Figuring out Solfege for a Simple Song
Video Response
Singing 4 beat Rhythms
September 21, 2020
Reflection: I think the hardest part of this activity is trying to come up with new patterns every time. I find I get stuck singing the same intervals but with a different Do, which is not the worst, but definitely does not make this activity more challenging. I also found I had a hard time internalizing the last note I sang, so when I sang the chord it was not always in the same key I sang before. After a few tries, it did get easier to get away from sticking to the same intervals between each note, and singing the chord based on the last note of the pattern was fairly easy as well.
Task #2: Singing to Peggy Lee's Fever
Reflection: While listening to Peggy Lee's Fever, I seemed to get the basis of la do mi, but once I got the first rhythm in my head, I found it hard to find variations of it and sing them in time to the song. I also found it hard to sing a higher la or a lower mi, I could not get away from the triad I started the song with. After some thinking, though, I did manage to come up with two variations that I find fit the song pretty well.
Task #3: Simple Song and Solfege
Reflection: After watching my video, I find I had an easier time figuring out the solfege for Twinkle Twinkle Little Star than I did Row Your Boat. This is probably because I have been singing solfege to rhythms more often and I am becoming more comfortable with it than I was a week ago. I also find I stay in tune when singing the solfege instead of singing it in the wrong key but right solfege.
Singing Solfege to a Song
September 28, 2020
Listening back on me singing the solfege, I feel less confident that I got the solfege correct. In the last half of the chorus, I don't believe I sang the correct intervals. I don't feel confident that "Yes, I've been brokenhearted" actually is "sol", after listening to it sounds higher than do, but I am still unsure what the solfege is. I found singing a song from a musical harder than singing children's rhymes because there are more changes in notes and different intervals. I did try to figure out the solfege without writing it down, but my brain can't function like that, I would keep getting distracted and going off track when I tried a different song beforehand.
Achy Breaky Heart - Billy Ray Cyrus
This activity was fun, but at first I felt uncomfortable singing the solfege on top of the lyrics. Especially when the chorus came around I particularly found it hard to focus on singing the solfege instead of singing the lyrics. I also found it a bit difficult to dance and sing the solfege. Focusing on what I am singing and coordinating my feet at the same time is hard to do. Some parts of the song, such as transitioning in and out of the chorus it felt like there was an extra bar of Do Mi Sol Mi and threw me off, because in my head I was thinking there would be four bars of I and V and it wouldn't change. Before I recorded this I listened to the song on repeat internalizing the beat and where the solfege changes from I to V and back to I, and after spending so much time listening to it, not only is it stuck in my head, but I can hear the changes easier. Because I was singing and dancing to this song so many times before I recorded it, I found I would get tired and run out of breath, and then sometimes when I took a breather in singing I would get lost and take a moment to figure out what chord was playing.
Solfege in Everyday Songs
Listening to songs I would listen to every day or the pieces that I play, I am finding it difficult to hear chords if the intervals are not specifically played. I did manage to hear a La Do Mi chord in A Heart Full of Love from Les Miserables. I will continue to listen harder to my favourite songs and listen for different chords sung in them.
B is for Book - Bridge
Oct. 5 2020
B is for Book - Baseline
Reflection: When we listening to this song on Friday I found it hard to hear the baseline, but once I listened to it on my own and could really focus on the baseline I figured it out pretty quickly. As for the bridge, I found it harder to hear what note it stayed on and where the run started again, but I believe I did a good job deciphering it and did it fairly quickly. Focusing on how figured out the bridge, I feel like there are better ways the find the tones they are singing, like singing the chord or up and down the solfege to center around the home tone and find the tone they are singing on. I will keep this in mind for the other songs I figure out the solfege for.
Walking and Singing Solfege
Reflection: I found this task to be a lot of fun. Moving and singing is a good way for me to internalize the beat and changes in notes. I tend to move when I'm practicing with my flute, and when I move a certain way I know that I should be phrasing or playing a certain interval, so I found walking and singing the solfege to Achy Breaky Heart was useful. I also found that when I switched up the chord changes I wanted to walk a certain way to match it, and if I sang different rhythms I would step to the same beat as I was singing. I definitely have these intervals internalized now and am able to sing them with ease.
Singing Solfege to a Regular Song
Reflection: Figuring out the solfege for Andante Andante was fairly simple at first, but there was some leaps I was unsure of. I found when I sang around the home tone I had a better sense of what the solfege was. I am also very glad I chose to start on Mi instead of Do because the leap down to Sol would have been harder to figure out if it wasn't on an interval like Do to Sol that I'm familiar with.
Leadbelly - Bring me L'il Water, Silvy
Oct. 15, 2020
Reflection: I found this project to be particularly difficult. Figuring out the melody and bass line in solfege was not too hard, however, creating a harmony that sounded good with the melody and the bass line was pretty hard. Not only did the solfege have to sound good together, but recording each part and lining them up so each note was sung at the same time was difficult as well. I am not entirely impressed with how the final project came out. Listening to it over again it sounds like I switch from major to minor keys when I listen to the melody and harmony together. I am, however, proud of how well I figured out the solfege for the melody, and when I was working on putting the parts together, just the melody and bass line together sounded quite nice, it is just my harmony section that seems to need to most help.
Solfege Exercises
Oct. 22, 2020
Reflection: I enjoy doing these solfege exercises a lot. I find singing through each of these exercises helps me center around Do and can make it easier to sing the leaps in songs. After singing through these exercises the other day I went through the Canon Exercise book and found it easier to sing each note and being more sure that I am singing the correct note with the correct solfege.
Improvisations
October 29, 2020
You may need to wear headphones to hear the backing track. I apologize, my laptop sound has not been working well.
Reflection: For this assignment, I found it harder to center around the Do, when I would try to sing leaps or passing notes, I would sing the right solfege, but the wrong note. I think it was because I was anticipating the next notes I wanted to sing and did not focus enough on singing the note I wanted to at that time. When I switched to improvising on Loo, I started singing La without realizing it because that is the word I used to sing when I was in choirs, and then realized I was singing La and switched to Na. However, I found improvising without singing the correct solfege a lot easier, and I found I stayed in the proper key easier as well. When I was improvising with proper solfege I seemed to get caught up on singing the correct solfege for that note, whereas when I switched to singing on a neutral syllable, I felt more focused on singing a note that sounded good with that chord and not the word I was singing. Overall, I think I did a fair job improvising over this backing track.
Improvisations into a Song
Nov. 18, 2020
Reflection: I quite enjoyed this assignment. There were a few sequences that I improvised that I liked, but the one I wrote out stuck with me more. It seemed to fit the baseline of the backing track the best. The more I listen to my 8 measure piece, the more it sounds like the basis of the solfege and baseline for a hymn. The improvisations that I have not written out and especially the one I have used fit the backing track well and could be used to write an actual song someday. I am still a little unsure of the baseline. For some of the notes the baseline sounds too low, but putting it up an octave sounds too high, so that is why there are some bigger leaps in between some baseline notes.
James Blunt Solfege and Solfege Patterns
Jan. 21, 2021
Reflection: I found figuring out the solfege for the bass line of "You're Beautiful" by James Blunt fairly easy, until I reached the chorus, then it became a bit tricky for me to hear where the bass line goes, mostly because the other hand of the piano is moving and I would think it was the bass line moving instead. For the solfege patterns, I found them harder to do, I had to establish Do and the other solfege before I felt comfortable with what each note should sound like. listening back now I hear some of my solfege were a bit off, and I think that is because they are leaps I am not used to yet and I would confuse them with the note beside it.
Major and Minor Patterns
Jan. 28, 2021
Reflection: I found this activity hard, especially singing the parallel minor right after singing the major, I had what the major sounded like in my head and it was difficult to switch to minor with the semitones in different places. I got in my head about wanting my singing to sound good so I paid less attention the intervals and leaps than I should have.
Canon 131
Feb. 4, 2021
Reflection: I used Soundtrap for this assignment, and recording with headphones created an echo so it was very weird and I felt like I had to sing slower in order to keep up with the echo. Overall, other than getting used to a new platform, I feel this canon assignment went over better than the last one I did. The more I practice canons, the easier it becomes.
Dorian Solfege Improvisations
Feb. 11, 2021
Reflection: I find improvising along with backing tracks fun and fairly easy, and I really enjoyed improvising along with a Dorian backing track because I like the sound of Dorian pieces and it is always interesting to sing or play in a mode that isn't Ionian. Before I recorded my video I listened through the backing track to get the mode in my head and I was improvising without solfege, just singing different notes on loo and I found that easier than thinking about what the solfege I intended to sing was.
Redo:
Dorian 3 Part Canon
March 4, 2021
Reflection: I found this assignment easier than I thought it would be, once I stopped overthinking about it. I began by writing out a melody I liked then went back and made sure it was in Dorian, then layered on the second and third entrance. Singing the canon out and making sure notes were lining up properly was a lot harder, but it seemed easier than when we did "Bring Me Lil Water Silvy."
Canon 39
Reflection: I enjoy singing this canon, it has been stuck in my head since we sang it in class. I believe the first two parts I sang pretty accurately (meaning the pitches) but the last line I struggled with, especially the Fi. Listening back I always found my way back to Do, with each part.
Rhythms Assignment
Love Like That - Lauv
March 25, 2021
Reflection: I found this assignment to be fairly easy, but a struggle in some aspects. I wasn't sure if the notes usual notes should be Ti or Ta, but they are sung quickly so I went with Ti, and then the rest of the rhythms came to me. I listened to the song through to get it in my head, then went line by line to get the rhythms, listening to it, then slowly singing it to myself as I wrote out the rhythm.
Sight Singing
April 1st, 2021
Reflection: The first two canons went over pretty well, did not have to work through them too much, once I solidified the home chord. The last canon was trickier, I think because it started on Mi and we haven't sung as many excerpts starting on Mi so it was harder to grasp. Plus, the register was too low and too high for me to sing comfortably.
Final Assignment - Seasons of Love
April 16th, 2021
Reflection: This was a fun final project to do, I especially enjoyed my song choice. Choosing a song that was written originally in 3 different parts made it easier to figure out the solfege for each part. Singing the bass part was the most difficult, especially because it is prominent in the bridge, the most difficult section to sing in my range. Overall, I think my solfege and staying in the same key has gotten better, I believe that is thanks to having a backing track,