Musical Rudiments
Material Adapted from Carol Krueger's Progressive Sight Singing
I believe we learn to read music the way we learn a language. Like rudiments of written language, Carol Krueger has developed a series of musical rudiments which serve as fundamental building blocks of musicianship. This adapted list mostly represents the sequential curriculum used in her Progressive Sight Singing. This curriculum is most effective when implemented a little bit each day. Using flashcards developed by Michael Driscoll (Choral Conductor and AP Music Theory Teacher in Brookline, MA), musical rudiments may be taught using the following learning sequence.
Learning Sequence: (Carol Krueger)
- Naming Sounds: Teach the rudiment on Kodaly syllables by rote using the Aural Resource.
- Identification of Pattern Syllables: Teacher uses neutral syllable [ba] while students translate to the appropriate Kodaly Syllable.
- Symbolic Association: Use a Visual Resource to practice linking the isolated rudiment to written notation.
- Integrating Tonal and Rhythm Patterns: Sight-read examples incorporating the rudiment. I recommend www.sightreadingfactory.com because you can control the compositional parameters.