Spring has sprung, and my students are busily preparing for the Music Literacy Program!
I want to take this article to focus on one specific testing area: Sight Reading. This is the one that tends to stress my students out the most. They’re so concerned with making a mistake that they “can’t see the forest for the trees.” This is a wonderful opportunity to talk about how to tackle a new piece. It doesn’t matter how many times we have introduced new pieces to them (on a weekly basis, every lesson for years!), when we ask them to sight read something new, they become a deer in the headlights. So, when preparing for the MLP, we will do at least two practice tests.
During the first one, I talk them through it. “What’s the key signature? What’s the hand position? Do your hands move ever?” I have them count through the rhythm in their head, think through each hand, maybe even play on their laps! Then they play through it. We talk through what went well, what they should have maybe spent some more time thinking through, and the second test they do all the prep on their own. By the time they get to our event, the test is a piece of cake. Ultimately, student success and literacy is our main goal, and whatever makes them successful is a win!