The Sight-Singer, Volume II for Unison/Two-Part Treble Voices: Choral Student Edition

This second volume meets students exactly where they are after Volume I, introducing genuinely challenging material without abandoning musicality. The 195 exercises include text on many selections, which means your singers aren't just drilling intervals; they're building vocal lines that feel like real music. The inclusion of harmonic minor, asymmetric meters, and larger intervallic leaps prepares intermediate singers for the repertoire you'll actually program.

The jump from Volume I to Volume II feels purposeful and achievable. Asymmetric meters and harmonic minor add sophistication and color without overwhelm, and the rhythmic challenges reflect patterns students encounter in actual choral literature. These exercises carry melodic weight; they sound and feel like singing, not like obstacles to overcome.

This edition is designed for upper elementary through junior high treble singers who have completed Volume I and are ready to expand their rhythmic and harmonic vocabulary. Directors working with developing choirs will find the structured progression manageable alongside regular rehearsals, while music teachers using this as a core sight-singing curriculum will appreciate the student edition format that puts material directly in singers' hands.

• Introduce harmonic minor and chromatic passages by isolating them first, then integrating them into the full exercise so students hear how color functions within context.
• When tackling asymmetric meters, have the ensemble establish the pulse in a simpler meter before revealing the shifted accents; this builds security rather than panic.
• Use the accompaniment cassette selectively. Play it for initial hearings to establish tonality, then remove it during independent work so singers develop their own tonal memory.
• Larger intervallic jumps land best when singers understand the harmonic function of the leap. Spend time on the chord tones involved before expecting accuracy.

Integrate this into a dedicated sight-singing block at the start of rehearsal, spending 10-15 minutes working through new exercises in sequence. The material reinforces concepts your singers will encounter in that season's repertoire, so selecting exercises that mirror the intervallic or rhythmic challenges in your programmed pieces creates natural reinforcement. Reserve the text-inclusive exercises as performance material for informal concerts or sectional showcases.

• Reading larger intervallic jumps with accuracy and confidence
• Recognizing and singing harmonic minor scale degrees
• Executing chromatic passages in context
• Navigating asymmetric and irregular meters
• Responding to harmonic function cues while sight-singing
• Building rhythmic independence in increasingly complex patterns