Emer has sang on soundtracks ranging from the classic Sleepy Hollow through to several of the Harry Potter movies, as well as singing backing vocals for artists as diverse as Kylie Minogue, Björkand Andrea Bocelli. She has taught at some of the UK's top Contemporary Commercial Music schools, she knows the skills you need, and she knows how to deliver them.
‘I'm passionate about teaching singers to sight sing, and here on Sing By Sight I want to show you how you can put yourself in the mix for some of the most exciting work in the world of music, whether that's singing on film or pop sessions, singing in a close harmony vocal group, auditioning with confidence, or enjoying lots more repertoire with your local choir.’ - Emer McParland
Sing By Sight
•Practice Membership
•Standard Membership
•Premium Membership
Which Membership Option do I choose?
This membership option suits someone who knows how to sight sing but would like access to original practice material to help them improve/maintain this musical skill.
Standard Membership
This membership option suits someone who is new to sight singing, or someone who has gaps in their knowledge e.g. if you've never really looked at a piece of music before, or if you know a bit about sight singing but aren't sure what everything means or how to sing what you're reading.
Premium Membership
This membership option suits someone who would like a more personal and intensive learning experience and the ability to take a closer look at any sight singing issues. It includes an extra 1 hour webinar (live lesson) via Zoom every month with Emer (max. 5 in a group), studying new material and receiving feedback.
Course Curriculum
Click on the Levels to view the curriculum.
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Foundation Level
•Rhythms - feeling various basic rhythms
•Moving Around Notes - understanding and feeling how notes can move up and down
•The Stave and Bar Lines - what they look like on a piece of music and what they mean
•The Treble Clef - what it looks like on a piece of music and what it means
•The Name of Notes - understanding that notes in music take their names from letters of the alphabet
•Time Signatures -what they mean and where they sit on a piece of music
•Note Values - what they are and how we count them
•Rests - what they are and how we count them
•Keep Going! - why it's best not to stop if you make a mistake
•Shapes In Music - how to see shapes and patterns in music -
Level 1
•The Time Signature of 4/4 - where it sits on a piece of music and what it means
•Key Signatures - what they look like and what they mean
•The Key Signature of C major - what it is and how to read and sing it
•Phrasing - what a phrase looks like and what this means to a singer
•Singing Up and Down a 5th - what this means and how to sing it
•Singing Repeated Notes - why this can be tricky and how to sing them
•Singing Around a Chord - what this means and how to do it
•Putting It Together - this chapter works on exercises that combine all elements looked at so far on this level
•The Key Signature of G Major - what it is, how to read it, and how to sing in this key
•The Key Signature of F Major - what it is, how to read it, and how to sing in this key
•In Context - this chapter involves working on pieces of music (not just exercises) that combine every element covered so far on Sing By Sight -
Level 2
•Whole Tones and Half Tones - what they are and what they mean to singers
•The Key Signature of D Major - what it is, how to read it, and how to sing in this key
•The Minor Scale - what it is and how it sounds
•The Key Signature of A minor - what it is, how to read it, and how to sing in this key
•Singing Around the Chord of A minor - what this means and how to sing it
•Eighth Notes (1/8th) - Quavers - what these note values are, what they look like on a piece of music, and how to sing and feel them
•Eighth Note (1/8th) Rests - Quaver Rests - what these rest values are, what they look like on a piece of music, and how to sing and feel them
•Putting It Together - exercises that combine all elements looked at so far on this level
•Tied Notes - what they are, what they mean, and how we sing with them
•The Time Signature of 3/4 - what this means and how we count it
•In Context - this chapter involves working on pieces of music (not just exercises) that combine every element covered so far on Sing By Sight -
Level 3
•The Full Major Scale - how to construct it and sing it
•The Scale of A Natural Minor - what it is and how to sing it
•Arpeggios - what they are, and how to sing around them
•The Keys Signatures of E minor and D minor - what they are, how to read them, and how to sing in these keys
•More Complex 1/8th Note (Quaver) Rhythms - working on more involved 1/8th note material
•Adding Rhythms to Scales - combining rhythmic knowledge with melodic knowledge
•Starting on Notes Other Than the Tonic - how to identify the notes, then how to hear and sing them
•Putting It Together - working on exercises that combine all elements looked at so far on this level
•Staccato Notes (marks) - what they look like on music, and how to sing them
•Dotted Notes - what they look like, how to count them, and sing how to sing and feel them
•In Context - this chapter involves working on pieces of music (not just exercises) that combine every element covered so far on Sing By Sight -
Level 4
•The Key Signature of A Major - what it is, how to read it, and how to sing in this key
•The Key Signatures of B minor and C minor - what they are, how to read them, and how to sing in these keys
•The Major Pentatonic Scale - what it is, how to read it, and how to sing it
•The Minor Pentatonic Scale - what it is, how to read it, and how to sing it
•Passing Notes - how to use passing notes to help find intervals in music
•Chromatic Movement - what it is, how to read it, and how to sing it
•More Rhythm Work - looking at more developed rhythms in music
•Putting It Together - working on exercises that combine all elements looked at so far on this level
•Basic Lyrics - coping with basic lyrics on a vocal part
•The Time Signature of 6/8 - what 6/8 means, and how to feel it and sing it
•In Context - this chapter involves working on pieces of music with full arrangements (not just exercises) that combine every element covered so far on Sing By Sight -
Level 5
•The Key Signatures of Bb Major and G minor - what they are, how to read them, and how to sing in these keys
•Moving Around Chords in Major Keys - how to identify notes and sing them
•Moving Around Chords in Minor Keys - how to identify notes and sing them
•Tension Notes - what they are, how to read them, and how to sing them
•Sixteenth (1/16th) Notes - Semiquavers - what they are, how to read them, and how to sing and feel them in a piece of music
•Sixteenth (1/16th) Note Rests - Semiquaver Rests - what they are, how to read them, and how to sing and feel them in a piece of music
•Singing with Sixteenth (1/16th) Notes (Semiquavers) - how to approach working with these note values
•Putting It Together - working on exercises that combine all elements looked at so far on this level
•Starting On Other Chords - how to identify this, and how to find your notes
•Pick-up Bars - what they are, and how to sing and feel them
•In Context - this chapter involves working on pieces of music with full arrangements (not just exercises) that combine every element covered so far on Sing By Sight -
Level 6
•The Notes of the Bass Clef - what they are and how to read and sing them
•Key Signatures in the Bass Clef - what they are and how to recognise them
•The Key Signatures of Eb Major and F minor - what they are, how to read them, and how to sing in these keys
•Minor Scales (Natural, Harmonic and Melodic) - what they are, how to hear them, and how to read and sing them
•Major and Minor 7th Chords - what they are, how to hear them, and how to read and sing them
•More Work on 1/16 Note Rhythms (Semiquavers) - working with more complex rhythmic patterns
•6/8 with Dotted Notes - how to read, feel and sing these notes
•Putting It Together - working on exercises that combine all elements looked at so far on this level
•1/4 Note Triplets - what they are, and how to read, feel and sing them
•Reading Vocal Arrangements - looking at various layout options for vocal parts
•In Context - this chapter involves working on pieces of music with full arrangements (not just exercises) that combine every element covered so far on Sing By Sight -
Level 7
•The Key Signatures of E Major and C# minor - what they are, how to read them, and how to sing in these keys
•Blues Notes - what they are and how to read and sing them
•Dealing with Larger Intervals - strategies for reading and singing larger intervals in music
•Rhythm Practice - further work on more complex rhythm patterns
•1/8th Note Triplets - what they are and how to read, feel and sing them
•The Time Signature of 12/8 - how to read and feel this time signature
•Swung Rhythms - what they are and how to read, sing and feel them
•Putting It Together - working on exercises that combine all elements looked at so far on this level
•Lyrics - looking at various issues that can arise when reading lyrics
•Dynamics - what they are and how to read and sing them
•In Context - this chapter involves working on pieces of music with full arrangements (not just exercises) that combine every element covered so far on Sing By Sight -
Level 8
•The Key Signatures of Ab Major and F# Minor - what they are, how to read them, and how to sing in these keys
•More Complex Rhythmic Subdivisions - further options for subdivisions of beats, and how to read and sing them
•More Unusual Time Signatures - looking at more options for time signatures, and how to deal with them and feel them
•Changing Time and Feel - how to read, feel and sing these more advanced music options
•Changing Key Signature (Modulating) - how to read and hear modulations in music
•Challenging Intervals - how to deal with intervals that are less obvious in music
•Terminology In Music - the definition of various music terms, and how to deal with them when singing
•Putting It Together - working on exercises that combine all elements looked at so far on this level
•Interpreting The Notation - how to bring life to a vocal part, working on style and interpretation
•Over The Stand Dictation - how to alter parts under direction
•In Context - this chapter involves working on pieces of music with full arrangements (not just exercises) that combine elements covered on Sing By Sight
Vocal Vista YouTube
Click the link to visit our channel
We've been releasing a series of fun videos called
'Emer's Fundamentals' covering a range of sight singing elements in preparation for actually starting to read a piece of music. Sign up to the mailing list to receive your copy of the audio tracks that accompany these videos.
Head over there and check it all out!
Emer McParland
Instructor Bio:
Alongside the credits listed at the top of this site, Emer has sang on numerous movie soundtracks from Gangs of New York and Tomb Raider 2 through to Disney’s recent live-action versions of Aladdin and Cinderella , and the hit USA TV series, Galavant. She works regularly with London’s top vocal groups, and has been involved in projects such as live concert performances of Independence Day, Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone (The Sorcerer’s Stone - USA), the classic video game Zelda, the hit TV series, Game of Thrones (conducted by composer, Ramin Djawadi) and Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland with Danny Elfman. This final project led to Emer touring the UK with Danny Elfman, performing music from his amazing soundtracks.
As a backing vocalist Emer has worked with huge range of artists from Tom Fletcher (McFly) and Mika through to Jarvis Cocker.
She has appeared as a guest soloist with several orchestras including The Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, The Hallé (Manchester, UK), Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (UK), The BBC Concert Orchestra (UK) and The RTÉ Concert Orchestra (Ireland). She is also a regular guest soloist with the world renowned BBC Big Band, appearing around the UK and Europe at festivals and private events.
Alongside her live performances Emer has taught at several London Contemporary Commercial Music schools, including The Institute of Contemporary Music Performance (ICMP - Head of Vocals) and Vocal Tech (now BIMM), as well as coaching for the National Youth Jazz Orchestra, and working as a Vocal Coach and Musical Director for the Disney Channel (UK, TV channel). She has written and delivered courses up to degree level on topics such as Sight Singing, Voice Production, and Stage and Studio Craft and is the author of the London College of Music, Pop Vocals exams.
Emer McParland