VERO BEACH — The non-profit Vero Beach Choral Society will offer a new workshop entitled “Better Music Reading in Three Days,” for anyone interested in developing their music-reading abilities. The workshop will be held from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Nov. 3 and 4 and from 9 a.m. to Noon Saturday, Nov. 5 in the Trinity Episcopal Church music room. The lead instructor is Choral Society member Ashley Goodman, who is also the choral director at Oslo Middle School.
“Reading music sounds like a daunting task to many would-be singers, but can in fact be learned in relatively short order,” said Goodman, who studied choral music education at Florida State University and The Baptist College of Florida. “I’ve seen even some highly distracted middle school students become relatively proficient music readers.”
No particular level of singing ability is either required or expected, although the workshop will involve plenty of singing. Additionally, participants will be given the opportunity to sign up for a special audition session with Vero Beach Choral Society Artistic Director Daniel Koh on the final day of the event. The audition is not mandatory.
Goodman’s goal during day one of the workshop is to establish basic tonality, using “solfege” syllables (do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do) to help participants hear music first in their mind by looking at the score. On day two, Goodman will show students how to incorporate rhythm and counting to solfege syllables.
On the final day of the workshop Goodman will discuss other music theory basics such as time and key signatures. The final half hour will be devoted to singing music along with a few Choral Society members.
Goodman will be assisted, as response demands, by Koh and Assistant Director Jason Hobratschk.
A nominal fee will be charged to cover the cost of required materials, including a take-home practice pack. The cost is $15 for anyone who pre-registers; at the door, the fee is $20. Payment (cash or check made out to Vero Beach Choral Society) is due at the start of the workshop on November 3.
To register, call board member Deborah Borfitz at 772-569-8165.
