Dagný Þórunn Jónsdóttir

This thesis is for the qualification of MA in voice teaching.

 

The thesis explores the attitude students have regarding sight-singing. The main purpose of my research is to shed light on teaching habits and student knowledge regarding sight-singing in music schools on the south coast peninsula and capital region of Iceland.

 

Classical singing exams consist of a few different parts. The student sings songs and scales, there is a section that includes free choice and then there is a sight-singing requirement.

 

In the sight singing section the student is given a short song to sing and the key of the song is played on the piano. The student has two minutes to prepare before he sings the song without accompaniment

 

In this thesis I look at sight-singing systems, sight-singing requirements in exams, and the results of a nationwide exam in sight-reading

 

This is a qualitative research and I interviewed six students from six different music schools on the south coast peninsula and Reykjavík. The main question I asked them was “What is your view on sight-reading?“

 

The results of this research show that students are not getting the required amount of lessons on this subject. It also showed that little connection to this subject was to be found in the one on one singing lessons and students did not have to exhibit any working knowledge of sight-singing (except in exams.) Sight-singing is only a small part of the overall singing exam and it´s contribution to the final grade is insignificant.

 

This has led to students not understanding the need to practice and this lack of knowledge has  a negative impact on confidence levels which, in turn, makes exams even more stressful for them.

 

The purpose of my research is to shed light on teaching habits and student knowledge regarding sight-singing in music schools on the south coast peninsula and capital region of Iceland. According to the music school curriculum (Menntamálaráðuneytið, 2000) sight-singing is a required teaching subject for students learning classical singing. Students are tested on this subject as part of a graded classical singing exam (Menntamálaráðuneytið, 2002).

 

In this thesis I look at sight-singing systems, sight-singing requirements in exams, and the results of a nationwide exam in sight-reading. I interviewed six students from six different music schools on the south coast peninsula and Reykjavík. The main question I asked them was “What is your view on sight-reading?“ The answer to this, and other related questions,is the subject of this thesis.

 

I write about teaching habits, home studies and practical application of sight-singing for students. The results of this research show that students are not getting the required amount of lessons on this subject. It also showed that little connection to this subject was to be found in the one on one singing lessons and students did not have to exhibit any working knowledge of sight-singing (except in exams.) Sight-singing is only a small part of the overall singing exam and it´s contribution to the final grade is insignificant. This has led to students not understanding the need to practice and this lack of knowledge has  a negative impact on confidence levels which, in turn, makes exams even more stressful for them. It is obvious that music schools need to address the manner in which this subject is being taught and find suitable ways to amend their methods.