Rachel Gibson

Abstract

This case study is about incorporating popular melodies into sight-singing methods in
a high school choral program. There are so many old and new methods available from
method books to new websites used for sight-singing. Sight-singing is something
almost all teachers do, but we seldom incorporate the music that most of our students
are listening to.
Students were given two different worksheets. The first was given as a
practice to sight-singing which included melodies familiar to them. The melodies on
Mystery Melody Worksheet # I were taught to the students in the months leading up to
the study. The second worksheet, Mystery Melody Worksheet #2, included melodies

from popular music. Students were put into groups and assigned a melody to sight-
read. Through the use of solfege syllables and Curwen hand signs, students were

asked to perfonn the melody and solve the mystery by naming the song their melody
was from. After working on three of the four melodies, students were formally
assessed on the last melody they performed from Mystery Melody Worksheet #2.
Students were more engaged in the sight-singing process when an exercise was
turned into a game using melodies they would know. Students worked together and
practiced together, making their performance much better. Many students were
successful in solving the mystery melody and determining their song title.… (mer)