LENG-111 Essay Chris Cheung How To Improve In Solfege Singing: Beginner Level
Preface: why does it matter Some of us might be formally trained in music, some of us might be beginners in music, or maybe you are interested in singing. Either way, you are reading this probably because you are seeking a way to improve solfege singing.
Solfege singing is quite an important skill in a musicians tool boxI personally know a lot of musicians who are capable of playing extremely difficult passages of music, but not knowing how to solfege. I was not familiar with the skill before as wellso why does it matter? Now that I have learnt it, I think it helps me in composing music or transcribing other peoples music from listening by knowing the intervallic relationship between notes and how they function in music scales. Sometimes, (from my experience) choirs will often sing in solfege for practice purpose too. All in all, it is an essential skill that can be useful for your own purpose, or in different scenarios when communicating with fellow musicians.
Direction When we first learn solfege, it is essential for us to understand that successfully learning it is like building a new language or system into your mind. Therefore, trying to practice it forcefully will probably not be helpfulthe following tips that I have included will also follow this direction.
Basic practice methods Just like learning languages like English, French, etc. practicing is important in learning solfege. Eventually you want to sight-read a music sheet and be able to sing it out quick and fluently like speaking a language. I assume that you will have basic knowledge about music scalesthere are many types of them, such as major, minor, different modes, etc. But for now, I recommend just focusing on practicing solfege in major scale as the starting point, as it is the most simple and basic scale.
Firstly, get hold of a music sheet that shows all the major scales in grand staff in the 12 major keys. Then starts singing the notes with solfege syllablesdo, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do. First upwards, and then go back downward from the top note of each scale. You can practice in front of a piano/keyboard, so that you can easily know the pitch of each note. The purpose of it is to help you get familiar with the pitch and order of notes in major scalesif you are confident about it, you can proceed.
Secondly, it is definitely important to sing excerpts or examples, so that you can react quickly and sing notes with correct syllables when they are shuffled. Itd be great if you have ear-training books that include small excerpts for practice purpose. If not, you can also pick examples from sight-reading books; they can be helpful in this exercise too. Choose excerpts that are in major scalesstart out slow, run through it a couple times, and try to sing it without mistake eventually.
This is the basic method for practicing solfege (which also applies to different scales as you move on later), and I want to show you some tips below too.
Tips for efficient solfege learning Firstly, do not repeat singing a single example or excerpt for too many times. I understand that we always want to sing the examples perfectly. As a result, we tend to repeatedly sing certain examples lots of timesthat way, our mind will get too familiar with the tune. Although we might be able to sing it fluently, it is just due to the fact that we already remember it, but not due to the fact that we can react quickly by recalling the solfege syllables that we already build in to our mind. I am not opposed to practicing, but its just a reminder that we shouldnt overdo it. If you feel that you are too familiar with certain excerpts, then maybe you want to move on to other ones to continue practicing. Always keep in mind that we are trying to master a language rather than certain examples.
Secondly, try to leave your music excerpt sheet empty without any notes. I know some people will write corresponding solfege syllables under notes under music excerpts to help they sing the correct syllables faster. However, this is not a very ideal practice in my opinion; Id rather take it slow and try to sing it solely by recalling the relevant syllables from my mind, but not relying on notes on the paper. That way, we will excel in solfege singing fasterslower equals more accurate and learning faster.
Thirdly, try to use visualization to help recalling solfege syllables faster while singing the excerpts. As a piano player, I always visualize the image of a
keyboard/piano while Im singing solfege. As I sing, my right hand will play the notes that Im singing on the virtual keyboard that Im imaginingthat way, I will almost instantly know the interval between one note and another that Im singing. It will help me sing out the correct syllable much fasterfor instance, if Im singing a middle C note and then an upper A note, Ill immediately know that the A note is the 6th note of the C major scale. So I can react quickly and sing do and la instantly. The point Im trying to make here is that its always good to develop your own visualization method; it doesnt necessarily need to be the image of a piano/keyboard, as long as it works with you effectively.
Conclusion/fun tips If you follow the tips and instructions that Ive mentioned, I believe that you will get a sound foundation on solfege pretty quickly. You will naturally be able to solfege much faster as time goes on. If youre feeling too stressed, give yourself a coffee break to relax. Its less efficient to practice too much when tired compared to practicing some exercises when having a clear mind!
By the way, dont forget to try singing in parts with your peers in chorale form it makes learning solfege much more fun and easy! Finally, good luck with your solfege practice!
