Vocalist.org archive


From:  Margaret Harrison <peggyh@i...>
Margaret Harrison <peggyh@i...>
Date:  Mon May 14, 2001  5:49 pm
Subject:  Re: [vocalist] Sight-reading IS important


"Lloyd W. Hanson" wrote:

> Dear Margaret (or Peggy, if you prefer) and Vocalisters:

Either one is OK. My family and most of my friends call me
Peggy, but other people dear to me call me Margaret.

> Because of this lack of training, a whole generation of young adults,
> the boomers, have little or no real background in any kind of music
> except the commercial music with which we are all surrounded. In
> consideration of this I think it not unwise that amateur choral
> groups remove or consider less important the ability to read music as
> a requirement for membership and, instead, take up the burden of
> teaching music reading within the choral organization. It is rather
> easily learned in choral groups and it is most satisfying to discover
> that one can truly read music, even if it is only done within the
> group.

I have to say that the only choral situation I've been in
where sight-reading was really needed is in my current
professional church singing job. We've been through a
number of singers, and the ones that have lasted and
prospered have good sight reading skills. This is because
we have limited rehearsal time, but that doesn't stop our
director from demanding we "make music". So the good
reading skills make it so we rarely have to take time in
rehearsal to sort out notes (unless it's really hard, like
Brahms or Britten), and can concentrate on diction,
precision, intonation, timbre, phrasing, etc.

A prime example of this was learning "Singet dem Herren" a
> double choir motet by J. S. Bach. At the beginning of the third week
> of rehearsal the basses individually turned in their scores on the
> piano of Olaf at the beginning of the rehearsal. Two days later the
> altos did the same thing. By weeks end the whole choir had the motet
> memorized. Never a word said about doing this nor creating the
> challenge to do it . It was just expected. The value of tradition
> is immeasurable.

The main reason I prefer using my music is keeping track of
musical ideas or other items I need to remember to achieve
the music end. Especially when I've sung the work for more
than one director (or am prepared by one director for a
concert conducted by another), I need the score to remember
what I'm supposed to be doing beyond the basics. What has
been your experience in remembering these types of things,
or was it hard to forget because of the hours and hours of
rehearsal before a performance?

Peggy

--
Margaret Harrison, Alexandria, Virginia, USA
"Music for a While Shall All Your Cares Beguile"
mailto:peggyh@i...

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