Choir Sight-Reading Criteria
Preface: Choir Sight-Reading Music
The choral sight-reading evaluation 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 School Varsity and B Junior High Varsity and ALL Middle School and Junior High Non-Varsity
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
24 measures
Form
Recurring motives; strophic; ABA
Voicings
Mixed: SAB and SATB; Treble: SA/SSA; Tenor-Bass: TB/TTB
Text
Choir may use the printed text or their preferred method of reading on both readings.
Ranges
| Sop. I | Sop. II | Alto | |
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| Ten. I | Ten. II | Bass | Baritone for SAB |
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Conference 2C, 3C Middle School Varsity and 2B Junior High Varsity and 1A, 2A, 3A Non-Varsity
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
24 to 32 measures
Length of piece can be different for each classification, thus, one piece could be written for three classifications
Form
Recurring motives; strophic; ABA
Voicings for 2C, 3C Middle School Varsity and 2B Junior High Varsity
Mixed: SAB and SATB; Treble: SA/SSA; Tenor-Bass: TB/TTB
Voicings for 1A, 2A, 3A Non-Varsity
Mixed: SAB and SATB; Treble: SSA; Tenor-Bass: TBB
Text
Choir may use the printed text or their preferred method of reading on both readings.
Ranges
| Sop. I | Sop. II | Alto | |
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| Ten. I | Ten. II | Bass | Baritone for SAB |
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Conference 3B Junior High 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
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
32 to 36 measures
Form
Recurring motives; strophic; ABA
Voicings
Mixed: SAB and SATB; Treble: SSA; Tenor-Bass: TTB
Text
Choir may use the printed text or their preferred method of reading on both readings.
Ranges
| Sop. I | Sop. II | Alto | ||
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| Ten. I | Ten. II | Bass | Baritone for SAB | |
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Conference 1A, 2A, 3A Varsity and 4A, 5A, 6A 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 36 measures
Voicings
Mixed: SAB and SATB; Treble: SSA; Tenor-Bass: TBB
Text
Choir may use the printed text or their preferred method of reading on both readings.
Ranges
| Sop. I | Sop. II | Alto |
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| Ten. I | Baritone | Bass |
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Conference 4A 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
36 to 40 measures
Voicings
Mixed: SAB and SATB; Treble: SSA; Tenor-Bass: TBB
Text
Choir may use the printed text or their preferred method of reading on both readings.
Ranges
| Sop. I | Sop. II | Alto |
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| Ten. I | Baritone | Bass |
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Conference 5A Varsity
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 40 measures
Voicings
Mixed: SAB and SATB; Treble: SSA; Tenor-Bass: TBB
Text
Choir may use the printed text or their preferred method of reading on both readings.
Ranges
| Sop. I | Sop. II | Alto |
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| Ten. I | Baritone | Bass |
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Conference 6A Varsity
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
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
40 to 44 measures
Voicings
Mixed: SAB and SATB; Treble: SSA; Tenor-Bass: TBB
Text
Choir may use the printed text or their preferred method of reading on both readings.
Ranges
| Sop. I | Sop. II | Alto |
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| Ten. I | Baritone | Bass |
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