Taking a tour of the Sightreading Factory

Taking a tour of the Sightreading Factory
by Marti Whelan, Discovery Middle School
www.sightreadingfactory.com

In the Liberty School District, we have been using Sightreading Factory for  the past two years. Sightreading Factory is a subscription-based website that generates sight-reading material on demand for band, orchestra, or choir at six different levels of difficulty.

At Discovery Middle School, I have a teacher subscription, and I project 8-measure examples on the screen at the beginning of class. I usually do two examples each day -- one that is rhythm only and one for them to play. This takes less than five minutes and is the way that I bring them together after they do their individual warmups. Even beginning band students can do the level-2 rhythm sight-reading.

I have seen a huge improvement in my students' sight-reading ability since I have been using this. You can try it out for free on their website. You can check out four screenshots of the program below.

Marti Whelan Discovery Middle School Liberty School District Marti Whelan (mschonbergerwhelan@liberty.k12.mo.us) is the band director at Discovery Middle School and a private bassoon instructor in the Liberty School District. She is currently in her 28th year as a music educator. Marti received her BME from Central Methodist College, where she played under the direction of Professor Keith House. She attended graduate school at UMKC and studied bassoon with Marita Abner. She is a graduate of Lee’s Summit High School and was a student of Russ Berlin and Jim Oliver. Marti is co-principal bassoonist in the Lee’s Summit Symphony Orchestra, and has been a member of the group since it was formed in 2003. Past groups in which she has played include the Columbia Community Band and the Boone County Bassoon Band. She finds playing in ensembles to be a source of both joy and stress relief in her life. Marti lives in Raytown with her husband Jim and their dogs.