhythm, your mind immediately allocates concentration to elements like melody and note accuracy. This requires encounters with many musical pieces.

You mind needs to learn how to read beyond the note you are playing at the moment. This prepares you for dynamics such as fingering, sustain, accidentals, new rhythms, etc. Such elements are likely to cause trouble when they suddenly appear as you play. You will have no time to execute the instructions if your focus is on one note at a time. This affects the beauty of your melody.

Avoid being grounded by simple mistakes. If you are singing in a choir or group, the others will leave you behind as you attempt to correct it. Skip the section and catch up as fast as possible. Focusing too much on the mistake will only slow you down and give you an unnecessary guilty feeling. Even the maestros you know sometime make these mistakes.

Sight reading is tough and thus requires a great deal of practice. If you have the time, review the piece before hand, taking note of the tempo, rhythm, time signature, etc. When it is time to perform, concentrate and take it easy. In case of a mistake, skip and catch up with the others as fast as possible.




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