Intro to Solfege

Solfeging is an important aspect of music that helps any singer or instrumental player become a better musician. Solfege allows us to identify pitch. Solfege also helps you to theoretically relate back to the key you're singing in. Here are a few basic tips to help you solfege.

1. Identify the key of the piece: If you know the circle of fourths and fifths you can look up the key your piece is in. The name of the key will be your "home" note, or in solfege, "do".

2. Start small: Practice singing a major scale (do re mi fa sol la ti do). When you are comfortable with this, try a simple exercise like singing in 3rds: do me re fa mi sol fa la sol ti la do ti re do. After this, try more complex exercises.

3. Solfeging methods: Some solfege systems use "fixed do", where do is always the note C. This is good for communicating with someone who doesn't speak your language or for music that has little to no key center. "Moveable do" is used in educational institutions because "do" is determined by the key of the piece. Therefore, you must be thinking theoretically to use moveable do.

4. Numbers: If solfege syllables aren't working for you, try assigning a number for each syllable. (Do = 1, re = 2, etc.) Some people have better success with this method.

5. Solfege EVERYTHING: Plain and simple, the more you solfege the better you will become. Even if the music seems too complex try a few notes a day. Inevitably you will get better and you should begin to notice your theoretical thinking getting faster and deeper!