What is expected from a singer during "sight singing" practice?

During sight singing practice, a singer is expected to read and perform musical notes directly from sheet music without any prior preparation. This skill is foundational in developing a musician's ability to understand and interpret musical notation in real-time, which is essential for ensemble singing and following a conductor.

This practice helps singers to strengthen their music theory knowledge, improve their pitch recognition, and enhance their overall musicianship. Being able to sight sing effectively means that a singer can accurately translate musical symbols into vocal sounds, thus contributing to more cohesive and polished performances within a choir setting.

The other options, while related to different aspects of music performance, do not pertain specifically to the core skill of sight singing. For instance, memorizing lyrics is more about lyrical interpretation and recall rather than reading music, and harmonizing with others requires a prior understanding of the melody being sung. Likewise, improvisation involves creating music spontaneously rather than performing learned or sight-read material.