Date

5-2021

Department

School of Music

Degree

Master of Arts in Music Education (MA)

Chair

Keith Currie

Keywords

Sight-singing, Assessment, Sing at First Sight, Chorus, Middle School, How To Read Music, How To Teach Music Literacy, Music Literacy

Disciplines

Music | Music Education

Abstract

Teaching chorus presents many challenges to directors and one of the main challenges that directors face is teaching their students how to read music. Many students rely on rote teaching or aural repetition to learn music, and this can prevent students from becoming proficient musicians. Bryan Rante researched different ways to assess the choral group and simultaneously teach them how to read music proficiently. The curriculum used for this research was Andy Beck’s Sing at First Sight: Foundations in Choral Singing Level 1 & 2 to help students learn how to sight-sing and become confident in reading music. The curriculum was chosen because it kept the students engaged and interested in learning more sight-singing skills. The students were encouraged to develop their own confidence in their voice and their abilities to new music with others. The goal of this research was to find an engaging and effective curriculum that helped students develop interest in the class and develop each student’s musicianship as well. The findings show that if the curriculum is used correctly, it can help any director find a starting point for assessing the choir and making the task fun and engaging.

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