What is the purpose of the solfege hand signs?
In the first and second sessions of my program of music activities for babies, I show you how to share Solfge with your baby.You might be wondering what Do, Re, Mi is, what it is for, and how to teach it to your baby if you don't have a musical background.I will try and answer all of the questions without getting too technical.I love this clip from The Sound of Music.
Do, Re, Mi is one of those songs that you can't help but sing along to.You will be thanking me all day for getting that one stuck in your head.Maria said that when you know the notes to sing, you can sing most anything.
The building blocks for musical education are provided by Solfge, just like the ABC's are for reading.One of the most popular systems of teaching pitch involves listening, singing and playing music together.Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La and Ti are the different parts of the musical scale.Traditional 8-note scale names like C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C have a lot of sounds that strain the voice, but the solfge names have open vowels.Singing letter names for a musical scale has the potential to confuse young children who are learning the alphabet in the context of language.
pitch memory is the most basic type of musical memory and the idea behind the solfge system is to help develop it.It requires the student to hear the note in their mind's ear in order to hone their listening and aural skills.The use of voice is the perfect way for young children to learn pitch.
Perfect and relative pitch are the two types of pitch.A perfect pitch is the ability to identify or re-create a musical note without the help of a reference tone.Singers with perfect pitch include Michael Jackson.The ability to recognize and produce pitches in relation to each other is called relative pitch.
The fixed do andmovable do systems are used to teach solfge.The fixed do system is based on the C major scale and is more in line with building perfect pitch because C is always sung as Do and A as La.The first note of the scale is sung as the root, so any scale or key can be used, thus aiding the development of relative pitch.
If you add the Curwen/Glover hand signs, the fixed do ormovable do can be used to help develop the muscle memory for pitch.
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John Spencer Curwen developed hand signs during the 1840's.The Manual of the Sol-FA System was written by Sarah Glover.Zoltn Kodly, the pioneer of children's music education in Hungary, integrated the hand signs into his teaching methods.
The chart shows the hand signs.Children can see the depth of the pitch with hand signs.The low do begins at your midsection.Each hand sign is made above the last one.The hand signs go up when the pitch goes up.The upper part of the do is at eye level.It is difficult to do the reverse on the way back down.
When you do the hand signs for your baby, he is getting a visual cue to help develop his pitch memory, which is why I argue that they are too hard for babies and toddlers to form.If you have to, you can help mold your child's hand into a do shape.
There is a quote from Kodly that explains why I believe that teaching solfege to your baby is worthwhile.
Music education should begin with the young children.In his or her early years, a child acquires discrimination in pitch and language.
The foundation for musical education is provided by Solfge.Studies have shown that babies are born with perfect pitches.Some people retain perfect pitch for the rest of their lives, but most lose their talent after eight months of age.The next question is if there is a short window of opportunity to maintain your child's perfect pitch.
As Maria says, "Start at the very beginning, a very good place to start." and as C major has no sharps or flats, it is a good key to begin.That makes C do and D do.You never know if using this fixed do system will help sustain your child's perfect pitch.In order to develop your child's sense of relative pitch, you can move on to other keys a little while down the track.
A great way to teach pitch is to play the scale on a color-coded pitched instrument, which is easy for little hands to use.You play and sing at the same time.
You can check out my online program of music activities for babies if you need further guidance.I teach you how to play the scale, sing it, and sign it with your hands.I introduce variations in the other sessions for the first time in Activity 10.
W.M. Anderson.J.E. Lawrence.Clark Baxter wrote about integrating music into the classroom.
I demonstrate the actions.You will soon be singing along, sharing smiles and laughing with baby, and feeling great for playing an active role in your baby's development.
I demonstrate the actions.You will soon be singing along, sharing smiles and laughing with baby, and feeling great for playing an active role in your baby's development.