The number one way to increase your music knowledge?
What is it? Learn solfege. That’s right. This article describes some ways this skill can help you increase your music knowledge.
But first, you may be wondering…
What is solfege?
Solfege (also called solfa, or solfeggio)
- provides a framework for melodies by
- establishing recognizable relationships between pitches, and
- training your ear to hear patterns.
It is an excellent system for learning how the “bones” of a song hold it together. Some music theory concepts are hard to access but solfege is approachable without delving into the depths of music. Often people who play by ear struggle to find a way to write down the melodies they hear. Solfege is a great tool for solving that problem and enhance your music knowledge.
Why learn solfege to enhance your music knowledge?
Learning solfege…
… helps with songwriting
Writing melodies is hard without a way to record them quickly and easily. Solfege is a great tool for recording your melodies as you work them out. Songwriting and solfege go hand in hand. Recognizing patterns is one of the main benefits of learning solfege to enhance your music knowlege.
… helps with music transcription
No matter what key you are writing in, the intervals have the same name in every key. Because transcribing music by ear involves many steps, understanding the order of the solfege syllables can help you get faster results.
… helps develop ear training
Solfege is a fundamental concept to learn for ear training. Ear training can be improved using solfege. This is because the solfege syllables clue you into where a pitch is in relation to a root or 5th. Remembering the root is “do” and the 5th is ”sol” can be a huge help in grounding what you are hearing. Pattern recognition is another benefit of learning solfege to enhance your music knowledge.
Here’s a great resource to start from the beginning to learn solfege: https://sosolfege.com/how-to-learn-solfege/
Wanna go deeper? Here’s a book I recommend: Solfege, Ear Training, Rhythm, Dictation, and Music Theory: A Comprehensive Course 3rd Edition