A book for high school or college choral singers integrating sight singing and music theory

The book includes nearly 200 songs and choruses, from humble, backwoods ditties to exalted art songs and choruses, all of it real folk music or pieces composed in earlier times: no teaching pieces.  Hundreds of theory worksheets are included.  The book is in a three-ring binder format for easy removal and replacement of pages.It progresses through 11 chapters and 520 pages from the very beginning of musical knowledge to moderately advanced harmonic analysis including secondary dominants and chromatic harmonies.The book has been aligned with national and state standards by my colleague, Lenore Wilkison.  Alignment is included in the Teacher's Edition.

Take a peek at the book:

  • Table of Contents and Preface

  • Index

  • A few sample pages

    • From Chapter 5: sight reading songs in modes other than Major and Minor

    • Two facing pages that can be used to create quodlibets

    • Improvising matrix for improvising choral harmonies

    • The first two pages of music theory from Chapter 1

    • A sample "Coda" page (last page of a chapter)

    • A complete SATB song that has been performed in concert ("Black Is the Color of My True Love's Hair")

    • One of the Bach Chorales included

    • A Renaissance frottola for performance ("El Grillo")

The design is for two semesters of high school instruction

Including advanced materials for students who want to know more. Each chapter follows the same outline and integrates performance and music theory.

  • Learning to Sing

  • Learning about Music Theory

Students seem particularly to enjoy the "quodlibet" format of singing different songs together simultaneously.  Each year it facilitates a good deal of creativity and independence on the part of the students and results in some compelling performances in their concerts.  Facing pages (even on the left, odd on the right) can be joined to create some interesting combinations!

Bach chorales and art songs

are included for harmonic analysis and performance.SATB chorales by great composers include:

  • Bach, Aus meines Herzens Grunde

  • Bach, Aus tiefer Noth schrei ich zu dir

  • Bach, Ein' Feste Burg Ist Unser Gott

  • Bach, Jesu, Bleibet Meine Freude

  • Josquin, El Grillo

  • Brahms, O Süßer Mai

Art songs (mostly solo or unison) include:

  • Brahms, Wiegenlied (Lullaby)

  • Debussy, Romance

  • Fauré, Lydia

  • Mozart, Komm, lieber Mai, und mache (2-part)

  • Paisiello, Nel cor più non mi sento

  • Scarlatti, O cessate di piatarmi

  • Schubert, Die Forelle (The Trout)

I will be happy to send you the complete, 2-volume student text if you send me an email requesting it. Go to the "Contact" button at the top of the page and let me know!

Teachers who wish to obtain a review copy of the complete teacher's edition may do so by requesting it.  Go to the "Contact me" button at the top of the page and let me know!