As a young teacher in the early 1970s my choral groups and I attended our second Michigan School Vocal Music Association District Festival. Having received a "good" rating in sight reading the year before we prepared even more diligently for the sight reading portion of the District Festival. We used "numbers" the first year and "moveable do" in preparation for the festival the second year. The second year, however, the four-part, melodic exercise in compound time began in b pure minor, moved to melodic minor, then to the parallel major. The choir was able to successfully complete the beginning portion of the exercise but failed to handle the modulation.
I was frustrated, knowing that we had put more effort in the second year with much the same result. After talking with several experienced directors, I was told the South Haven Choirs, under the direction of Roger Dehn, thirty minutes north of our school used the "fixed do" system with excellent results and were known as an excellent sight reading choir.
Roger allowed our staff to spend a day with him and observe his rehearsal. After hearing and seeing the result of the "fixed do" system, our choirs began the change. I assumed the change would take two to three years, however the improvement in our sight-reading and our intonation was evident immediately. So much so, that we were able to sight read at the advanced level at State, and receive a superior rating. I have been a "fixed do" convert since that experience.
The additional benefit of the "fixed do"system of sight reading, is the confidence that it brings to the student and to development of excellent relative pitch. Using "fixed do" our students enjoy the challenge of sight-reading.
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