Sight Singing

Sight singing means looking at notated music you've never heard and singing it accurately on the first try. No instrument, no reference pitch beyond what you're given at the start. Whether you're preparing for a college theory placement exam, a choir audition, or you just want a more complete ear, this covers what makes sight singing different, the two common systems for naming intervals, and how to set up Practice Sight Reading to train it.

Sight Singing vs. Sight Reading

Instrumental sight reading lets the instrument do some of the work. Press the right key or finger the right note, and the pitch is correct regardless of whether you actually “heard” it coming. Sight singing removes that safety net. You have to internally hear the next pitch before you produce it, which means you're training your ear and your sense of relative pitch, not just your fingers. That's why college theory programs use it. It tests whether you understand the music, not just whether you can execute it.

The upside is that sight-singing practice makes you a better sight reader on your instrument too, because you start anticipating pitches by ear instead of only by finger pattern.

Solfège and Numbers: Two Ways to Name What You're Singing

You don't sing note names (“G, A, B”) in real time. You need a system that maps to how the notes relate to each other, since that's what your ear is actually tracking.

Movable-Do Solfège

The familiar do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-ti system, where “do” always represents the tonic (the home note of the key) regardless of what pitch that actually is. This is the standard in most North American college theory programs and choir settings. It has the advantage of encoding the sound of scale degrees directly into the syllables you sing.

Scale-Degree Numbers

Some programs use numbers (1-2-3-4-5-6-7) instead. They function the same way as solfège but without the syllables. Numbers can be easier for instrumentalists who already think in scale degrees from music theory. Either system works. Use whichever one your program or teacher expects, since the goal is fluency with the system you'll actually be tested in.

Interval Training

Sight singing is interval recognition performed in real time. At each note, you're judging the distance to the next one and producing it by ear. This is a trainable skill on its own, separate from reading rhythm or full melodies:

• Start with steps: Practice singing only stepwise motion (up or down by a second) until it's automatic before adding leaps.
• Add small leaps: Thirds are the next easiest interval to hear and produce accurately. Most tonal melodies are built from steps and thirds.
• Isolate the intervals that give you trouble: Tritones, sevenths, and other wide leaps are worth drilling in isolation rather than hoping to get them right inside a full melody.
• Check yourself against an instrument after, not during: Sing the interval first, then verify it against a piano or tuner. Checking as you go defeats the point of training your ear.

Setting Up Practice Sight Reading for Sight Singing

Sight singing requires a Deluxe account, since it uses melody generation rather than the free rhythm-only exercises.

Playback Settings

• Set a slow tempo, such as 60 BPM, so you have time to process each pitch before it's expected.
• Set the largest interval to +1/-1 step to start. This keeps every melody stepwise, the easiest interval to sing accurately.
• Turn on Starting Pitch so you have a reference note to begin from, the same way a real sight-singing exam gives you one.
• Define a compact note range to keep the melody within a comfortable vocal range while you're still building the skill.
• Optionally, set the metronome to quarter notes so you have a pulse reference without it being distracting.

Custom Level: Isolating Rhythm

• Open the Custom Level tab.
• Select quarter notes only under the Duple tab, so the melody uses nothing but quarter notes. This isolates pitch accuracy without also testing rhythm reading at the same time.
• Once quarter notes feel comfortable, add half notes for longer, sustained pitches, or increase the tempo in Listening Settings instead of adding rhythmic complexity.

A Sample Practice Session

Generate a melody with the settings above. Practice Sight Reading will play the starting pitch to cue your entry, synchronized with the metronome. Sing along with the notation and check your accuracy against the audio playback rather than singing blind. The goal at this stage is confirming your ear is tracking correctly, not testing yourself under exam conditions yet.

Increasing the Difficulty

Once stepwise melodies at a slow tempo feel automatic, increase difficulty in one dimension at a time rather than several at once. That way you can tell which change is actually challenging you.

• Widen the interval range to introduce leaps of a third, then larger.
• Change key signatures to practice solfège or scale-degree numbers outside of C major, since most real repertoire isn't in C.
• Add rhythmic variety back in through the Custom Level tab, once pitch accuracy alone is solid.
• Increase the tempo gradually toward a normal singing pace.

Sight Singing for Choir Auditions

Choir and vocal ensemble auditions frequently include a short sight-singing excerpt for the reason described above. It tests musical understanding, not just vocal quality. The preparation approach is the same: build interval accuracy at a slow tempo first, then add tempo and rhythmic complexity. If your audition also includes an instrumental sight-reading component, or you want a broader prep timeline, see the audition guide.

Keep Practicing

Sight singing is one of the fastest ways to improve your ear. It pays off across every area of musicianship, not just choir. Start with free rhythm practice to build your rhythmic foundation, or start a Deluxe trial to begin melody and sight-singing practice today.