Sightreading and Voice Lessons

In voice lessons, the focus tends to lie in two areas: technique work and learning new music.  However, as I have gained experience as a voice teacher, I have grown to appreciate the usefulness of sightreading for all my vocal students, not just for choir singers.

Sightreading is the ability to 'read' a piece of music without the aid of another musical instrument.  In choir, sightreading is extremely important.  Most choirs get relatively little time to learn a new piece with their ensemble, so being able to quickly learn a piece with little preparation is key.  High school singers also must master sightreading because the competitions have a sightreading component to the student's audition.

Even if you are not part of a choir, however, sightreading is quite nice to have as a skill.  Aside from being able to learn a song quicker, sightreading gives you insight into how music and melody are structured.  Sightreading also gives you an option on learning music when you cannot sing due to illness or have no musical instrument to aid your learning.  Last, sightreading is seen as a sign of a professional musician, who does not need a recording to learn their music.

DWS