This realistic first-year program of sight singing and ear training presents a broadly-based approach to music reading as an essential and integral part of musicianship and exhibits a sharp focus on essential skills. The authors developed and tested the materials in their classes at the Juilliard School of Music, refining them to enhance accessibility and improve learning. This book: Arranges specific concepts and problems in a carefully graded order based upon performance difficulty; Isolates specific rhythmic and pitch problems and then drills them in a concentrated form but in a variety of music contexts; includes copious examples of each problem in actual music; Stimulates students' creative imagination through the consistent employment of assignments that require original work. Special attention is also called to the rhythmic aspect of the program which utilizes a variety of ingenious devices and techniques that enable students to develop rhythmic coordination, accuracy, and independence. The program can be used with various sight-singing techniques and its flexibility allows it to be used for a separate course or as a strand of an integrated theory program. - Back cover.