Helping Your Students Sight Read Better Ronald E. Kearns
Vandoren Performing Artist Conn-Selmer Performing Artist
dcsax@aol.com
participating in festivals with my bands, orchestras and jazz ensembles for twenty- eight years on the high school level, we never got less than a Superior rating. There are many reasons for this success but the most important is that I helped my students to overcome the fear of sight reading and helped them develop good reading skills. I’ve done several articles about how
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to prepare students to be successful sight readers but this article is designed to help teachers learn the most efficient way to present the sight reading piece in the sight reading room. Before I address these strategies, let me share with you how I introduce the sight reading con- cept to students. First, I explain to them that every time they pick up an eReader, a newspaper or a book they’re sight read- ing. They don’t know the content but they know the words. If they don’t know a word they can figure it out in context. Not knowing one word won’t stop them from reading, they just move on reading the words they do comprehend. In mu- sic, they may not know the musical line they’re playing but they know note values and rhythms. The idea is to go from the familiar to unfamiliar without panicking or stopping. If you don’t know how to count a measure you at least know how many beats to wait before moving to the next measure. I tell them that trying to go back to correct a mistake is like try- ing to climb back into an airplane after falling out!
TEMPO
ne of the things I was most proud of during my thirty years of teaching is that
It helps if you have your students
sight read once a week. That way they overcome the fear factor through becoming comfortable with the process. The “mystique” of sight reading is replaced with familiarity. This gives you things to reference once you go into the sight reading room. Example: “Remember last week when we were sight reading Chorale #15, it had a pattern similar to the one here at rehearsal letter B.” You have established a frame of reference and the students will actively begin to problem solve. So, now let’s look at how to use your time wisely in the sight reading room.
Look For Challenges In The Score We each know who in
our groups will be challenged most. Start studying the score looking for things that will challenge those students or a particular section first. Peruse the score to see how many sections have similar rhythms or parts. If you can talk about the same challenges to mul- tiple players or two or more sections you’ll have more time to address more problems. Don’t get bogged down trying to “over explain.” That will be counterproductive because you’ll create a wall of fear of that section. Try to be as mat- ter of fact with your descrip- tion as possible.
Show No Fear While Perusing The Score
Most festivals give you three minutes to study the score and two minutes to talk your students through the music. While you’re studying the score, your kids are studying you. They can’t turn their mu- sic over until your time is up. There were times I was panicking inside but smiling and bobbing my head displaying confi- dence. Frustration breeds frustration and confidence breeds confidence. Even if you think you’ll need paramedics don’t show it. Formulate your presentation as you read down the score. There shouldn’t be anything in the score you have dif- ficulty reading since groups sight read a
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JANUARY 2018
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