The School of Sight Singing

These first exercises come from The School of Sight-Singing, a method for beginners published in New York in 1897 and edited by B. Lütgen from the teaching material of Giuseppe Concone. The book starts with scales sung in whole notes, half notes and quarter notes, then moves on to intervals, and ends with well-known melodies to be sung as solfège.

Concone was born in Turin, Italy, in 1801, and was known there as an organist. In 1836 his first opera was staged in Turin and failed; one critic complained that the trumpets and drums never stopped and would cover any singer's voice. The next year he moved to Paris, where he became well known as a teacher of singing and piano and published most of his music. He went back to Turin in 1848, became organist of the royal chapel, and died there in 1861.

His books of vocal exercises are still used to teach singing today; his best known, the 50 Lessons, Op. 9, also appears in this app.

IMSLP