The No-Prep Approach to Sight-Singing: Building Independent Musicians

 

Sight-singing is one of the most crucial skills for choral singers, yet many choir directors approach it with a significant amount of pre-singing preparation. It’s common practice to allow students to audiate the exercise before singing, analyze skips and leaps, or even run through the piece with Curwen hand signals. Some directors take it a step further, permitting students to practice aloud before the official performance.

But why? Is this really the best way to develop true sight-reading skills?

 

The Problem with Over-Preparation

Before I go further, let me be clear—I’m not saying these approaches are ineffective. In fact, they can be useful tools to help students become more comfortable with the exercise. However, I don’t believe they should be the default approach. Here’s why:

  1. Pre-identifying Leaps and Skips Many teachers encourage students to scan the exercise in advance, identifying tricky intervals. This can certainly help students prepare for what they’re about to sing, assuming they already have the ability to audiate those pitches. However, if they don’t yet have that skill, pre-identifying intervals doesn’t necessarily ensure success—it just highlights potential challenges.
  2. Silent Audiation with Curwen Hand Signs Another common practice is to have students run through the exercise with Curwen hand signs before singing. This is a great way to internalize pitch relationships and ensure they’re mentally engaged with the music. But again, the effectiveness of this strategy depends on the student’s ability to audiate correctly. A student might be able to move through the exercise with perfect hand signals and rhythmic accuracy, yet still struggle to sing the pitches correctly when it comes time to perform.
  3. Aloud Practice Before the Official Performance Some teachers allow students to sing the exercise aloud in an unstructured way before the official attempt. This can create a noisy classroom environment where students are preparing independently. But here’s the real question: If they’ve already sung it aloud, are they truly “sight-singing” when it’s time for the actual attempt? Or are they just repeating something they’ve already practiced?

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What is True Sight-Singing?

Sight-singing (or sight-reading) is about reading music for the first time, accurately, without prior preparation. Think about it this way: When you pick up a book, you don’t pre-read the words before you actually read them—you just start reading. Similarly, when a Broadway performer attends an audition, the rehearsal pianist doesn’t get to practice the music beforehand—they simply play what’s in front of them.

So why do we treat sight-singing differently in the choral classroom?

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A Different Approach: No Preparation, Just Read

I propose a bold shift in how we teach sight-singing: No preparation. No pre-audiation. Just read.

If you use a tool like Sight Reading Factory, project the exercise on the board, set the timer, and begin immediately—without giving students any time to prepare. Let them sight-sing in the truest sense of the word.

Then, if the performance isn’t satisfactory, have them do it again—with no additional preparation. No teacher feedback, no discussion—just another immediate attempt.

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Why This Works

I know this may seem counterintuitive. As teachers, we often feel that it’s our job to coach students through the process. But by removing pre-singing preparation, we force students to develop their ability to read and interpret music on the spot. Over time, this builds practical, independent sight-readers who can confidently approach new music in real-world settings.

Think about the long-term benefits:

  • Students become less dependent on teacher guidance.
  • They develop faster processing skills, improving their real-time musicianship.
  • They build confidence, knowing they can handle new music with minimal assistance.
  • They gain transferable skills that help them outside the classroom—in auditions, performances, and beyond.

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Final Thoughts

Our ultimate goal as choral educators is not just to prepare students for the next sight-singing exercise but to equip them with lifelong musical skills. While preparation has its place, over-reliance on it can hinder the development of independent, competent sight-readers.

One of the best tools on the market for teaching sight-reading with no preparation is Sight Reading Factory. I use it in class, for homework, and even with my own daughter at home (here’s a video) to develop her sight-reading skills. The beauty of this tool is that it provides endless examples at customizable or preplanned levels with no preparation—so you can move from exercise to exercise without any delay. This seamless transition is the ultimate key to developing sight-reading fluency.

The cost is around $40 per year, but you can save 10% using the code ChoralClarity at checkout.

So let’s challenge our students. Let’s remove the safety net and encourage true sight-reading. It may be uncomfortable at first, but the results will speak for themselves.

Let’s teach our students to trust their musicianship and just read.

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