Estimated reading time 3 minutes
Table of Contents
Introduction
Have you gotten basic sight singing down, but want to expand beyond seven notes? Look no further. In this post you will sing both sharp and flat solfege syllables with an emphasis on the flats. Read more to understand singing shape note solfege flats.
The Exercise for Singing Shape Note Solfege Flats
Mobile users: for best results reading the music, tilt your screen 90o to the right.
C Major Moveable Do Chromatic Shape Notes:
- As you sing the shape note solfege flats above, make sure to sing the solfege syllables above each line in the score.
- For a review of shape notes: Shape Note Sight Singing Success
- I have supplied sing-along song tracks to help you work on correct pitch.
- The song tracks use synthetic voices rather than actual voices. Research has shown that this will help with the ability to identify and produce absolute pitch information.
- For more information: Why Use a Synth Voice Instead of Real Voices
- Most of the basic solfege syllables transform into an “ay” sound by adding the flat sign (b) before the shape note in the score. The exception is Re which already has an “ay” sound. Instead, Re transforms into Rah:
- Re turns into Rah
- Me turns into May
- Sol turns into Say
- La turns into Lay
- Ti turns into Tay
- We already sang Tay in the song You’re a Grand Old Flag. However, in that song we sang it as a natural rather than as a flat. The natural sign cancels out a sharp or flat, even if it appears in the key signature.
- The flats-exercise begins with Do on the note C. Since Do is moveable, the chromatic scale can begin on any note. Just use the same sequence of syllables starting from the new tonic.
Singing Shape Note Solfege Flats: Carolina in the Morning
Carolina in the Morning:
- This example comes from the end of the chorus from Carolina in the Morning. In the example you will sing Lay from the shape note solfege flats excise. Here Lay appears as a flat in the score, not a natural.
- Pay attention to the distance between melody notes, since this will develop your melodic tuning skills.
- For fun, you can sing all of the chorus from Carolina in the Morning. The video provides the words.
Carolina in the Morning Video
Singing Shape Note Solfege Flats: Quiz
- After you’ve gotten the sound of Carolina in the Morning in your ear and sung the shape note solfege flats exercise, you can take a stab at the sight singing quiz.
- First sing the rhythmic syllables, then try the chromatic shape notes.
- If you need a refresher on the rhythmic syllables read: Singing with Kodaly Rhythmic Syllables.
Concluding Thoughts for Singing Shape Note Solfege Flats
- Having the ability to sing shape note solfege flats will broaden the range of melodies you can sight sing. Shape notes can help all singers to better read music, whether the student has autism, LD, ADD, special needs, or is a typical learner.
- Shape notes create an easy way to reach reluctant readers. Therefore, singing teachers can add shape notes to their multisensory resource bag. In the next Shape Notes and Solfege category post we will look at singing in the minor mode.
© 2021 Geoffrey Keith
Join me for in-person or online lessons today!
BPM (Using the Metronome to Get the Music Beat)
Do you want to know the purpose of a metronome and how to read it? A metronome helps you find the tempo of a song in beats per minute (bpm). Also, it helps you practice by clicking at a (user adjustable) speed. So, that way you can play along with (for example) the tempo moderato on the metronome. Keep reading “BPM (Using the Metronome to Get the Music Beat)” to learn the various ways it can help. Estimated reading time 3 minutes.
Read More
Once Sheet Music is All Digital, Why Not Always Colour-Code Notes?
“Once sheet music is all digital, why not always colour-code notes?” Since most sheet music can now come in digital format, will there be any good reason not to color code the notes all the time? I’ve long advocated using color coding for helping special needs students to learn music from sheet music. However, the opening suggestion (by a person on social media) goes one step further. It proposes making a permanent change to how people read sheet music. Click to find out the arguments for and against adopting universal color coded music notation. Estimated reading time 2 minutes.
Read More
Singing Rhythm Syllables in 2-4 Time
Do you have a hard time sight singing rhythm in time signatures other than 4-4? 2-4 gets used a lot in marches, so you often find it used in patriotic songs, making it worth learning. Read more to learn about singing rhythm syllables in 2-4 time. Estimated reading time 4 minutes.
Read More
Songwriting – Let Her Scream
Do your lyrics lack powerful emotions? Do you want to learn how to write using stronger images? Take Mark Twain’s advice, “Don't say the old lady screamed. Bring her on and let her scream.” The first of Twain’s sentences uses abstract language, but the second uses concrete images instead. Simply put, when you describe a scene, you need to show it rather than tell it. "Songwriting - Let Her Scream" shows you how. Estimated reading time 3 minutes.
Read More