Product Description

This easy-to-use audio course for self or small group study is a step-by-step introduction to music reading skills. From the creator of The Jenson Sight Singing Course, this resource will be an effective tool for building student confidence and skill. Includes exercises on reading note and rest values, meter, echo drills, reading pitch from syllable letters and notes on the staff, movement by step and skip, key signatures, and clef signs. Available: Book, Cassette, CD, Book/CST Pak, Book/CD Pak, Book/CST Intro Pak (5 Books, 1 Cassette), Book/CD Intro Pak (5 Books, 1 CD). For Gr. 4-9.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #108352 in Books
• Published on: 1995-03
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 46 pages

From the Publisher
David Bauguess is the author of The Jenson Sight Singing Course (published by Hal Leonard), a best-selling method for sight-reading training for choral singers. His sight-singing publications have been used to teach hundreds of thousands of students and adults to read music.

From the Author
This book introduces reading music to a non-music reader. It assumes no previous experience with or knowledge of reading music. It is an introduction of the fundamentals, for beginners, that should be appropriate for learners of about ages 11 and up. It is assumed the user is able to match pitches vocally. A book cannot provide feedback to confirm this.

A number of books teach music reading. In my judgment, most have one or two significant shortcomings: (1) they may have much to say ABOUT reading music but the reader does not HEAR the sounds they are reading about; and (2) too much attention is given to explanations of music theory that are not immediately relevant or applicable to the learner's current skill level.

As an introduction of limited scope, two goals shaped the content and sequence of this book and address these shortcomings:

1) An emphasis on learning to actually read music by the inclusion of an audio component. Hearing the sounds notes represent is an essential requisite to reading them. Also, given the book's limited length, it was deemed better to adequately practice core skills, such as the basic intervals, than to cursorily touch on a variety of greater difficulties.

2) Delaying or excluding aspects of music theory that are not relevant or supportive of the skills being taught. Key signatures, for example, are not introduced immediately because they are not necessary for learning to sight sing, including some melodies that might be considered "challenging." When they are introduced, it is to show how they can be used to determine the name of the starting pitch. To explain how key signatures are derived from constructing scales would be of little or no practical usefulness at the time one is beginning to learn to sight sing. At a later stage of study, this understanding is essential.

The "simplicity" of Sight Singing Made Simple is its focus on establishing fundamental understanding and skills and on building confidence.

Customer Reviews

Definitely not what I was looking for.
I am a secondary school music teacher and was hoping to get tips from this book to help my students who really struggle with sight-singing. As a music teacher, I would like to tell you that this book takes an EXTREMELY BASIC approach. ONLY PURCHASE THIS BOOK IF YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO READ MUSIC AT ALL. I can see how this book would be helpful to someone who doesn't understand the concepts of note values, pitches, etc. But seriously, this book was no help to me nor my students at all, and will certainly not be to you if you have a basic understanding of sight-singing already.

Good for what it is
This is a great *introductory* book for someone who knows how to sing but is intimidated by sight singing. It is very basic--just a start--and you will need to supplement it with subsequent books or lessons. But it doesn't cost much and will get the student going. Here's a true story:

My wife has an excellent voice, but did not know how to sight sing and was convinced that she could never learn. I bought her this book and she went through it in one weekend. That Tuesday she auditioned for a chorus and was asked to sight sing a simple piece. She did, she passed, and now she sings in the chorus. I have her going through another book and she is progressing well.

AN ENIGMA
WELL MY SINGING TEACHER GAVE ME THIS BOOK WHEN I GOT ANGRY AT MY OLD ONE, YOU KNOW?? 100 MOST BEAUTIFUL SONGS, IT WAS A GREAT BOOK (EXCEPT FOR THE EXCLUSION OF LIKE GLUE) BUT I WAS JUST SORT OF FRUSTRATED BY IT, CAUSE SURE, THEY HAD THE LYRICS, BUT HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO SING!? A WORD ON A PAGE??!?

THIS BOOK SIDE STEPS THE ISSUE ENTIRELY..LEADING US TO A PLACE OF HARMONY, THROUGH UNDERSTANDING.. SERIOUSLY THOUGH, THE MYSTERIOUSLY TITLED 'SIGHT SINGING' IS A CONUNDRUM AND A JOY BUT ALSO A MYSTERY. FOR AS MUCH AS I LEARN TWO MORE QUESTIONS CROP UP TO TAKE THEIR PLACE..SO IM CONSTANTLY SEARCHING FOR THE ANSWERS THAT ARE NOWHERE TO BE FOUND. MAYBE IM OVERTHINKING IT.
MAYBE THERE ARE NO TRUE ''ANSWERS''.

MY TEACHER SAYS THAT IM IMPROVING.

IM A MUSICAL MAN.