I am about to take G5 bassoon, and am so worried about the sight singing. I've never been able to sing, to the point that in my previous life as a dancer, I frequently got thrown out of auditions once my singing had been heard As I've moved up the grades, my echo singing has improved somewhat, but in G4, the sight singing was a disaster.
I've tried sitting at a piano, playing a note, singing it, and then trying to sing a third higher or lower etc, then playing that note to check my pitch, but it's not getting any better. In a similar vein, when faced with a new piece, or maybe the sight reading test, I can usually work out the rhythm, but I can't imagine the pitch until I've played the music, which I'm sure is impeding my sight reading.
Is there any hope for me?

The short answer is, yes of course there's hope for you! Most people (barring actual physical impediments) can learn to sing in tune.

BUT (and it's a big but) learning to sing is a bit like learning to drive. Some people "get" it almost immediately - 3 lessons and then they pass their test first time. Others spend ages - 20,30,40 lessons - and fail the test umpteen times before they get through. But they get it in the end. And their ability in the end may be no less than their faster learning counterparts.

You may be one of those who need to plug away at it for a long time before it comes. However, frequently people who don't "get" learning to sing fairly quickly just give it up - it's not quite such a must-have skill as driving when it comes to such things as job applications - which is in part where the "either you can do it or you can't" myth about singing comes from.

So what you need to think now is whether you want to invest the time and effort necessary for what is really a very small part of a test that is in itself a small part of the whole exam. Given that the exam is imminent, it may be better to spend that time putting an extra polish on your pieces to gain a mark or two there instead.

In the meantime a few tips for the exam itself.

See if humming or whistling improves your ability to pitch the notes.

You will get some points simply for attempting the section - only a total refusal gets a zero score. And you will get more points for getting the rhythm correct. So I would suggest - at least for your next exam - to concentrate on getting the rhythm right. Go up and down according to the music but relax about the pitch - give yourself permission to get it wrong.

And don't neglect the other parts of the aural test - you can make up more points by being sound on them.

Finally - Good luck with your exam!!

You will get some points simply for attempting the section - only a total refusal gets a zero score. And you will get more points for getting the rhythm correct. So I would suggest - at least for your next exam - to concentrate on getting the rhythm right. Go up and down according to the music but relax about the pitch - give yourself permission to get it wrong.




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Thanks for that Thouston. I know I will get the minimum 7 marks for the attempt, but this test is all about pitch. It's not a song as such...just semibreves. The examiner will play the first note, and I have to pitch the rest of the test. So, you can see my problem Many thanks for the good wishes.

Excellent post, thouston .

Bassoonista - learning solfa was what taught me to be able to sight-sing. However, ideally you do need a teacher - it's very difficult to teach yourself.

It really depends on whether you see the ability to sight-sing as either just a requirement for a short-term goal (doing well in the aural section of a grade exam) or as a valuable musical skill in itself that is worth pursuing long-term. I certainly didn't learn to sight-sing overnight - it was a gradual process - but I went from not being able to do it AT ALL to now being able to sight-sing most things. My own experience is that this has made me a very much better musician than I was before.

But - yes, it IS possible to learn it, as with any other skill (viz the learning to drive analogy).

If I can help in any way, please just drop me a PM.