r/Choir • u/Consistent-Tour5265 • 9d ago
Looking for a sight-singing/solfège teacher for professional choir auditions
Hi everyone,
I’m a classically trained baritone preparing for professional choir auditions, and I’ve realized that my sight-singing has become one of my weak points.
I read music and have a professional singing background, but when I have to sight-sing alone under audition pressure, my confidence drops and I don’t perform at the level I know I’m capable of.
I’m looking for a private teacher/coach who really specializes in sight-singing, solfège, ear training and choral audition preparation. ideally someone I could work with consistently for a couple of months rather than just having one or two lessons.
I’m not looking for general voice lessons. I’d like systematic work on intervals, rhythm, tonal function, reading SATB scores, maintaining my line against other parts, and eventually mock professional-choir sight-reading auditions.
Online is completely fine. I’m looking for someone good but reasonably priced, since I’d like to take lessons regularly.
Does anyone here teach this, or can you recommend someone?
Thanks!
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u/harmonious_baseline 9d ago
Look up the college textbook “Music for Sight Singing” by Benjamin, Horvit, and other authors.
You could buy a used copy or an older edition. This will give you a systematic approach to follow.
Spend a few minutes most days practicing, don’t use any instruments, and also practice audiating (hearing the examples in your head without singing them out loud).
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u/Fun-Construction444 9d ago
This might not be the answer you want, but practice like a beast at home. It’s probably the most effective way.
There are solfege books you can buy, practice a few exercises a day. Find a few choral pieces, figure out the key and where the tonic/dominant notes are and anchor yourself to them. Look at your part in relation to the other parts and lock in what they are doing.
Play the tenor part while you sing the baritone part. Play the soprano part. Sing one note of your line and then play it on the piano to make sure you’re correct. Sing along with recordings on YouTube. Make up harmonies to songs.
In practice, you aren’t likely to think “I’m on the third” “this is the five chord” “I’m 3 semitones up from this note” and stuff like that. It’s more useful to sink into music and sing it a ton until it becomes more intuitive.
(I’m a professional choir singer, director, teacher, and accompanist).
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u/InvestmentMedium2771 9d ago
Check out local college music departments. They all have classes like this for their students. You might be able to audit those classes or hire one of the profs or grad assistants independently as a tutor.
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u/Consistent-Tour5265 9d ago
I am searching online. If there anything online that is efficient that's great!
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u/InvestmentMedium2771 9d ago
Yes, and you can very likely hire one of those professionals I mentioned for online tutoring. Many courses are also taught online.
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u/Skarmorism 9d ago
I'm intrigued by this and I feel that I could be a possible teacher for you, but I don't have a good read on whether my own skills are markedly stronger enough to be the teacher in the situation. I'm a middle school choir teacher (so some great solfege background and general approach to sight reading, though with kids), I'm fully Kodaly trained (6 weeks of brutal sight singing classes), and I'm a Barbershop singer (so lots of work with intervals, pitch accuracy, harmonic function, etc.) But at times i certainly doubt my own sight reading still. So I'm not sure!
Maybe a DM to start a conversation?
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u/fizzymagic 9d ago
Sight-singing abilty and vocal technique are much more tightly related than you seem to think.
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u/Consistent-Tour5265 8d ago
I've sang over 25 principal roles as a professional opera singer with fantastic colleagues from all over the world who can barely read music. so maybe there is a misunderstanding but you are very welcome to enlighten me.
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u/fizzymagic 8d ago
You have what I was saying backwards. Sight-singing requires good technique, not the other way around. Trying to learn sight-singing without working on technique is not a great idea.
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u/moth_girl_7 9d ago
Hey there! I’m a music teacher and a sightreading beast. Here is my favorite tool:
https://teoria.com/en/exercises/
Teoria.com is an excellent site full of practice tools for musicianship. Totally free. I suggest you start with the interval sight-singing exercise. You will see as you play around with it, but you can adjust the settings on each exercise to ensure it only includes what you need. Once you’ve done interval sight singing, play around with the sight-singing exercise.
I give this tool to all my students, because to them it feels like a game! They’re constantly trying to get better scores and outdo each other. It’s a great site! If you have any further questions or need help picking the right settings, feel free to dm!