All-State and Region Bands

Region Senior Sightreading Guidelines

Objective – Each sightreading example should be challenging enough to separate the top few players, but fair enough so that the average student has a chance to score well.

  1. Range – is determined by the range required in the chromatic scale.
  2. Key signatures – are chosen from the required major scales but may reflect the minor mode.
  3. Accidentals – will be used, possibly more than once in a measure.
  4. Tempo marking – to be chosen from the terms list.
  5. Time Signature – one example in simple (2/4, 3/4, 4/4, or Cut time) meter and one example in compound (6/8 – dotted quarter pulse) meter.
  6. Rhythm patterns – The rhythms indicated below may be used in 2/4, 3/4, or 4/4 time and may be used in any combination. Rests may be chosen from whole rest, half rest, quarter rest and eighth rest (percussion parts may also include sixteenth rest) and may be used in any combination with other rests or notes.



    Sixteenth triplets found in percussion parts only.
  7. Rhythm patterns – The rhythms indicated below will be used in Cut time and may be used in any combination.  Rests may be chosen from whole rest, half rest and quarter rest (percussion parts may also include eighth rest) and may be used in any combination with other rests or notes.



    Eighth note triplets found in percussion parts only.
  8. Rhythm patterns – The rhythms indicated below will be used in 6/8 time and may be used in any combination.  Rests may be chosen from whole rest, dotted quarter rest, quarter rest, and eighth rest and may be used in any combination with other rests or notes.



  9. Length – Examples in 2/4 and Cut time will be 16 measures long. Examples in 3/4 and 4/4 will be 8 measures long. Examples in 6/8 time will be 12 measures long. Some examples may contain pick-up notes.
  10. Slurs and ties may be used in any combination.
  11. Dynamics may include ff,  f , mf, mp, p, crescendo and decrescendo.
  12. Other musical notation and terms such as accents, ritard, accelerando, style markings, breath marks, etc. may be used.
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