Estimated reading time 3 minutes
Table of Contents
Introduction
“How do I switch from minor key shaped notes to standard notation?” Sight singing minor keys in standard notation can be challenging. Because it can be difficult to figure out if you’re in a major key or the relative minor. Read more to learn how to transition from shaped notes to standard notation for minor keys.
First, find out the key of the song. From there you can figure out the song’s mode. The previous post in the series shows you how to find the key:
This post uses music terms. For definitions, see the Glossary at the end of the article.
The Process of Switching from Singing Minor Key Shaped Notes to Standard Notation
“How do I switch from minor key shaped notes to standard notation?” As we talked about in the link above, by design shaped noteheads tell you what solfege syllable to sing. Standard notation won’t do that for you:
- This means you’ll need to figure out the key of the song before you can try to sight sing the piece.
- The post at the link above shows you how to do just that.
- However, relative major and minor scales us the same notes (mostly).
- This can make it difficult to know the mode of the song.
Nevertheless, you can look for specific clues that’ll tell you the song’s mode:
- Figure out the key of the song. The music example in the next section has two flats. We know from the info in the part 1 post that the example below is in the key of Bb.
- Next, figure out the mode. In a homophonic arrangement, look at the last note in the melody. If the last note of the song is the first scale degree of the major scale (Bb or La), you’ve got a major key song. If the last note is the 6th scale degree of the major scale, you’ve got a minor key song.
- If you have an SATB arrangement, the last note of the bass part will give you the best indication of the song’s modality.
- The final clue comes from the fifth scale degree of the major scale (F or Sol). If you start seeing a lot of sharps on this note (F# or See), that will be a strong hint that the song’s using the harmonic minor scale.
Puer Natus in Bethlehem and Switching from Singing Minor Key Shaped Notes to Standard Notation
“How do I switch from minor key shaped notes to standard notation?” After you’ve figured out the mode, you need to decide whether you want to use either the relative minor or the parallel minor solfege syllables. For more information on how to choose, read:
The following example shows a song (Puer Natus in Bethlehem which I borrowed from another post) that uses the harmonic minor scale:
- It employs the relative minor solfege syllables, which would be what you’d want most of the time.
- Notice that the phrase ends with La, and that we sing the syllable See instead of Sol. This puts the song in the harmonic minor.
To hear what the song sounds like, click on the soundtrack button below.
Mobile users: for best results reading the music, tilt your screen 90o to the right.
Puer Natus in Bethlehem:
Final Thoughts on “How do I Switch from Minor Key Shaped Notes to Standard Notation”
“How do I switch from minor key shaped notes to standard notation?” This sums up the process:
- Figure out the key.
- Figure out the mode.
- Decide on whether to use relative or parallel minor solfege syllables.
Beginners can write the syllables in the score. However, you should work toward learning the syllables for each key.
Have fun singing!
© 2023 Geoffrey Keith
Join me for in-person or online lessons today!
Glossary
What Are Some Signs of a Twice Exceptional (2E) Child?
“What are some signs of a twice exceptional (2E) child?” Children with both giftedness and learning disabilities are called twice exceptional. In other words, twice exceptional children will pick up some things really quickly - much more quickly than typical learners. However, with other things they will lag way behind their typical learner peers – sometime by a significant amount. Read more to learn the signs of a twice exceptional child. Estimated reading time 4 minutes.
Read More
How to Write Beautiful Songs in English
Is English a second language for you? Do you want advice on how to write songs in English? Are you a world music artist and want to transition into a pop music career? If you want to write Western pop, you must understand pop music styles and have good English vocabulary and grammar skills. Click to learn how to write beautiful songs in English. Estimated reading time 3 minutes.
Read More
Shape Note Sight Singing Success
Have you always wanted to sight sing music, but found it too hard? Shape notes can help. Also, last post centered on singing melodies with a specially tuned synth-organ sound. Namely, we focused on harmonic tuning. This week we will look at the same melodies, but from the angle of melodic tuning. Most of the examples have sing-along sound tracks, but the last example is a shape note sight singing quiz. Read more to experience shape note sight singing success. Estimated reading time 6 minutes.
Read More
How Do I Match My Pitch to Another Singer?
“How do I match my pitch to another singer?” Pitch matching is the starting place for ear training. If you can’t match your pitch to the same note another vocalist sings, you won’t be ready to learn how to harmonize. Don’t worry, the sing-long soundtracks will help! Keep reading to learn how it works. Estimated reading time 2 minutes.
Read More