Improving Sight Reading Improves Performances

by: William W. Gourley

The best musicians and the best ensembles are also the best sight readers. Whether it is a festival or an audition, sight reading levels the field and allows the better musician or ensemble to rise above the rest. Those who sight read well have a head start on the concert performance because they can spend more time on the musical aspects of a performance rather than the technical, and the musical aspects are always more fun than the technical to rehearse.

To be a successful sight reader one must have developed the basic music making skills of tone, intonation, rhythmic stability and reading and technical proficiency to be able to focus on music making. Unfortunately, too often sight reading is not given the priority required to fully develop independent musicians. Ensemble directors are so focused on the upcoming performance they feel they don’t have time to devote to developing this skill in their students. Ironically, if their students were better sight readers directors would find they would have more time to work on the fine details of finesse that distinguishes a memorable performance from the one where the symbols on the page are adequately realized.

Successful sight reading, as with successful performances, is more than just right notes at the right time with good tone and intonation. Successful sight reading is all of that done musically.

Creating better sight readers does not require that much more out of your daily class time provided you are including basic pedagogical skills in every class period (see Efficient Rehearsal Techniques in the newsletter archives at www.marshallmusic.com).

Focus on the Basics

The first step to producing proficient sight readers is diligence in monitoring every aspect of proper ensemble performance whenever the students play a note. When we work on tone we don’t ignore rhythmic stability, attacks or releases. When we work on scales, we don’t ignore ensemble tone, balance, unity of movement, rhythmic stability, attacks and releases. When we work on rhythms we don’t ignore tone, ensemble blend and balance, technique, attacks and releases.

A good rehearsal incorporates these concepts daily. Beginning the rehearsal with tone exercises emphasizing not just individual tone production but ensemble blend and balance, uniformity of movement and precision of ensemble attacks and releases, performed over some metronomic device like a metronome or synthesized accompaniment continually reinforces these principals in the students. Continuing to encourage these musical skills throughout the entire skills development (warm-up) period of the class will make these automatic in the students whenever they play. Attention to detail here will mean less “cleaning” will be necessary in the concert music. So, when the ensemble moves on from tone and flexibility studies to scales, tonguing/bowing, articulation styles, tuning or chorales you still must insist on blend, balance, uniformity of movement, attacks, releases and rhythmic stability. Good performance characteristics must be encouraged and reinforced every time the students play so these become as natural as breathing and will be carried over into not just concert music but sight reading as well.

Assuming the basic skills of musical performance are being reinforced and enhanced in every class developing proficient sight readers can be addressed at every level from beginning band/orchestra through the top ensemble in the high school.

Teach Sight Reading from the Beginning

First year band/orchestra is not too early to teach the fundamentals of sight reading. In fact, you are probably utilizing some sight reading techniques.

Have the students say the names of the notes and finger (move to slide positions) before they play the exercise. Full band classes may find this a bit awkward since concert Bb is not a Bb on everyone’s instrument. Group the students. Trombones, bass clef baritones, tuba, percussion, flutes and oboes can say their notes together. Clarinets, trumpets/cornets, treble clef baritones and tenor saxes share the same note names. French horns in F and alto saxes will have to be included alone since their note names don’t match with any other instruments. Doing this over a synthesized accompaniment will reinforce pulse awareness while making it more entertaining. If you sing the pitches while saying the notes students will begin to sing pitches enhancing pitch placement for brasses and intonation.

Isolating rhythms before the students actually play an exercise by clapping or using a syllable such as “Tah” or counting out loud when they study it for the first time will also teach sight reading strategies.

As I said, you are probably utilizing these strategies on a limited basis. Making this a regular part of the routine when you learn a new exercise and incorporating a harmonized accompaniment will greatly enhance student skills.

Don’t stop with these. Have the students silently study an exercise before they play it for the first time. Establish a beat, again a simple keyboard and inexpensive amp is all you need, and count them off. Guide them through the process. Ask them to look for spots they think will give them a problem and study these again. Then have them play the exercise. Give a mini critique. Point out what they did well and what they could do to improve. Remember; discuss tone, blend, balance, rhythmic stability, etc. not just right notes and rhythms. Continually reinforce all aspects of good ensemble performance. Then play the exercise again and offer an assessment of their improvement.

A little creativity and gamesmanship will make this a fun activity. Assign a measure to each student and give them 10 seconds to study it then perform it with each student playing his/her measure at the appropriate time. If they can make it through with no or few mistakes they win and you lose. (What happens if you lose? You have to wear your rival university’s hat for the rest of the hour. Who knows, it doesn’t always have to be candy.) Assign a section or group (saxes and trumpets versus clarinets and trombones) a few measures to study and then perform the exercise.

Making this sight reading procedure a regular part of the class will also reinforce the tools for successful practice habits.

Incorporate Sight Reading into the Daily Routine

At the middle school and high school level it is important to gradually build students’ confidence and sight reading abilities by incorporating sight reading into the regular pedagogical development of the students. I liked to alternate this with playing chorales. Every rehearsal began with tone development followed by technical skills (scales) utilizing various articulations and styles (legato, staccato, accented, etc.), tonguing exercises, rhythm exercises and tuning. These were followed by a chorale on Mondays and Wednesdays and sight reading on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Fridays were generally reserved for reinforcing the concert music we had worked on throughout the week.

With the less experienced students (middle school, second or third high school ensembles) begin teaching sight reading with unison studies rather than concert music. Every ensemble skills development book includes etudes. Determine the style you want to play the etude; marcato, legato, simplice, mysterioso, leggerio, march, etc. Allow the students to “sing and finger” the etude and then play it. Be sure they sing the correct style. As with the beginning classes, give a brief critique of the performance and play it again. In a few weeks have the class study the etudes silently. Establish a pulse, count them off and give them enough time to study it through one time. You can even conduct the silent study to show how you want it interpreted, where you want crescendos, legato, staccato, etc. Then, guide them through the study asking them to find any spot they had difficulties with in their study and look it over silently. Play it, critique it and play it again. Remember; focus on all aspects of a quality ensemble performance not just notes and rhythms.

As with the beginning classes, have individual sections play the etude or portions of it. This allows you to better assess the ensemble’s abilities and it makes students more accountable.

The advantage to sight reading unison studies is it builds confidence and reinforces blend, balance, and ensemble unity. The disadvantage of most of these studies is they incorporate little if any stylistic elements such as accents, dynamics, or articulations. Compose a few 16-32 measure melodies and put in these stylistic elements. You don’t need to overdo them just incorporate enough to get students used to looking for these and playing them. Thankfully, today we have music writing programs that will copy your exercise and transpose it.

After four to eight weeks, depending on the ensemble’s skill and confidence level with the unison studies, it is time to begin reading concert literature. Again, we are not only trying to build sight reading abilities we are building the students’ confidence in their sight reading abilities. Find a few compositions for beginning band.

Focus on Musicality and Style

Go through your sight reading procedure. Unlike every other procedure I have witnessed: key signature, time signature, repeats, etc. I always followed: composer, title, style indication, then key signature, time signature, etc. If I am looking at a piece of music written by Stravinsky I get a better idea of what the piece is going to sound like and the accepted performance practices compared to a composition by Bach, Holst, Grainger or Beethoven. This applies to composers like Del Borgo, Swearingen, Ployhar, Sousa, Applebaum and Moss, as well. It heightens the student’s awareness of compositional styles of various composers. The title of the composition can reveal a great deal about its style. The Washington Post March, Rondo for Winds and Percussion, Music for a Ceremony, Jupiter the Bringer of Jollity, Star Wars: these titles offer insight into the composer’s intent allowing us to better interpret the music.

Have the students sing and finger the music making sure they sing the style and dynamics. Naturally, the students will not sing correct pitches but they will get some idea of the musical line. Play it, evaluate the performance and play it or sections of it again. Always remind the students of proper tone, blend, balance, attacks, releases, etc.

Once you have played three or four of the beginning band/orchestra compositions start progressing to grade 1.5 for another three or four compositions, then grade 2 for four or five and so on. It is important to vary the styles and include a march in every group. As you progress through the difficulty levels you may want to just sight read sections of a composition so the sight reading lesson doesn’t take too much class time.

More advanced ensembles will not need to start with unison etudes and will be confident enough to sight read grade 2-2.5 level music and progress from there. The goal is to be able to develop musicians skilled enough to respond to your interpretation whether you decide to conduct rubato, put in a rallentando or accelerando. Eventually, you will be able to let the students study the music on their own for a minute or so and then play it.

One of the advantages in creating better sight readers is the programming opportunities it provides for students and audiences. As music educators we prefer not to devote time rehearsing the music from Cats or the latest arrangement of Beatles, big band, Shrek or holiday tunes but we cannot discount the appeal to audiences and students. Most of these selections are at the grade 3 level. If your ensemble can sight read well you will only need minimal rehearsal time to put it on a concert.

More importantly, great sight reading skills and confidence enable students to perfect Holst, Brahms and Ticheli with less rehearsal time allowing more opportunities to play great literature with greater artistry.

Most importantly great sight readers are independent musicians who can enjoy playing their instrument confidently in any ensemble for the rest of their lives.

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