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 distinct levels. Students are placed in an appropriate class, according to their age and musical experience. All classes are taught in the fixed DO system.
Pre-Solfege
Ages 4 to 6
Mondays 5:00pm-5:45pm
Instructor: Dr. Angelika Machnik-Jones
2026 Fall Semester class schedule - 13 classes: September 14, September 21, September 28, October 5, October 12, October 26, November 2, November 9, November 16, November 23, November 30, December 14 (Christmas Celebration Party)
2027 Spring Semester class schedule - 17 classes: January 4, January 11, January 25, February 1, February 8, February 15, February 22, March 1, March 8, March 15, March 22, April 5, April 12, April 19, April 26, May 3, May 10 (Spring Celebration Composition Creations Class)
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
Teaching method incorporates Dalcroze Eurhythmics and the Orff Schulwerk Approach
Play-based lessons focus on:
rhythmic speaking, nursery rhymes and children’s songs which serve as a starting point for exploring tempo, pulse and dynamics
kinesthetic activities, dance, gestures, which help students feel the internal beat and express musical form physically
singing - melodic development begins with simple childhood songs, intervals and folk songs
instrument play - clapping, stomping, unpitched percussion instruments, xylophones and glockenspiel
learning through imitation
early music literacy - students learn formal notation from very beginning
improvisation and composition - students create their own original rhythms, repeated patterns, or melodies using acquired skills
Students may register before the start of the Fall semester. Spring semester registrations are permitted on a case-by-case basis.
Solfege I
Ages 6 to 10.
Saturdays 11:30am-12:15pm
Instructor: Dr. Angelika Machnik-Jones
2026 Fall Semester class schedule - 12 classes: September 5, September 12, September 19, September 26, October 3, October 10, October 17, October 31, November 7, November 14, November 21, December 12 (Christmas Celebration Class)
2027 Spring Semester class schedule - 17 classes: January 9, January 16, January 23, January 30, February 6, February 13, February 20, February 27, March 6, March 13, March 20, April 3, April 10, April 17, April 24, May 1, May 8 (Spring Celebration Composition Creation Class)
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
Students will be preparing for potential Oklahoma Music Teachers Association Theory Exams
In addition to pure aural skills learning, teaching will incorporate portions of Dalcroze Eurhythmics and Orff Schulwerk Approach
Students may register before the start of the Fall semester. Spring semester registrations are permitted on a case-by-case basis.
Solfege II
Ages 9 to 13
Saturdays 12:30pm - 1:15pm
Instructor: Dr. Angelika Machnik-Jones
2026 Fall Semester class schedule - 12 classes: September 5, September 12, September 19, September 26, October 3, October 10, October 17, October 31, November 7, November 14, November 21, December 12 (Christmas Celebration Class)
2027 Spring Semester class schedule - 17 classes: January 9, January 16, January 23, January 30, February 6, February 13, February 20, February 27, March 6, March 13, March 20, April 3, April 10, April 17, April 24, May 1, May 8 (Spring Celebration Composition Creations Class)
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 Royal Conservatory of Music Theory Exams