We perform Thursday April 10 at Weatherford HS (10:15 a.m.)
SIGHT SINGING Conference AAAA
The choral sight-reading contest encourages the extension of knowledge in basic fundamentals of music and rewards the consistent use of a systematic approach to sight-reading. The level of difficulty for each grade or class will allow for the demonstration of musicality as well as for technical accuracy.
The primary purpose of the commissioned sight-reading music is to test musical literacy at specific levels. The guidelines stated for the sight-reading material provide the composer with a parameter of difficulty in composing music for each specific classification. All of the elements need not be used in each composition. Harmonic, rhythmic or textual ideas whose primary purposes are to create special effects appropriate for concert performance would best not be used in graded instructional sight-reading materials.
Other general considerations for composers are:
- Avoid using texts with unfamiliar words such as foreign or mythological terms or limericks.
- Ensure that a tonal center is evident throughout the piece.
- Return to the original key following a modulation.
- Music for treble and men’s choirs should to be of equal difficulty to that of mixed choirs in the same classification.
- Avoid introducing more than one rhythmic or harmonic problem at a time.
- Remember that it is unnecessary to employ all of the allowed elements in a single piece.
Meter
Maximum of one meter change and return
Key
Major or minor keys up through four sharps and four flats
Possible modulation to relative major or minor keys
Harmony
Simple altered chords with the altered tone approached and left step-wise
Voice leading in all parts should be logical and should avoid leaps of the major 7th and the tritone
Texture
Homophonic, with polyphonic sections
No more than 25% polyphony
Rhythm
Dotted patterns
Simple syncopations
Tied notes across bar lines
Sixteenth note patterns
Eighth note triplets spanning no more than two beats may be used for necessary text accommodations
Length
36 to 42 measures including repeats
Voicings
Mixed: SATB; Girls: SSA; Boys: TBB
Text
Choir may use the printed text or their preferred method of reading on both readings.
Ranges
| Sop. I | Sop. II | Alto |
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| Ten. I | Baritone | Bass |
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Section 1110: CONCERT ORGANIZATION CONTEST
(a) EVENTS. Competition will be provided in each region for the following organization events (event code in parentheses):
(1) Band (100)
(2) Orchestra (921)
(3) String Orchestra (926)
(4) Mixed Chorus (931)
(5) Tenor-Bass Chorus (933)
(6) Treble Chorus (935)
(b) SCHEDULING.
