THE NORTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL CHORAL SECTION
MUSIC PERFORMANCE ADJUDICATION
SIGHT-READING MATERIALS CRITERIA
2015
Teachers will have opportunity to choose from four levels of difficulty: Beginning, Intermediate,
Proficient and Advanced. Each level will present 2 rhythmic exercises and melodic/harmonic exercises,
which include rhythmic elements, composed in multiple voicing. Students will perform one rhythmic
exercise and one melodic/harmonic exercise in the sight-reading adjudication.
BEGINNING LEVEL
RHYTHMIC EXERCISES:
Meter:
2/4 and 4/4
Pattern:
eighth, quarter, half and whole notes; corresponding rests
used in moderation; no dotted patterns; no syncopation
Texture:
unison
Length:
8-16 measures
MELODIC/HARMONIC EXERCISES:
Meter:
2/4 and 4/4
Rhythm:
patterns as described under Beginning rhythmic exercises
Tonality:
C, F or G Major; no modulations
Texture:
monophonic and homophonic
Melody:
Unison example: stepwise motion, except tonic chord
movement at cadence (sol-do)
Harmony:
Homophonic examples: predominantly stepwise; limited skips in
the tonic chord to accommodate sol-do movement at a cadence.
Cadences:
Authentic cadences only
Length:
8-16 measures
Voicing:
Unison, SA, TB, Treble/Bass, SAB, SATB I, SATB II
INTERMEDIATE LEVEL
RHYTHMIC EXERCISES:
Meter:
2/4, 3/4, 4/4
Pattern:
eighth, quarter, half, dotted half notes, and whole notes;
corresponding rests used in moderation; no syncopation;
no dotted quarters
Texture:
unison
Length:
8-16 measures
MELODIC/HARMONIC EXERCISES:
Meter:
2/4, 3/4, 4/4
Rhythm:
patterns as described under Intermediate rhythmic exercises
Tonality:
C, D, F, G and Bb Major; no modulations
Texture:
monophonic and homophonic
Melody:
stepwise motion with moderate use of skips in the I and V chords
Harmony:
all voices stepwise, with moderate skips in the I and V chords
Cadences:
Authentic and half cadences only
Length:
8-16 measures
Voicing:
Unison, SA, TB, Treble/Bass, SSA, TBB, SAB, SATB I and II
PROFICIENT LEVEL
RHYTHMIC EXERCISES:
Meter:
2/4, 3/4, 4/4 and 6/8
Pattern:
eighth, quarter, dotted quarter, half, dotted half, and
whole notes; corresponding rests used in moderation;
Syncopation created by a tie across the bar line;
sixteenth patterns in simple time only; no sixteenth rests
Texture:
unison
Length:
16-32
MELODIC/HARMONIC EXERCISES:
Meter:
2/4, 3/4, 4/4
Rhythm:
eighth, quarter, dotted quarter, half, dotted half, and whole notes;
corresponding rests used in moderation; Syncopation created as a
tie across the bar line; no sixteenth patterns
Tonality:
C, D, E, F, G, Bb Major; no modulations
Texture:
monophonic, homophonic, with simple polyphonic entrances
Melody :
stepwise motion and skips in the I, IV and V or V7 chords
Harmony:
all voices stepwise with skips in the I, IV, V and V7 chords
Cadences:
Authentic, half or plagal cadences
Length:
16-32 measures
Voicing:
Unison, Treble/Bass, SSA, TBB, SAB I and II, SATB I and II
ADVANCED LEVEL:
RHYTHMIC EXERCISES:
Meter:
2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 6/8
Pattern:
all sixteenth note patterns and triplet eighths in simple time only;
eighth, quarter, dotted quarter, half, dotted half, and whole notes;
corresponding rests used in moderation; Syncopation as a tie
across the bar line or as eighth-quarter-eighth
Texture:
unison
Length:
16-32 measures
MELODIC/HARMONIC EXERCISES:
Meter:
2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 6/8
Rhythm:
sixteenth notes or triplet eighths on repeated or stepwise pitches
in simple time: no corresponding rests;
eighth, quarter, dotted quarter, half, dotted half, whole notes and
corresponding rests used in moderation; Syncopation as a tie
across the bar line
Tonality:
C, D, E, F, G, Bb, Eb and Ab Major; no modulations
Texture:
monophonic, homophonic, polyphonic
Melody:
melodic skips in the I, IV, V, V7 and vi chords
Harmony:
all voices skips in the I, IV, V, V7 and vi chords
Cadences:
authentic, half, plagal and deceptive
Length:
16-32 measures
Voicing:
Unison, Treble/Bass, SSA, TBB, SAB I and II, SATB I and II