Exercices de lecture à vue et de transposition

While these exercises in sight-reading and transposition were meant primarily for clarinet students wishing to develop required mental and instrumental skills, instructors may easily adapt them to their teaching, since they have been carefully graded. Most of them were written for my students of the Music Department, Collège de Sainte-Foy, from 1992 to 2011. The exercise book is divided into four parts, the first three containing sight-reading material only. Exercises in part four are designed to simultaneously improve one’s proficiency in sight-reading and transposition. Even though the exercises intended for transposition are all printed in concert pitch (clarinet in C), suitable material to be transposed in other useful keys (clarinet in A, D, or Eb) may be found elsewhere in this book. Before beginning an exercise in sight-reading, the student should first examine the excerpt thoroughly in order to identify its structural elements and be prepared to avoid technical pitfalls. The primary aim of the exercise is, of course, to be able to play the passage flawlessly. However, continuity in tempo and musical expression must also be maintained, regardless of any mistakes that may occur. Indeed, non-stop playing and special care given to rhythm should help in attaining a high degree of competence more easily. Finally, one must bear in mind that a musical performance, albeit at first sight, must always be interpreted with due respect to style and idiom. Marcel Rousseau