O ne of the most stressful parts of the NYSSMA process is sight reading. I have found that when my students lose points in their adjudication, most often it is because of poor sight reading. The best way to prepare is of course, practice, practice, and even more practice. However, in the heat of the moment, here are 6 things to keep in mind:
1. Look at the last note. Is it the same as the first note? Probably. This is what key you are in.
2. Start and end on the same note. You are judged on your ability to keep pitch and stay in a key. To make it easy for your judges to see that you can stay in key, be sure to start and end on the same note no matter what comes in between.
3. DON’T STOP. Once you start, get to that final note no matter what.
4. Look over the whole thing first. If they give you a minute, and they probably will, take the time to look at the melody. Is the melody step-wise or does it jump all around? Tap out the rhythm. You should quickly see what may be tricky; shoot to figure it out before you sing it.
5. Pick a tempo you can maintain. Sight reading is not just about pitches; it is also about rhythm. Pick a speed that you can maintain. Generally look at the smallest note in the melody and figure out how fast you can comfortably sing that and still have time to think of the next note.
6. Look at the 2nd note when you are singing the first… repeat till you are done. In other words, look ahead. This alone will drastically improve your sight reading ability. I hear people all the time looking at one note with no idea what comes next; then when something tricky comes up, they are totally unprepared.
and 7… I said 6 things, but I am throwing this last one in free of charge…
7. Remember, they want you to do well.
