Sight Singing

by Samuel Adler

Book Overview

By systematically examining each interval within the octave and providing a wealth of exercises from all periods, Sight Singing: Pitch, Interval, Rhythm teaches students to perform Western music of any style or harmonic organization.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393970728
• ISBN13: 9780393970722
• Release Date: January 1997
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 2.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 9.4" x 11.0"

Customer Reviews

Excellent text for really learning to sight-sing

I teach sight-singing and ear-training to enthusiastic community singers, and this is the best book I've found. Many other texts have occasional helpful bits. With this text, my students can start at the beginning and work through to the end, in the process both learning and cementing a skill that will stay with them for life. For any community or church chorus working to improve the sight-singing of their group, this is THE book to buy.

Sight singing for the real world

OK so we've all had plenty of books that start out sight singing based on a single scale, say the major scale. And you sing through about 100 exercises thereby learn all 12 kinds of intervals. Then they add non-harmonic tones and eventuall you get into a little chromaticism and modulation. However, modern composers do not limit themselves to such simple melodies. How about a book that instead teaches you to hear 2nds, 5ths, 4ths, 3rds, and so on. Isn't that what its all about? Whenever you see a P4, sing a P4. You don't even need to keep track of scale degrees or worry about if you'll sing "re", "ri" or "icky-zipang". Adler, who is prof. emeritus at Eastman, starts off with exercises that teach you to sing a single interval, for example major 2nds. After you sing, slowly and carefully, through his exercises you will never confuse a M2 with a m2 or m3 again. Likewise through all the other intervals. Of course he includes plenty of melodies from the literature. Furthermore, there is an entire section dedicated to the study of rhythm without involving pitch. This is typically the weakest area for most music students.And now that the 2nd edition is spiral bound (what were they thinking w/ ed. #1?) there is no reason not to buy this book.Sincerely, Salvador T. Pimienta