A New Approach to Sight Singing

Rating:
Summary: Great book, but older editions better
Review: I bought this book mainly because I was using an older
edition of the book I borrowed from library. Comparing
that to the available literature, I found it extremely
educational and well organized. It is a great book
that takes you slowly through different skills of
sight singing, with plenty of exercises for each one.
The exercises are sorted from easy to more complex
ones. The book is fit for people both singing in
chorus or solo. The rest of the book are exercises
that are more like music pieces (rather than
exercises) and come with piano accompaniment and one
chapter is dedicated to duos.

However to me it seems that this edition is a little
more simplified and less serious than the previous
ones. Also I think for the price you pay, you deserve
a more decent cover than plastic comb (the earlier
editions are hardcover).

Rating:
Summary: I gave it three stars because...
Review: I gave this book three stars because it is the textbook for my sight-singing/dictation class here at college and seeing it on Amazon gave me the creeps simply because that class haunts and consumes me! :) So I guess it's a good book because it's really helped out my sight singing techniques, but still... it frightens me to see this book on Amazon :) I don't think I could look at it unbaised ever again. :)

Rating:
Summary: Review of "A New Approach to Sight Singing"
Review: The authors of this book are simply incredible! It is the greatest tool for sight-reading I have ever seen. There are many things to work on in this book besides reading melodies. This book contains melodies for sight singing, duets, a sing and play section that incorporates piano playing into the sight singing. There is also a glossary of terms and an appendix of frequently used musical signs that can help the beginner or the forgetful musician in training. There are exercises of every variety in this book. Exercises are written in all the major and minor keys, including the harmonic and melodic scales, in the treble, alto, and bass clefs, and there are even exercises that revert to the Greek modes. This book is perfect for all sight singers, from the beginner to the most accomplished musician.

Rating:
Summary: For the serious singer
Review: This is a fabulous, progressive book of sight-singing exercises for the serious vocalist. It should be noted that this book will NOT teach you HOW TO sight-sing...it is not a tutorial in that sense. You have to know the basics already, such as recognizing music notation and key signatures. However, the exercises are the best I've found yet as "raw material" for reinforcing the solfege and rhythm aspects of sight-singing. It includes both "contrived" exercises by the authors as well as excerpts from well-known songs and classic literature. Be aware that the site has multiple listings for this book...when purchasing, especially used, make sure you get the 4th edition, because it includes revisions and additional exercises that were not part of previous editions. New, it is pricey, but I purchased a beautiful, used copy here and saved a bundle off the list price. Worth every penny!