Ways To Practice Sightsinging
How to Practice Sightsinging
Sightsinging is an invaluable skill for vocalists. It will help you read music more easily and learn pieces more quickly so you can focus more time on other facets of your performance. It is more difficult than sightreading for an instrument, however, because you do not have fingerings or other visual cues to help you, but must rely entirely on your ear. If you follow these tips when you practice, you can easily train your eyes and ears to recognize intervals so you can become a better sightsinger.
1. Start with a scale. Practice singing a C scale, up and down, with solfege syllables (do, re, mi, and so on). Using solfege syllables will give you more mental cues to remember intervals so you do not have to rely solely on the sound of each pitch to remember it. …show more content…
Now try skipping around. Start slowly. First sing up to an interval by step and then back down: do, re, mi, re, do. Now skip to that note: do, mi, do. Try this with every note of the scale. If you make a mistake, start over. Moving slowly step by step will help you familiarize yourself with the sound and feel of each note and interval.
3. Find mnemonic devices to help you remember intervals. For example, the opening interval of "Here Comes the Bride" is a fourth, the opening interval of the Superman theme is a fifth, and the opening interval from the song "Maria" from West Side Story is a tritone. If you get stuck, these mnemonic devices will help you find your place and remember difficult intervals.
4. Practice recognizing intervals by sight. For this it helps to have a music theory or sightsinging workbook, or a friend to help you put worksheets
Sightsinging is an invaluable skill for vocalists. It will help you read music more easily and learn pieces more quickly so you can focus more time on other facets of your performance. It is more difficult than sightreading for an instrument, however, because you do not have fingerings or other visual cues to help you, but must rely entirely on your ear. If you follow these tips when you practice, you can easily train your eyes and ears to recognize intervals so you can become a better sightsinger.
1. Start with a scale. Practice singing a C scale, up and down, with solfege syllables (do, re, mi, and so on). Using solfege syllables will give you more mental cues to remember intervals so you do not have to rely solely on the sound of each pitch to remember it. …show more content…
Now try skipping around. Start slowly. First sing up to an interval by step and then back down: do, re, mi, re, do. Now skip to that note: do, mi, do. Try this with every note of the scale. If you make a mistake, start over. Moving slowly step by step will help you familiarize yourself with the sound and feel of each note and interval.
3. Find mnemonic devices to help you remember intervals. For example, the opening interval of "Here Comes the Bride" is a fourth, the opening interval of the Superman theme is a fifth, and the opening interval from the song "Maria" from West Side Story is a tritone. If you get stuck, these mnemonic devices will help you find your place and remember difficult intervals.
4. Practice recognizing intervals by sight. For this it helps to have a music theory or sightsinging workbook, or a friend to help you put worksheets