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• Preface / Selection Procedure / Solos
• Band Sightreading Preface
• Band Sightreading Criteria
• Orchestra Sightreading Criteria
• Choir Sightreading Preface
• Choir Sightreading Criteria

Preface: Choir Sightreading Music

The choral sightreading contest encourages the extension of knowledge in basic fundamentals of music and rewards the consistent use of a systematic approach to sightreading. The level of difficulty for each grade or class will allow for the demonstration of musicality as well as for technical accuracy.

The primary purpose of the commissioned sightreading music is to test musical literacy at specific levels. The guidelines stated for the sightreading material provide the composer with a parameter of difficulty in composing music for each specific classification. All of the elements need not be used in each composition. Harmonic, rhythmic or textual ideas whose primary purposes are to create special effects appropriate for concert performance would best not be used in graded instructional sightreading materials.

Other general considerations for composers are:

• Avoid using texts with unfamiliar words such as foreign or mythological terms or limericks.
• Ensure that a tonal center is evident throughout the piece.
• Return to the original key following a modulation.
• Music for treble and men’s choirs should to be of equal difficulty to that of mixed choirs in the same classification.
• Avoid introducing more than one rhythmic or harmonic problem at a time.
• Remember that it is unnecessary to employ all of the allowed elements in a single piece.