I put together the following list of questions for my aural skills students to ask (and answer!) before they sight sing a melody. The suggestions are equally suited to sight reading on an instrument as well.
1. What is the clef? Does the clef change?
2. What two keys does the key signature suggest?
2a. In which of these two keys is the melody?
2b. Does the melody modulate? Where? How?
3. What is the time signature? Does it change? How am I going to conduct it?
4. What is the tempo indication? At what tempo am I going to perform it?
4a. Are there rhythmic complexities that may affect my choice of performance tempo?
5. What is the overall range of the melody? Does it fit my vocal range?
6. Are there repetition signs in the music? How do I perform them?
7a. What is the starting pitch of the melody? What solfege syllable (or fingering, or whatever) does it get?
7b. What is the last pitch of the melody? How is it related to the first pitch? What solfege syllable (or fingering, or whatever) does it get?
8. Is the melody predominantly stepwise or leaping?
8a. Where are the difficult leaps and how can I navigate them?
9. What are the prominent structural pitches (beginnings and ends of phrases, high and low points of phrases, sustained notes, etc.)?
(These techniques are adapted from Gary Karpinski's discussion of "mumbling" in his book Aural Skills Acquisition.)
1. What is the clef? Does the clef change?
2. What two keys does the key signature suggest?
2a. In which of these two keys is the melody?
2b. Does the melody modulate? Where? How?
3. What is the time signature? Does it change? How am I going to conduct it?
4. What is the tempo indication? At what tempo am I going to perform it?
4a. Are there rhythmic complexities that may affect my choice of performance tempo?
5. What is the overall range of the melody? Does it fit my vocal range?
6. Are there repetition signs in the music? How do I perform them?
7a. What is the starting pitch of the melody? What solfege syllable (or fingering, or whatever) does it get?
7b. What is the last pitch of the melody? How is it related to the first pitch? What solfege syllable (or fingering, or whatever) does it get?
8. Is the melody predominantly stepwise or leaping?
8a. Where are the difficult leaps and how can I navigate them?
9. What are the prominent structural pitches (beginnings and ends of phrases, high and low points of phrases, sustained notes, etc.)?
(These techniques are adapted from Gary Karpinski's discussion of "mumbling" in his book Aural Skills Acquisition.)