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Solfege and Sonority: Teaching Music Reading in the Choral Classroom
- Author: Xiques, David J.
Solfege and Sonority: Teaching Music Reading in the Choral Classroom
- Author: Xiques, David J.
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About
Today's choral directors are faced with the dilemma of how to teach music literacy within the demands of a school system increasingly focused on testing outcomes and high-level performances. Many teachers feel they simply do not have the classroom time for adequate sight singing and ear training instruction, and those who do set aside the time for it face a dearth of engaging teaching materials. Solfege and Sonority is a guide for teaching music literacy in a choral rehearsal, with a focus on the needs of teachers who work with young singers. The book lays out teaching sequences for melodic and rhythmic concepts, lesson plans, and concise strategies for introducing key techniques. The graduated progression of topics starts from teaching basic concepts, such as "do-re-mi," and ends with more complex subjects, such as minor modes and the sight reading of more advanced music. The individual lessons themselves are short (no more than 4-6 minutes) and comprehensive, encouraging singers to develop a literacy of rhythm and melody together. By developing 18 easy-to-use lessons for teachers and conductors and tying the lessons to the teacher's current repertoire, longtime choral director and teacher David Xiques has created a practical and viable solution to the challenges of many conductors. The book features a comprehensive companion website that includes videos of exercises, worksheets, and teaching materials.
Contents
- Introduction
- Music Vocabulary
- Building a Foundation
- Lesson 1: Teaching drm
- Lesson 2: Introducing the treble clef and letter names
- Lesson 3A: Teaching quarter note and two eighth notes
- Lesson 3B: Teaching quarter note, 2 eighth notes and quarter rest
- Lesson 4: Combining melody and rhythm on the staff
- Lesson 5A: Teaching s
- Lesson 5B: Teaching fs together
- Pause and Reminders
- Lesson 6: Teaching half note
- Lesson 7: Teaching whole note
- Lesson 8: Teaching l
- Lesson 9: Teaching f
- Lesson 10: Teaching four sixteenth notes
- Lesson 11: Teaching high d
- Lesson 12: Teaching eighth note and 2 sixteenth notes
- Lesson 13: Teaching low l
- Lesson 14: Teaching t
- Lesson 15: Teaching dotted quarter note and eighth note
- Lesson 16: Teaching dotted eighth note and sixteenth note
- Lesson 17: Teaching low s
- Lesson 18: Teaching Minor
- Appendix
- Publishers and scores
- Credits
- About the author
