Choir Sight-Reading Criteria

Preface: Choir Sight-Reading Music

The choral sight-reading contest encourages the extension of knowledge in basic fundamentals of music and rewards the consistent use of a systematic approach to sight-reading. 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 sight-reading music is to test musical literacy at specific levels. The guidelines stated for the sight-reading 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 sight-reading 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.

Conference C Middle Schools and B Junior Highs

Meter

No meter change

Key

Major keys: F, C, G

No modulations

Consider range and tessitura of voices

Texture

Homophonic, with unison passages allowed

Harmony

No altered chords

Melodic skips within the I, IV, V chords only, to include all thirds and perfect fourth, "sol-do" (5-1)

Cadences

No use of the deceptive cadence

Authentic and plagal cadences only

Rhythm

Basic patterns using eighth, quarter, half, and whole notes and corresponding rests

Dotted half notes

No ties across the bar line

No excessive use of rests

In addition, the dotted quarter note eighth note rhythm may be used for varsity groups.

Length

16 to 24 measures, depending on time signature

Length of piece can be different for each classification

Form

Recurring motives; strophic; ABA

Voicings

Mixed: SAB and SATB; Girls: SA/SSA; Boys: TB/TTB

Text

Choir may use the printed text or their preferred method of reading on both readings.

Ranges

Sop. I	Sop. II	Alto
Ten. I	Ten. II	Bass	Baritone for SAB

Conference CC/CCC Middle Schools and BB Junior Highs

Meter

Maximum of one meter change and return

Key

Major keys: F, C, G

No modulations

Consider range and tessitura of voices

Harmony

No altered chords

Melodic skips within the I, IV, V chords only, to include all thirds and perfect fourth

Texture

Homophonic, with unison passages allowed

Cadences

No use of the deceptive cadence

Authentic and plagal cadences only

Rhythm

Basic patterns using eighth, quarter, half, and whole notes and corresponding rests

Dotted half notes

No ties across the bar line

No excessive use of rests

In addition, the dotted quarter note eighth note rhythm may be used for varsity groups.

Length

20 to 32 measures, depending on time signature

Length of piece can be different for each classification, thus, one piece could be written for three classifications

Form

Recurring motives; strophic; ABA

Voicings

Mixed: SAB and SATB; Girls: SA/SSA; Boys: TB/TTB

Text

Choir may use the printed text or their preferred method of reading on both readings.

Ranges

Sop. I	Sop. II	Alto
Ten. I	Ten. II	Bass	Baritone for SAB

Conference BBB Junior Highs

Meter

Maximum of one meter change and return

Key

Major keys: B-flat, F, C, G, D

No modulations

Harmony

No altered chords

Melodic skips within the I, IV, V and V7 (re-fa only) chords only, to include all thirds, perfect fourth, and perfect fifth

Texture

Homophonic, with unison passages allowed

Cadences

No use of the deceptive cadence

Authentic and plagal cadences only

Rhythm

Basic patterns using eighth, quarter, half, and whole notes and corresponding rests

No dotted patterns except dotted half notes and dotted quarter notes

No ties across the bar line

No excessive use of rests

Length

24 to 36 measures, depending on time signature

Form

Recurring motives; strophic; ABA

Voicings

Mixed: SAB and SATB; Girls: SSA; Boys: TTB

Text

Choir may use the printed text or their preferred method of reading on both readings.

Ranges

	Sop. I	Sop. II	Alto
	Ten. I	Ten. II	Bass	Baritone for SAB

Conference A, AA Varsity and AAAA Non-varsity

Meter

Maximum of one meter change and return

Key

Major keys: B-flat, F, C, G, D

No modulations

Harmony

No altered chords

Melodic skips within the I, IV, V and V7 (re-fa only) chords only, to include all thirds, perfect fourth, and perfect fifth

Cadences

No use of the deceptive cadence

Authentic and plagal cadences only

Texture

Homophonic, with polyphonic sections

No more than 20% polyphony

Rhythm

Basic patterns using eighth, quarter, half, and whole notes and corresponding rests

No dotted patterns except dotted half notes and dotted quarter notes

Length

32 to 40 measures

Voicings

Mixed: SAB and SATB; Girls: SSA; Boys: TBB

Text

Choir may use the printed text or their preferred method of reading on both readings.

Ranges

Sop. I	Sop. II	Alto
Ten. I	Baritone	Bass

Conference AAA Varsity and AAAAA Non-varsity

Meter

Maximum of one meter change and return

Key

Major keys: B-flat, E-flat, F, C, G, D, A

No modulations

Harmony

Melodic skips within the I, IV, V, V7 and VI chords, except the tritone

Texture

Homophonic, with polyphonic sections

No more than 20% polyphony

Rhythm

Basic patterns using eighth, quarter, half, and whole notes and corresponding rests

Dotted values using eighths or longer values

Length

32 to 40 measures

Voicings

Mixed: SAB and SATB; Girls: SSA; Boys: TBB

Text

Choir may use the printed text or their preferred method of reading on both readings.

Ranges

Sop. I	Sop. II	Alto
Ten. I	Baritone	Bass

Conference AAAA

Meter

Maximum of one meter change and return

Key

Major or minor keys up through four sharps and four flats

Possible modulation to relative major or minor keys

Harmony

Simple altered chords with the altered tone approached and left step-wise

Voice leading in all parts should be logical and should avoid leaps of the major 7th and the tritone

Texture

Homophonic, with polyphonic sections

No more than 25% polyphony

Rhythm

Dotted patterns

Simple syncopations

Tied notes across bar lines

Sixteenth note patterns

Eighth note triplets spanning no more than two beats may be used for necessary text accommodations

Length

36 to 42 measures including repeats

Voicings

Mixed: SATB; Girls: SSA; Boys: TBB

Text

Choir may use the printed text or their preferred method of reading on both readings.

Ranges

Sop. I	Sop. II	Alto
Ten. I	Baritone	Bass

Conference AAAAA

Meter

Maximum of one meter change and return

Key

Major or minor keys up through four sharps and four flats

Possible modulation to relative major or minor keys

Harmony

Simple altered chords with the altered tone approached and left step-wise

Voice leading in all parts should be logical and should avoid leaps of the major 7th and the tritone

Texture

Homophonic, with polyphonic sections

No more than 30% polyphony

Cadences

No use of the deceptive cadence

Authentic and plagal cadences only

Rhythm

Dotted patterns

Simple syncopations

Tied notes across bar lines

Sixteenth note patterns

Eighth note triplets spanning no more than two beats may be used for necessary text accommodations

Length

48 to 52 measures including repeats

Voicings

Mixed: SATB; Girls: SSA; Boys: TBB

Text

Choir may use the printed text or their preferred method of reading on both readings.

Ranges

Sop. I	Sop. II	Alto
Ten. I	Baritone	Bass