Students and graduates of music schools have an idea that solfeggio is too complex a science, and not everyone can master it. Many believe that it does not need to be mastered at all, since in practice the result is not as obvious as from other musical disciplines. Such judgments are associated with a lack of understanding of what solfeggio is and what it teaches, how to apply it in life.
The result from the lessons of playing any musical instrument is immediately visible - this is the ability to play. The result of this course is far from so obvious, although it develops the basic musical skills - a sense of rhythm, musical ear, memory, which, in turn, contributes to a better development of other musical objects.
What is solfeggio?
The word "solfeggio" is an Italian term and literally means "singing by notes." This is a discipline whose goal is to develop musical ear among musicians and vocalists. It is he who allows you to fully enjoy the art of sounds - to compose and perform music.
An active perception of sounds is very important for any singer and musician, which can be developed through solfeggio lessons. You can’t play any music if you don’t get into the notes. Active perception is a guarantee of mastering new skills in a short time. That is why the importance of solfeggio lessons for aspiring singers and musicians cannot be underestimated.
What does this musical discipline include?
Like any discipline, solfeggio includes several important sections.
- Solfaging is a singing in which every note is called. It is important to pronounce them intonationally and rhythmically correctly.
- Musical dictations. The principle of their conduct is similar to writing dictations in school, only instead of letters it is necessary to fix musical signs. The teacher plays a melody on a keyboard instrument (a sequence of sounds), and students record everything with notes, while observing their pitch and duration, as well as musical pauses (breaks between sounds).
- Auditory analysis. For each musician it is very important to be able to determine by ear the nature of the music heard, its mode, tempo, rhythmic features and structure.
What skills are gained through solfeggio lessons?
It is possible to start directly studying this discipline only after mastering at least musical notation. That is why solfeggio for beginner musicians and singers is to study notes and other musical signs.
Solfeggio lessons help to master such an important skill as the ability to sing any melody cleanly without preliminary rehearsal. Thanks to musical dictations, the ability to mentally imagine, pick up on the instrument and correctly record the melody heard with notes is developed. You can also master such a useful skill as the ability to select and play accompaniment to any melody.
Why is solfeggio not popular with beginners?
Undoubtedly, the lessons of “singing by notes” give excellent results, but this discipline is not very popular among beginner musicians. There may be several reasons for this.
Firstly, not everyone understands what solfeggio is, and how important skills can be acquired in the process of learning this musical discipline.
Secondly, you need to regularly and for a very long time do special exercises before you can achieve noticeable results, and not all students have the patience.
The third reason is the features of the program in this musical discipline. She is focused on training professional singers and musicians. Therefore, only dictations and singing from a sheet are not limited to classes. The construction and singing of scales, chords from given notes, intervals, tonality, triad, monophony - solfeggio learns a lot of concepts that no professional musician can do without.
Do guitarists need “singing according to notes”?
You can teach a person to play the guitar, of course, without knowing the notes. However, it is solfeggio classes that will help to intensify the process of deep understanding and awareness of music. How to understand what solfeggio is on a guitar? First of all, this is the formation in the musician’s mind of stable patterns of various sound combinations, which, as you learn, will be easier and easier to use, mix them and get the opportunity to write new music.
Solfeggio forms with the guitarist a completely new, better vision of the neck, allows you to perceive the process of writing new musical compositions, solo parts, and accompaniments in a different way. The game of young guitarists who have not studied solfeggio becomes one-sided and primitive. Such musicians practically cannot be retrained, and the technique of their playing is inelastic.
Do I need a teacher when learning?
It is clear that the main component of solfeggio is notes. It seems that you can learn the designation of notes, their duration, keys, size, musical note yourself. However, everything is not as simple as it might seem - control is necessary in everything, especially in the initial stages of training.
Of course, thanks to modern computer programs, you can learn solfeggio lessons at home, but live control will be much more effective, since a person, unlike a machine, can empathize, feel, enjoy the melody.
Understanding what solfeggio is and why it is necessary is a very important point for every singer and musician. After all, solfeggio is not just boring activities, it is a whole complex of certain knowledge and skills brought to automatism, allowing you to create your own bright musical masterpieces.