Why Solfeg?

So why do we use Curwen Handsigns for solfeg? The question has been asked by choir students for decades. While it may seem burdensome, it's actually very practical. Your body is an instrument. However, unlike an instrument you can't move your fingers in a certain position and get an A flat. Or can you? By using the handsigns, you can have a physical position to "feel the pitch." When you practice a lot with the hand signs, you can develop the skills to sing notes more accurately because you have a physical attribute to the sound. Keep practicing, it pays off later!

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Solfege: The Key to Comprehensive Singing

Just like we use letters to write, we use solfege to sing.

The order is:
Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti, and then back to Do.

They are pronounced:
Do- doh as in dough
Re- reh as in revel
Mi- mee as in meek
Fa- Fah as in father
So- Soh as in Soldier (sometimes seen spelled as sol)
La- Lah as in lawn
Ti- Tee as in teeth


Each one corresponds to a degree of the scale:

Do- Tonic(I)
Re- Supertonic(ii)
Mi- Mediant(iii)
Fa- Subdominant (IV)
So- Dominant(V)
La- Submedient(vi)
Ti- Leading Tone(vii)

The moveable Do system, which is used most often, allows do to be placed anywhere depending on the key (how to find the key will be explained in an upcoming post). For example if you are in the key of C, do is placed on C and the following solfege are placed in decending order. Look at the example below from www.soundpiper.com/mln/melody.htm:



Disregard the hand signs for now I'll explain it in an upcoming post. As you can see, Do starts on C because the music is in the key of C indicated by no sharps or flats. If you were in the key of F designated by one (b) flat, then Do would be on F (the bottom space) and the rest of the solfege would follow on subsequent lines and spaces.

If you can memorize what each degree of the scale sounds like in relation to one another, solfeg will allow you to sightread any music. Watch this instructional video if this doesn't make sense.

Welcome

This blog was made to help people with basic music knowledge for the choral singer. I hope it will be helpful.