Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Melodic Patterns

We learn different melodic patterns in Let's Play Music.  The Red Balloon students are learning about Mi-Re-Do and Sol-Sol-Do and how to pick these Solfeggio syllables out of songs!

Sing these songs together and play a game:  "What pattern is at the end?"

1.  Three Blind Mice
2.  Row, Row, Row Your Boat
3.  Scotland's Burning
4.  Frog in the Middle
5.  Five Fat Turkeys
6.  Mary Had a Little Lamb
7.  I'm a Little Teapot
8.  A-Hunting We Will Go

Answers:  Numbers 1, 2, 4, 6, 7 end in Mi-Re-Do.  Numbers 3 & 5 end in Sol-Sol-Do.  Number 8 has both...the first verse ends in Mi-Re-Do and the second verse ends in Sol-Sol-Do.  

As we learn more and more patterns, your child will start to recognize the common melodies used in music.  Listening to kids' music in the car will never be boring again! 

Parent Note & Background Music Theory
Solfeggio syllables assign pitch relationship, instead of an actual pitch (or letter name).  Songs sound best when they end on "Do."  Notice how I typed "Do"...it is ONLY in bell practice that we have to worry about capital "DO" (Key of C) and lowercase "do" (Key of F) because having the Solfege syllables helps us play the tone bells.  When listening to music, it doesn't matter if the song is played in the Key of F, Key of G, or Key of E...we want the kids to hear the melodic pattern and the pitch relationship. 

Want to learn more about Solfeggio and Ear Training?  Shelle Soelberg, the creator of Let's Play Music, was interviewed on the topic.  Check it out here:  
http://www.easyeartraining.com/learn/guest-post-solfeggio-and-ear-training-shelle-soelberg/