7. Sight-singing Strategies

Sight singing is the learned skill of quickly and accurately internalizing musical notation and translating it into external music. For successful sight reading, it is important to view a melody as a whole and search for musical clues. The musical clues will uncover information regarding interval leaps, key signatures and outlining harmonies. The simplest analysis is simply noting the key signature presented at the start of a musical line.

Key signatures are presented at the start of a musical line

The key signature will indicate what pitch will be treated as the tonal center. It will also help to indicate whether the melody/harmony will be in a Major key or a minor key. In the musical example shown above, the key signature of three flats identifies this melody as either having a tonal center of the note Eb if in a Major mode, or a tonal center of the note C if in a minor mode.

Relative major and minor keys share a key signature but not a tonal center.

There are two details to consider when identifying a melody as either in a Major or a minor mode: 1) presence of accidentals, and 2) presence of tonic function syllables “Do”, “Mi”, and “Sol”.

Accidentals that are present in a simple melody indicate an adjustment has been made in a minor key in order to create a leading tone (a tone that resolves up by a half-step into “Do”).

Minor keys often have accidentals, especially during dominant function harmonies that require a leading tone.

The adjustment of the 7th scale degree when presenting a dominant function chord is typical in a minor key. In the musical example shown below there are no accidentals present. Every pitch is in line with the original key signature of three flats:

The scale degrees that are featured at the start and end sections of a simple melody can be important clues that can help identify a tonal center. In simple functional harmony the syllable “Do” would be expected to be, if not the first note, at least one of the first few notes. “Do” would also be expected to be present in one of the final notes. In the example shown below, treating the melody as being in the key of c minor would necessarily make the final note, which lands on the pitch Eb, be analyzed as the syllable “Me” of the minor key.

This melody does not work in c minor since “Do” is not featured or highlighted in the starting or ending section of the tune. However, when analyzing the same melody as being in the key of Eb Major, the syllable “Do” now appears frequently throughout the melody. The final note also coincides with the syllable “Do” as the tonal center.

Sight Singing a melody need not necessarily remain in the original key. The typical human voice can vary from as low as two octaves below middle C to as high as two octaves above middle C.

Recognizing the variance in range of human voices, moveable “Do” solfege allows for the tonal center to shift according to the individual’s needs. With our sight singing example, the notated tonal pitch may be the note Eb, but it can be sung with solfege syllables starting on literally any note in the chromatic scale. The following melodic figure can quickly and efficiently establish tonality in the mind in the span of less than five seconds.

In addition to utilizing solfege syllables to aid in pitch and harmonic function recognition, conducting while sight singing can aid in the accuracy of rhythm and time. Conducting while sight singing helps the musician keep track of where the beats are located in each measure within the rhythm being studied. Conducting will also help keep consistent time.

Composer, Music Professor and all around music theory guru Dr. Lesley Sommer suggests several strategies to learning a melody and honing sight singing skills that revolve around the idea of retaining the pitches “Do” and “Sol” through the duration of the melody being sung:

Strategy #1: “Do” and “Sol” only
Sing only the syllables “Do” and “Sol” of the melody while conducting and internalizing the “silent” syllables.

Sing only Do and Sol — Sing only "Do" and "Sol"

Strategy #2: First note of every measure
Analyze the chordal structure that is being outlined in the melody. By singing only the syllables that happen on beat one of every measure, an enlightening understanding of the underlying chords occurring under the melody can be achieved.

Strategy #3: Every other measure
Sing the pitches of every other measure, either the odds or the evens (1, 3, 5, 7, or 2, 4, 6, 8). This helps to internalize pitches while allowing for a pitch check-in after every two measures.

Strategy #4: Reverse
Start from the end of the melody, and read music in reverse direction. This gives the mind a fresh approach to the pitches being studied and helps to avoid the crutch of mimicry.

Strategy #5: Subdivisions
Clapping or tapping subdivisions can help connect pitch with precise rhythm and time. Subdivisions would coincide with one level down the rhythm tree from the note value that is designated as the pulse in each measure. In the case of a moderate 6/8 time, the pulse is the dotted quarter, and the subdivision is the eighth note.

Some general “DOs and DONT’s” are summarized below:

DO problem solve. If the pitch or tonal center goes off track, return back to establishing tonality and find the solfege syllables through intervallic correlation, walking up from “Do”, or related pitches to “Do” and “Sol”.

DON’T rely on mimicry. Mimicry is hearing a melody externally through the use of an acoustic or electronic instrument and repeating the pitches generated by this media. This process limits progress and growth of sight singing skills.
DO relate to “Do” and “Sol”. If you must, do use an instrument to help with pitch, but only with the pitches “Do” and “Sol”. This will encourage the use of problem solving to find other pitches in the melody.
DON’T strain your voice. If a melody is uncomfortably high or low compared to a specific vocal range, use moveable “Do” to transpose and shift the tonal center to a more friendly range.
DO use your knowledge. Understanding of scales, intervals and “Do”/”Sol” pitch retention can be of great help during sight singing attempts.

The use of the strategies outlined above can help take the colorless contents of notation and bring it to musical life. Sight singing is an important skill that all musicians must learn to utilize in order to internalize rhythm and pitch. The musician can then use their preferred musical instrument or medium to bring the music to life.

6. Tension and Release

8. Stable vs Unstable Intervals