Music is an integral part of our lives. It resides inside each one of us, stirring our imaginations and connecting us with one another. Music is intuitive. But in order to sharpen that musical intuition in aspiring artists, that intuition needs to be brought into the forefront of their musical upbringing. Music needs to be understood, felt, experienced on an advanced level. Solfege Classes at OCM help with just that.
From early ages, students learn to sing on pitch, feel a steady beat and react to different colors of harmonic structures. They learn to write down what they hear and sing what they see on a page. They learn to recognize and sing intervals, chords, scales before they even have a theoretical understanding of these musical elements. That ear training is essential in successful mastery of instrumental music.
Students also learn the theory behind the music, because an aspiring musician needs to be highly proficient in the “written language” of music, just as they learn the “spoken language” through their instruments.
All Solfege Classes are divided into three levels. Students are placed in an appropriate class, according to their age and musical experience. All classes are taught in the fixed DO system.
solfege I
Ages 4 to 6
Day/time: Saturdays at 11am
Concepts to master:
singing on pitch
accurately repeating rhythms
singing C major scale with accurate pitch in both letter names and solfege
understanding basic note values, being able to clap/tap rhythms with these note values
solfege II
Ages 7 to 10.
Day/time: Saturdays at 11:45am
Concepts to master:
complete mastery of all notes on staff in both treble and bass clef
sight-singing melodies with accurate pitch in both C major and a minor
understanding time signatures, key signatures, minor scales dotted rhythms, syncopations
singing scales and arpeggios up to three sharps and three flats
aurally recognizing and singing intervals, four main types of chords
simple melodic and rhythmic dictations
solfege iii
Ages 11-14
Day/time: Saturdays at 12:30pm
Concepts to master:
singing all major and minor scales and arpeggios
sight-singing more complicated melodies
memory melodic dictations
recognizing chords in inversions
understanding and recognizing cadences and other harmonic progressions
complete mastery of singing intervals, which culminate in singing atonal melodies
preparation for potential ABRSM Aural Exams, RCM Theory Exams, OMTA Theory Exams
Fall 2023 semester class dates:
September 9, 16, 23, 30.
October 7, 14, 21, 28.
November 4, 11, 18.
December 2, 9, 16.
Instructor: Dr. Angelika Machnik-Jones
Location: OCM, room 205.
Enrollment deadline for Fall 2023: September 7.
Students may enroll in Solfege Classes at the beginning of each semester. Students currently not enrolled in private lessons at OCM, may enroll in OCM Solfege Classes following a placement test. Non-OCM students must be actively involved in private lessons or a school orchestra program outside of the Conservatory setting.