Music As A Language Part 2

THE SOL-FA METHOD

To those who are not accustomed to the Sol-fa notation it appears at first sight a useless enc.u.mbrance. Excellent arguments are produced for this view. Many musical people can scarcely remember when they could not sing at sight and write melodies from dictation. They picked up this knowledge instinctively, and cannot see why others should not do the same. Unfortunately everybody has not proved able to do so, hence a mult.i.tude of 'methods' for teaching them.

The most familiar of these consisted in trying to teach the pupil to sing intervals, _as_ intervals, at sight. Thirds, fifths, sixths, &c.

were diligently practised. But pupils did not always find it easy to sing these intervals from all notes of the scale, unless in sequence.

The major third from _doh_ to _me_ seemed easier than that from _fah_ to _lah_, and so on. Thus in the majority of cases sight-singing in cla.s.ses resolved itself into the musical children leading, and the others following. It is rare to find a large cla.s.s in which there is not one musical child, and the only sure test of progress is to make the less musical children sing at sight alone from time to time.

Now, if those who have 'picked up' the knowledge of sight-singing without knowing how they did it be asked to explain how they arrive at their intervals, it will be found that _tonality_ plays a large part in their consciousness. In other words, they are perfectly certain of their key-note, and at any moment could sing it, even after complicated pa.s.sages.

This fact is the root of the Sol-fa system. The child is taught to think of all the notes of the scale in relation to the key-note. A very sensible objection is sometimes raised to this, i.e. that it must surely entail a great deal of detachment from the matter in hand if the mind has to grope for the key-note between every two consecutive notes of a melody. But this process becomes automatic very quickly. We are not conscious of references to the multiplication tables every time we do a sum, yet we could not do the sum without these. And it is the same with the Sol-fa system. The child need very rarely actually _sing_ the key-note when considering another note, she refers the latter to it unconsciously.

There is one curious anomaly in the orthodox Sol-fa system, which has caused a good deal of amus.e.m.e.nt to its critics, and has ended by causing a cleavage on the part of many who are otherwise in cordial agreement with the broad lines of the method. This is concerned with the treatment of the minor key. The orthodox Sol-fa teacher relates the notes of the minor scale, not to the key-note, but to the third of the scale, i.e. to the key-note of the relative major. The confusion which this plan produces in the sense of tonality can readily be imagined. When singing in major keys the pupils are told to refer all notes to the key-note for 'mental effect', but in the minor key this is strictly forbidden. To take an instance. In the scale of C major the child has been trained to feel the sharp, bright effect of the note G, the fifth from the key-note C. It would naturally feel the same effect for the note E in the key of A minor, when related to the key-note A. But the orthodox Sol-fa teacher says: 'No. You must feel the calm, soothing effect of E in relation to C!' Can the child be _really_ trained in this way? If it were merely a difference in detail of the treatment of the two modes this error could be forgiven, but it is a difference in fundamental principle.

One of the many difficulties caused occurs in transposition on the piano. When transposing from, say, C minor to F minor, the child must first think in E[b] major, so as to get the pivot of reference, then in A[b] major for the new pivot A[b]. Yet all the time its real sense of pivot, which, be it noted, has been admirably trained by the Sol-fa treatment of the major scale, is in favour of C and F respectively.

The method evolved for the minor key by those who wish to uphold the fundamental principle of the key-note being the pivot of reference for _all_ keys, major and minor, is a very simple one. It consists in giving to the third and sixth of the harmonic form of the scale their logical names of _maw_ and _taw_. The sixth of the ascending scale in the melodic form will of course be the same in the minor as in the major.

There are two other points in the orthodox Sol-fa system which are modified by those who wish to use it as a crutch to staff notation. The first of these concerns the rather complicated time notation of all but the first sets of exercises. Directly subdivisions of the beat are introduced the notation becomes difficult to read without putting a strain on the eyes. The little dots, dashes, commas, &c., worry children. Experience has proved that when a cla.s.s is ready for anything beyond the very simplest time values it can leave the Sol-fa notation altogether, and keep entirely to the staff notation. This is, of course, an advantage, and is what is being aimed at.

The other point is connected with the use of what are called 'bridge-notes'. When a modulation is introduced which entails a fairly long reference to a new key, the note leading directly to it is of course accidental in the first key and diatonic in the second. This is called a bridge-note, and must be thought of in two ways, first in the old key, then in the new. Thus its name must be changed, as a prelude to using the new pivot.

Now, in teaching staff notation it is neither wise nor necessary to introduce extended modulations very early. The aim is to make it possible for children to sing fairly easy melodies in all keys, major and minor, with incidental modulations, as soon as possible--then to revise the work, introducing more difficult modulations. This end will be attained by deferring the use of bridge-notes until the children are ready to sing melodies in the minor keys which modulate to the relative major. If the above-mentioned plan for the treatment of the minor key be adopted, bridge-notes will be essential at this stage, and the melodies, at any rate at first, cannot be sung without their aid. A further reference to this matter is given in the chapter on the teaching of sight-singing.

CHAPTER V

FIRST LESSONS TO BEGINNERS IN EAR-TRAINING

The form of these lessons will vary slightly according to the ages of the children. We will suppose these to lie between seven and nine years, when the children can read and write.

At the first lesson the scale of C major should be played, from middle C to high C, ascending only. Then repeat middle C, and stop on it a little. Do this three or four times, telling the children to count the notes as you play up the scale. When they are all sure that eight notes have been played, ask them why they think you repeated the middle C at the end. They will probably say: 'To make it sound finished.' In other words, they have grasped the 'mental effect' of the key-note _in every key_, the pivot round which the other notes revolve. Give the hand sign for this note, according to the Sol-fa plan, and tell the children that the note is called _doh_. Now repeat the scale, but this time play it from high C to middle C, repeating the high C at the end. The children will see at once what has happened, and that the high C now 'finishes'

the pa.s.sage. Thus it will be called 'high _doh_', and the hand sign will be repeated, but at a higher level. Be careful not to bend the hand at the wrist when giving this sign, or the effect of finality and repose will be lost.

At the second lesson, repeat this work, the children telling you what to do. Then make eight large dots on the blackboard, and against the first and eighth of these write _doh_ and _doh'_. Now play the first five notes of the scale, and repeat the first as before. Ask how many notes were played. Then play them again, but starting from the fifth downwards, and repeat the fifth at the end. Ask the children why they think you did this. At first they will not be able to express what they feel, but gradually the idea will emerge that you want to call attention to something of interest. People often call to each other by singing up a fifth. The new note is sharp and bright in sound when related to the key-note. Hence the hand sign. Give the name _soh_, and write it against the fifth dot on the board. The children should now sing from the three hand signs known, also from the notes on the board. They should also identify the notes when played in groups of two and three on the piano.

When they can do all this easily, the next note, the third of the scale, is taken in the same way. The 'mental effect' is calm and soothing, hence the hand sign. In addition to singing from the hand signs, and from the Sol-fa 'modulator' which is gradually being constructed on the board, the children can now sing from the horizontal Sol-fa notation, and from the staff notation. The first of these is invaluable in the early stages, as it absolutely precludes guessing. In singing from the modulator this is possible to a certain extent, as the relation of each note to the key-note is shown roughly in _distance_ by the dots between the notes. There is no such help given in the horizontal notation.

In beginning the work in staff notation the notes of the scale will be thought of as steps in a ladder. In all keys, when _doh_ is on a line, _me_ and _soh_ are also on lines, and high _doh_ is on a s.p.a.ce; but when _doh_ is on a s.p.a.ce, _me_ and _soh_ are on s.p.a.ces, and high _doh_ is on a line. These are very simple matters, but children are simple people, and will not despise such hints.

The next notes of the scale to be taken are _ray_ and _te_, then _fah_ and _lah_. The last two are the most difficult. A good pattern to fix in the children's minds is:

_d f m l s t, d--_

which splits up into:

_d f m--; d l s--_

If these are really known, no trouble will be found with the notes _f_ and _l_.

Plenty of exercises should be given in which the notes of the scale are taken in relation to the high _doh_. Possible notes should also be taken above high _doh_ (such as high _ray_, high _me_, high _fah_ in the scale of C) and below _doh_. With regard to the latter, the key may be changed from time to time when taking Sol-fa work from hand signs or the modulator, or from Sol-fa notation, in order to get a wider range for the notes above mentioned. Thus, if the cla.s.s be given the _doh_ of G major, they can sing low _te_, low _lah_, low _soh_, and low _fah_, or, as these notes are written in Sol-fa notation, _t,_ _l,_ _s,_ _f,_. These points are sometimes overlooked by mistresses, and the early training loses in thoroughness.

Directly the children are sure of the diatonic notes of the key of C major they should take the sharpened fourth (_fe_), the flattened seventh (_taw_). and the sharpened fifth (_se_). Later on they will learn that these notes often introduce modulations to the dominant, subdominant, and relative minor keys respectively.

Extemporizing with the voice may now begin, along the lines suggested in Chapter IX. An extra interest will thus be added to the lesson, and the child will have its first initiation into 'self-expression' through the art of music.

CHAPTER VI

THE TEACHING OF SIGHT-SINGING

Instruction in sight-singing should begin by teaching the staff notation through the Tonic Sol-fa method. Objections to this are sometimes raised by very musical people, who have no recollection of any 'method' by means of which they themselves learnt to sing at sight, and who therefore think their pupils can pick up the knowledge in the same instinctive fashion. Experience proves that this is very rarely the case.

With very little children it is well to keep entirely to hand signs and ear tests until all the notes of the scale are known, through their 'mental effect'. One reason for this is that such children cannot read or write, so no musical work can be done with them which implies this knowledge. Care must be taken to vary the lessons as much as possible.

At one lesson the teacher can give the hand signs and ear tests herself.

At the next, one of the cla.s.s can give the hand signs for the rest of the cla.s.s, and the teacher the ear tests. At the next, a child can give the ear tests, and so on. An experienced teacher will find plenty of similar ways for producing new interest in the lessons, even though the actual amount of work done be necessarily small. Nothing is gained by hurrying over the initial stages of ear-training. The foundation must be securely laid, or trouble will come later. Those who have had experience of cla.s.s work in kindergartens know the special difficulties to be met--the irregularity of attendance, the constant stream of new pupils coming in, and so on. Unless plenty of opportunity is given for revision the work will suffer in thoroughness.

For children who take this work between the ages of eight and twelve, no better scheme for sight-singing can be found than that contained in Somervell's _Fifty Steps in Sight-singing_, supplemented by the children's books, _A Thousand Exercises_, published by Curwen. It is essential to read carefully the appendices to this work, especially that concerned with the minor keys. Another book of sight-singing exercises which follows the same sequence is the _Rational Sight Reader_, by Everett, published by Boosey.

In teaching the keys of G major and F major it is most important that the cla.s.s shall themselves discover the necessity for the F[#] and B[b]

in the respective signatures. Inexperienced teachers sometimes teach this as a dogma, and thereby deprive the children of the delight of discovering it for themselves.

Thus, if the scale of G major be played with F[n] instead of F[#], the cla.s.s will discover that _taw_ has been played instead of _te_, and will soon find out how to correct the wrong sound.

Similarly, if the scale of F major be played with B[n] instead of B[b], they will say that _fe_ has been played instead of _fah_.

If the order of keys taken be that of the _Fifty Steps_, the following diagram will show at a glance the underlying plan:

7 5 3 1 2 4 6 E[b] B[b] F C G D A

It should be noted that so far as the positions of the notes on the stave are concerned, the key of A[b] is as easy to sing in as the key of A, D[b] as D, and so on. This fact is sometimes overlooked, and unnecessary difficulties are created for the children.

It is important for a cla.s.s to sing at sight fluently in one key before attempting a new one. Some teachers take keys in groups, and try to teach them all together. This plan rarely leads to satisfactory results.

_Minor Keys._

It is wise to defer the treatment of these until all the major keys have been mastered. The harmonic form of the scale of C minor should then be taken, the children identifying the two notes new to them as the flattened third and sixth of the scale. It is a good plan to get them to sing a few melodies from the blackboard which are in C minor, but which bear the signature of C major, the flattened third and sixth being supplied. This impresses the new notes on the children.

Later on, the correct signature should be evolved by experiment, and the same plan followed for the other keys, before the 'rule' for finding the signature is discussed. The melodic form of the scale can then be taught, and both forms practised to give plenty of freedom in the new tonality. The various minor keys should then be taken in the same order as that in which the major keys were taken.