You now have a comprehensive understanding of how Solfa works, and a variety of ways you can begin practicing solfa singing and note recognition, and developing that instinctive sense of how each note of the scale sounds.
Start today, by selecting some of the Starter Songs below, and sing through them once or more each day. Experiment with improvising melodies in Solfa and practice some of the more “drill-like” exercises above too. Include a Solfa perspective on any Playing By Ear, Improvisation, transcribing or Songwriting activities you’re doing.
As you do, keep these three tips in mind:
- Remember, it’s all about the tonic. Any time you feel lost or confused, come back to the tonic note. That’s your “home”, and the more you practice going to and from that tonic, the easier it will be to handle whatever notes come along.
- It’s not “cheating” to check! Particularly as you start, it’s perfectly fine to play through the scale on an instrument to check your pitching and make sure you’re not getting names muddled (e.g. singing re on a pitch that’s actually mi)
- Use Hand Signs! It feels weird at first, and it can feel like “another thing to do”. Please trust me when I say that the extra effort will really pay off. Your instinct for hand signs becomes a powerful counterpart to your aural instinct—but that only happens if you develop that instinct by practicing with them!
Start simple, gradually build up the set of solfa notes you’re using, and I think you’ll quickly find Solfa becoming an indispensable part of your musical life, like it has for so many of our members at Musical U—even those who initially thought it was “just for kids”!