How to Use This Series The Four Star” series provides daily sight-reading and ear-ttaining exercises for students t9 practice at home, and tests to be given by the teacher during lessons. Each book is organized into twelve weekly sets. Each set comprise five days worth of sight-reading activities, ear-training exercises (Co be completed online), and a corresponding test Daily Sight Reading Each day's practice is divided into four categories: Je Pitch and Fingering Patterns This activity trains students to quickly recognize—and feel in their hands—common musical patterns and shapes by playing shore examples of intervals, melodic fragments, triads, chord progressions, and cadences: fr Rhythm Reading For this activity, students are presented with a shore rhythmic pattern; they ate to tap one measure of the beat indicated by the time signature, then speak, tap, or clap the ehythm while continuing to cap the pulse. Yr Sight Playing ‘The sight-playing passages represent a variety of styles and textures and have been composed specifically for the series or drawn ftom supplementary repertoire and standard teaching literature. The focus at tis level is hands-rogether reading. (Some excerpts have been modified for pedagogical reasons.) Before playing the passage, student directed to identify notable features of the music or prepare for challenging passages. Day 5 ofeach weekly set presents a traditional or popular melody as the sight-playing example—first as a "Mystery Piece” and then as a variation the Following week. Reading a familiar tune enhances the aural experience of sight playing and introduces students to the possibilities of improvising and arranging at the piano. Yr Musicianship Activity Using items from the same day’s activities asa starting point, this activity gives students the opportunity to experiment with creative, aural-based techniques such as improvising, transposing, singing, and arranging. Daily Ear Training Al the ear-training exercises are presented in an interactive online environment fe dio recordings of an acoustic plano, instant feedback, and hints for improving accuracy. See the inside-back-aover of this book for directions on how co access the online ear-training activites. Weekly Tests The Four Star Tests cover four specific skill areas: ‘te riven Reading WT sight lying WE claback and Payback YY Interals and Chords ‘Test material and instructions begin on p. 42.* Suggestions for Practicing Sight Reading Rhythm Reading Study the example, making note of the time signature and any distinctive rhythmic patterns, Count and tap the basic beat with your hand or foot for at least one measure, then continue tapping while you perform the rhythm, You can speak the rhythm using a syllable of your choice (for example, “la” or “ta"), count the thythm (18, 2&, ete), clap the thythm, or tap the rhythm with your other hand. Keep a steady pulse and feel the regular accent of the time signature. Remember, the goal is to recognize rhythm symbols as familiar pattems of sound, not math problems! Sight Playing Preview the Music ‘Take time to study the example. Determine the tonality by looking at the key signature, opening and closing notes, and scale or chord patterns. Ifthe key is unfamiliar to you, practice the corresponding scale and tonic triad (plus inversions) to review the notes and fingering, Observe the structure of the music, looking at phrasing as well as shorter melodic and shythmic patterns, Mark important items such as fingering, dynamics, and articulation markings directly on the music. Notice the tempo indication, if any, as well as expressive markings Practice the Rhythm. To improve sight-reading accuracy, rehearse the rhythm of the excerpt so you know “how it goes” before you play. Determine the best way to count based on the time signature and note values, then set the tempo by tapping and counting one measure, Sing the rhythm out loud, or tap it on the closed keyboard cover. Play Silently Prepare for passages with complex fingering, large leaps, or coordination challenges by practicing them silently on the surface of the keys until they are comfortable, This will lead to greater accuracy when you play out loud Play Out Loud ose a tempo that will allow you to play without hesitating. (Playing with a metronome will help you maineain dy tempo.) Keep your eyes on the music as much as possible, focusing your attention on groups of notes that form recognizable patterns rather than individual notes. 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Silently practice to prepare for the positon shifts, then play this pasage, r Create a variation of today’s Y Sight Playing passage by changing the melody in the last rwo measures. Be sure co ‘end on the tonic (F). ‘online for today's Ear Training sci. — @ y Name the notes in each harmonic interval, then play. a 2 4 Hales Wak ot Circle rhe ria places where a finger erasers aver ar the thumb crosses under. chen play this passage. ’ Play a C major riad broken, then solid/blocked. Now sing the root (C) followed by the third (E)- Se een EE WePich and Fingering ratterns A Rnythm Reading SiN Playing BE Mu chy= Review Set 1 W Play cach melod OF . pattern as written, then solid/blocked. Identify the triad inversion Formed by each pattern FT Tap one measure ofthe beat with your hand oF foot. Continue tapping while you speak, tap, or cap the thythm, ae ee eel BL Circle the quarter rests in mm. 1 and 2. Carefully study the fingering, then play this passage, counting steadily through the rests. PF Scand up and march while you clap or sing ‘measure with a loud stomp of your foot! ig today’s W Rhythm Reading pattern. Accent the first note of every, Wy Musicianship Activity Ar Pitch and Fingering Patterns FERhythm Reading Fe Sight Playing— 20 Enude no. 17 In the Spirit | Christopher Norton J = 126138, swing eighths (b. 1953)-_ rude no. 10 Slowly, with feeling 4 = 66-72 Left Alone Joyce Grill (b. 1936),