Songs for Sight Reading Vol. 2 by Phala Tracy

Notes from the composer:

"I developed this reading curriculum over a five-year period, composing a new piece almost every week. I wanted my Suzuki harp students to have a constant supply of new material to use to develop their reading skills and I found that I was constantly searching for appropriate pieces for them to play. I needed pieces that were simple enough that my students could be successful in their attempts, but challenging enough that reading music kept their interest. I needed pieces that were written idiomatically for the harp. I needed music that was printed simply with an age appropriate layout and no fingering or placing indications, allowing me the freedom to mark each piece in a way that could meet the individual needs of each student. I finally realized that it was far easier (and more fun!) to compose my own sight-reading curriculum than it was to be constantly adapting pre-existing music to fit this purpose.

There are four graded volumes of sight reading pieces in this curriculum. Several of the pieces are duplicated in multiple volumes at varying levels of difficulty. This allows students at different levels to play together. It can also be a pleasant surprise for the student to occasionally come to new material that is partly familiar already. These particular pieces are cross referenced in the indexes of the four volumes."

Phala Tracy is an active arranger, composer, improviser and performer in the Twin Cities.  She is currently an adjunct professor at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, MN and maintains an active teaching studio focusing on Suzuki harp and music theory.  Phala holds a BM from Oberlin Conservatory of Music and an MFA from the California Institute of the Arts.  She has published four volumes of Songs for Sight Reading, released a whimsical collection of Critter Songs, and is developing an ever-growing curriculum of Music Theory in Song and Rhyme.