18 Oct 09 Sight Singing – Making any money yet?

Have you ever sung in a choir? What was your first experience like? Have you ever had someone tell you to sing up when the notes go up and sing down when the notes go down?

Did you ever have someone tell you that if you want to learn the intervals all you need to do is match the interval with the opening notes of a well-known song? If you can respond yes to any of these questions, I have one more for you, "Do any of these things work?"

If you would like to learn how to sing well, you need to understand that music is not nebulous. When the notes go up one needs to know how far to go up and that is where "knowing intervals" is very significant.

Intervals are very precise. You must be able to hear and sing intervals. Singing music is different from just singing one interval. Especially when sight-singing, one must be able to sing one interval after another without stopping. How could one do sight singing exercises if one has to be constantly thinking about the first phrase of a song?

Sight singing practice should be done just like language. First, you hear the words or the music, and then you say the words or sing the song! The way that you learned your language was to speak first and then read and then write.

Music is the same way. First you listen, then you sing, then you are taught what the music "looks like" that you have been singing. That is the first step to reading. Then you can write the music and then you can begin to go back and "sight read" or "sight sing" that which is already familiar to you!

Now as long as the sight singing lessons are designed to your level and as long as they progress sequentially you can learn how to sing better. Usually in a singing voice lesson, one does not get sequential sight singing practice. Sometimes a singing teacher may suggest certain sight singing books, but how can one hear what one is looking at unless they have first been taught? That would be like saying to a Mexican, here is a French book, go and read it.

Have you ever been told to get your first note from the piano then sing the next note before playing it on the piano to confirm it? In fact, do you know of anybody who could say that worked for them?

Do you know that some people make a living by sight singing? That means that they do not have much time to study the music. It also means that they have probably experienced the sight reading and sight sing of similar music previously.

So is it possible to get sight reading instructions? Is it possible to get sight singing instructions online? Now think how much it costs to take private instructions. Thirty dollars for a half hour lesson is most likely an average price. If you were to take a lesson once a week for thirty nine weeks, (one school year) that would cost you $1,170.00. Would you like to be receiving that much per student? Just suppose if you had forty, fifty or sixty students!

How would you like to have your teacher available seven days a week twenty-four hours a day so you could have a lesson every day? What if you wished to repeat a lesson? You can if you take lessons online. What if your teacher says he was only going to charge you forty seven dollars for the whole semester? Would you take him up on the offer? You would be unwise not to!

Not only could you save travel time, but also you could take quite a lot of lessons in one day! The speed is up to you! How soon could you turn out to be the coach and be making sixty bucks per hour?

Victor King is an outstanding music teacher, who taught elementary music for many years and took his choirs to the state level to gain first place for years several in a row. Mr. King has taught all ages from Kindergarten to college and is now offering his expertise to help you improve your inner musicianship. Click here for your free mini course.

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