Hearing Do, Re, Mi Melodies
When moving from one note to another a pitch can do only one of three things:
- Repeat - Stay on the same pitch,
- Move by step up or down, or
- Leap up or down.
To review Treble and Bass Clefs see The Treble Clef and The Bass Clef.
Repeating Notes
When a pitch repeats the note will stay on the same line or space on the staff.
Moving by Step
When a pitch moves by step the note will change from a note on a space to a note on a line or visa versa.
Moving by Leap
When a pitch leaps it can move to any other space or line.
At the beginning the melodies we will listen to will only use three consecutive pitches and the only possible leap will be between the bottom and top notes.
It will always be from a line to a line or from a space to a space.
Solfeg
One common method for site singing a melody is to use solfeg sylables.
This method was introduced in the Middle Ages by Guido de Arezzo and is still in use today.
The first three notes of a scale (we will look at scales in detail in Level 2) starting from the bottom and going upward are given the sylables Do, Re and Mi.
Some people use a fixed Do system where Do is always the pitch C.
Others use a movable Do where Do is always the first note in the scale.
We will use the movable Do system.
So for example, Do, Re and Mi in the F scale will be the pitches F, G and A respectively.
Do
Do (pronounced like "doh") is the most stable sound. All other pitches in the scale sound like they want to go back to do.
Re
Re (pronounced like "ray") sounds as if it wants to go back to Do or up to Mi. It is the least stable sounding of the three pitches.
Mi
Mi (pronounced like "me") is another stable sound. Mi has a weak pull back down to Do.
Hearing Leaps
There are many different ways to hear the pitch when a note moves by leap:
- Memorize the sound of different size leaps (intervals). We will work on this starting in Level 2.
- Remember the pitch from earlier in the melody.
- Recognize the leap as part of a pattern or repeating pattern.
- Remember the "feel" or sound of certain pitches in a scale or chord. See above.
- Remember the "sound" of a pitch. A person who can hear exact pitches without any help from a previous pitch or instrument is said to have perfect or absolute pitch. This is rare and even most professional musicians do not have this ability.