A Comparison of Successful and Less Successful Rehearsal Strategies Utilized in Choral Adjudicated Sight-Singing

The ability to sight-read musical notation independently is considered to be a fundamental skill for the choral musician (Fine, 2006; Henry, 2004, 2008; Norris, 2004). Since proficiency in sight-singing takes time to master, the director must adjust the routines and techniques to the needs of the students, trying a variety of strategies to achieve the desired results. Students in turn must be willing and able to accept, internalize and execute the instructions from their director at the appropriate time (Conway, 2008; Floyd, 2006; Henry, 2008). The purpose of this study was to observe and compare the rehearsal strategies used by the directors of middle and high school choirs at adjudicated sight-singing events. The goal of such observations was to determine what teacher strategies were currently being used to facilitate sight-singing, and what (if any) strategies were more or less beneficial during the study period before adjudicated sight-singing. For the purposes of this study, data analysis focused on those strategies and sight-singing elements that differed between successful and less successful choral sight-singing as observed during a one-time adjudicated setting in which a rating was given. Results were stated in terms of frequency of occurrence and statistical significance in comparison to successful and less successful sight-singing ratings.