Nscribe Posted February 24, 2013 Share Posted February 24, 2013 Dd said something that has me a bit puzzled and I hoping some musical moms (or dads) can help me. What would Dd be trying to explain to me if she says, "Mom, I can't read music to match my voice?" We know she can read music (plays piano, is being trained by a voice teacher with amazing credentials, is under one of the best choir directors in the state, picked up trumpet and sax recently and within a week was playing from sheet music on both, started drums). She has had sight music reading "tests" several times for auditions and does very well. It came up in the context of having her take a music theory course over the summer locally. She said the statement and asked if I could find something that might especially work with that issue. Do any of you have any idea what she could mean? Questions to suggest asking her to clarify what she is saying? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted February 24, 2013 Share Posted February 24, 2013 Does she sing Soprano or Alto? If she is singing Alto could she be struggling with reading and singing her part amidst all the other parts? The middle parts (Alto and Tenor) can be particularly difficult to hear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted February 24, 2013 Share Posted February 24, 2013 I would assume she means she can not sight-read when she is singing- i.e. actually sing the note she sees - even if she could play the same notes without problem on her instrument. Playing an instrument and sight reading on the instrument is very different from sight-reading for voice. Another possibility might be that the music she tries to sing is set in a key that is not fitting the range of her voice- if she is an alto and the song is set for soprano, she may simply not be able to produce the high notes. In this case, the solution would simply be to use literature that matches her voice range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nscribe Posted February 24, 2013 Author Share Posted February 24, 2013 She is Mezzo Soprano (forgive if I spelled incorrectly) in choir because of her range, but she is often pulled along with a couple of girls to do the highest parts in particular songs. In her voice lessons, the moved to doing opera for a few minutes and trying to find broadway audition songs for her last year. She takes choir from one person, voice from a different one and then guitar from yet another (we dropped piano but are looking for that again). I am thinking it may be a combination of what you both are saying. Maybe? She writes songs, well enough she is often asked to perform her originals as solos for concerts and so forth. When she writes for guitar, she does a ...name is escaping me but it is a different notation system...specifically for the guitar. She tries to write the vocals on a traditional scale and I think this is where she is faltering. I will see her try to go to the keyboard and try to match notes to her voice and then try to write it on blank staff paper. She can write basic melodies for piano. I think this is where she is looking for answers, how to write for her voice for her stuff and be more secure when reading at auditions for solo parts. What sort of class would help her with this, music theory, something else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted February 24, 2013 Share Posted February 24, 2013 She tries to write the vocals on a traditional scale and I think this is where she is faltering. I will see her try to go to the keyboard and try to match notes to her voice and then try to write it on blank staff paper. She can write basic melodies for piano. I think this is where she is looking for answers, how to write for her voice for her stuff and be more secure when reading at auditions for solo parts. What sort of class would help her with this, music theory, something else? Not music theory. She would need exercises in sight reading for vocalists ("sight-singing"). (The writing-down-your-composition part will follow naturally. But composing on the piano is quite a normal thing. It is much easier because you know the note as soon as you press a key; with voice, you would be able to hear intervals and find relative pitches, but you can not write down absolute notes because most people do not possess perfect pitch..) I have no recommendation for resources since I learned to sight read from years and decades of singing, but her voice teachers should be able to recommend something. It is a matter of practice. If you google "sight reading vocalist", there are many resources that come up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nscribe Posted February 24, 2013 Author Share Posted February 24, 2013 Not music theory. She would need exercises in sight reading for vocalists ("sight-singing"). TY! TY! This helps me formulate the question for her voice teacher. I am out of my element with this. I just looked at the description/schedule the intensive her voice teacher wrote a letter for her to attend this summer and sure enough "sight-singing" is on the schedule twice a day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted February 25, 2013 Share Posted February 25, 2013 TY! TY! This helps me formulate the question for her voice teacher. I am out of my element with this. I just looked at the description/schedule the intensive her voice teacher wrote a letter for her to attend this summer and sure enough "sight-singing" is on the schedule twice a day. It sounds like she will be getting what she needs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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