SIGHT READING.

Stratford Evening Post, Issue 68, 17 October 1930, Page 3

SIGHT READING.

Discussing sight-reading in his lecj tare to local music teachers, Dr. Borland said: An anecdote is recorded of Handel, who, on his way to Dublin for the first production of "The Messiah" (1742), was delayed at Chester by a, storm and wished to try over some of his manuscripts. A certain' singer volunteered to read them at sight, but' failed so egregiously that Handel was enraged and said: "You scoundrel! Did you not tell me you could sing at sight?" The singer replied: "So I can—but not at first sight." It is, indeed, first sight reading which we require for utility.- This does hot involve the perfect rendering of all difficult passages, but the giving of at least an accurate general impression. Ideal accompanists are those who can read well in this sense, and examiners would always rather hear a pas- i sage played with a few notes miss- i in'g than a rendering which breaks the time in the struggle to get everything in. Candidates often start : ;, sight-reading test without looking j at key and time signatures at all. j Another type of so-called sight-read-ing includes looking at top an'd bottom Hires alternately and playing the notes separately. Such a halting performance is the equivalent of the small child laboriously spelling out c-a-t instead of saying •"cat" straight, away. "We want sight-reading by phrases, however short and simple U\ey may be.