Conversational Solfege — Level 1 General Music The Method . 12 Steps of Music Literacy Step 1 Readiness Rote Songs and rhymes are learned by rote that contain thythm and/or tonal content, which will be studied later. Rhythm and tonal patterns can also be echoed on a neutral syllable at this step. Step 2 Conversational Solfege Rote Rhythm syllables and/or tonal syllables are introduced. Patterns are spoken or sung by the teacher with the syllables and students repeat, by rote, those patterns with the syllables. During this stage, students borid rhythm and tonal patterns with aural labels. Step 3 Conversational Solfege Decode — Familiar This stage serves as an evaluation to see if students have bonded rhythm and/or tonal patterns with the correct syllables. The teacher speaks or sings familiar patterns with neutral syllables and familiar songs and rhymes, and the students repeat the patterns, songs, and rhymes with thythm or tonal syllables. Patterns used at this stage have previously been presented by rote with the syllables. Songs and rhymes have previously been presented by rote at the Readiness stage. This requires aural recall and decoding skills but not inference thinking. Step 4 Conversational Solfege Decode — Unfamiliar “This stage serves as an evaluation to see if students have bonded rhythm and/or tonal patterns with the correct syllables and can generalize those syllables to unfamiliar patterns, songs, and rhymes. The teacher speaks or sings an unfamiliar pattern with neutral syllables and unfamiliar songs and rhymes, and the students repeat the patterns, songs, and rhymes with rhythm or tonal syllables. Patterns, songs, and rhymes used at this stage have not been previously learned. This requires aural decoding skills and inference thinking. Step 5 Conversational Solfege Create This stage develops the ability to chink original musical thoughts. Students create original thythm or tonal patterns using rhythm or tonal syllables. Step 6 Reading Rote During this stage, students are introduced to notation symbols. The teacher reads notated patterns for the students. The students repeat each pattern while looking at the notation. T™ 11Conversational Solfege — Level 1 General Music Step 7 Reading Decode — Familiar This stage serves as an evaluation to see if students have bonded the notation for rhythm andJor tonal patterns with the correct syllables. The teacher asks the students to think through notated patterns with rhythm or tonal syllables and then speak or sing them aloud using the thythm or tonal syllables. Patterns, songs, and rhymes used at this stage have been presented previously. This requires visual recall and decoding skills but not inference thinking. Step8 Reading Decode — Unfamiliar This stage serves as an evaluation to see if students have bonded the notation for rhythm and/or tonal patterns with the correct syllables and can generalize that knowledge to unfamiliar pat- tes, songs, and rhymes. The teacher asks the students to think through unfamiliar notated patterns with rhythm or tonal syllables and then speak or sing them aloud using the rhythm or tonal syllables. Patterns, songs, and rhymes used at this stage have not been presented previ- ously. This requires visual decoding skills and inference thinking. This stage is often referred to as sight-reading. Step 9 Writing Rote During this stage, students learn to write notation. Students should copy existing patterns, songs, and rhymes and be instructed in proper manuscript techniques. Step 10 Writing Decode - Familiar During this stage, students engage both conversational decoding skills and writing decoding skills, The teacher speaks, sings, or plays familiar patterns ot phrases from a song or thyme with neutral syllables or the text, Students think each pattern with rhythm or tonal syllables (Step 3) and then write the notation for the pattern (writing - decode). The importance of the conversational skills developed earlier will now be especially apparent by the students’ ability to successfully write what they hear, With the use of thythm and solfege syllables, ifthe students can repeat an aural excerpt with syllables, they will be able to write it. Students will discover that by conversationally speaking or singing syllables they are telling themselves what to write! This stage requires aural and visual decoding but not inference thinking, Step 11 Writing Decode — Unfamiliar During this stage, students engage both their conversational decoding skills and writing decod- ing skills. The teacher speaks, sings, or plays unfamiliar patterns or phrases from a song or thyme with neutral syllables or the text. Students think the pattem with thythm or tonal syllables (Step 4) and then write the pattem (writing ~ decode). Again, students will discover that by conversationally speaking or singing syllables they are telling themselves what to write! This stage requires aural and visual decoding as well as inference thinking. This stage is usually referred to as dictation. Step 12 Writing Create This skill requires students to conversationally create through inner hearing (Step 5) and then writing decode by transferring their musical thoughts into notation. This skill is usually referred to.as composition, T™ 12Conversational Solfege — Level 1 General Music Conversational Solfege - Level 1 General Music Literature-Based . ic Rhythm and Tonal Sequence Z Ae Begae s ce B sipgee i ey i i B eer eoe 25 w es a 8 33 1) 244 ~quarerpated eighths 4 7 FMajor ae 2) 6/8—dotted-quarterfchree eighths J. TJ a2 5 Maman 1 4 = 2s ne} 2 5 a3 o iz 5 5 Level 2 sau) B 4417 3 24 2 ,f2%e 38 5) dems G Major a BS g5535 es 6) Uh quae ree t DM 2 = adr BE 3 acta “© 2 e 8) 6/8 —dorced-quarter rest. # 6 i 4 Dn Oo ggue 9) 6/8—dotted-half note 4 Nn = gases 10) dim st ro it | Deeed 1) dems a < Z 23 gee 3) SE bn oe] =8 ge282 . B é SE nay EPed Level 3 a BEzeg geaae etesag £34 i B-flat Major 6 ae] | ataee 4 A Major ° o 8 Geesae z di minor Gy: Boee ee 18) 6/8 ~eiel © minor 3&8asa 1 Low! b minor 2 aoPeee 20) Lowe ¢ minoe a. ooo. 21) 2/4 pated sixteenth notes minor Zé 22) 6f8 ~ paired sixteenth notes fesharp minor qa 23) High d 4 24) High T™23Conversational Solfege ~ Level 1 General Music Techniques ‘Throughout this frst book, students should maintain “eighth note beats” with some body motion whenever they are speaking shythm patterns, In all rhythmic activities maintain the eighth note beats at 120-136 beats per minute (MM = 120-136). This can be referred to as “Keeping your motors sunning.” Tapping with two fingers of one hand onto the palm of the other hand is an ideal motion to maintain, While rapping with two fingers on the eighth-note beats, also gently sway from side to side on the quarter note beat in 2/4 meter (or dotted-quarter note beatin 6/8 meter). This will encourage the development of an intuitive sense for larger beats having two or three equal parts. Refer to the sway as the beat and the hand taps as the pars of the beat. Step 1: Readiness — Rote Before introducing new shythm or onal partems, students should have sung songs or spoken rhymes that include the patterns that wil later be studied. These songs and rhymes should be taught by rote. ~ Readiness — Rote Acti 5 Rhythm 1) Echo Me ‘Teacher speaks rhythm patterns with a neutral syllable. ‘Students repeat the pattern with the same neutral syllable. 2) Echo the Instrument * Teacher plays a pattern on an instrument. ‘Students speak the pattern with a neutral syllable. 3) Learn This Song or Rhyme «Teacher presents a song or thyme by ote. rudents sing the song or speak the rhyme. 4) Knowing When Not to Speak * Teacher asks the class to stand « Teacher speaks a “special pattem” with neutral syllables or plays ton an instrument. # Students repeat the “special pattem’ with neutral slables + Teacher speaksplays many diferent patterns with neutal syllables and tells the students fo repeat every patter excepe the “special pattern.” Students repeat every pattern except the “special pattern.” xrdents who mistakenly repeat the “special pattern” sit down. # The lat student standing is the winner. Conversational Solfege — Level | General Music * Students walk around the room following the beat of a recording. When they stop on. a square (or hoop), each student should say as loud as possible four beats of the assigned thythm and chen continue walking on the beat Conversational Solfege Rote Activities Tonal 1) Echo Me ‘Teacher sings tonal patterns with tonal syllables. «Students repeat each tonal partern with tonal syllables 2) Knowing When Not to Sing '* Teacher asks the class to stand. «Teacher sings a“specal pattern” with tonal lables lables. Students repeat the "special pattern” with tonal + Teacher sings many different pattemns with tonal repeat every pattem except the “special pattern.” + Students repeat every pattern except the “special pattern.” + Smudents who mistakenly epeat the “special pattern” st down. 4 The las student standing isthe winnet. 3) Who Sings What + Teacher sings a pattern with tonal syllables, Class repeats it « Teacher instructs the class to sing only certain parts of the pattem and the teacher will sing the other parts. (o) ‘Teacher divides the class into two groups and tells each group which part of the pattem they should sing. (or) * Teacher instructs the class to sing only certain parts of the pattern and inner hear the other parts. 4) The Missing Link * Teacher sings a pattem with syllables for the class ro inner hear and memorize, Teacher sings the patter again, leaving out one tone. * Students are asked to sing the tone that was left out. 5) Human Piano * Divide the class into groups. * Assign each group a tone,Conversational Solfege - Level 1 General Music Steps 3-4: Conversational Solfege — Decode — _— ler several lessons of echoing patterns with slabs by rote, the students should be invited to decode patterns. The students should hear patterns with a neucral syllable and determine what the appropriate rhythm or tonal syllables should be. IF there has been adequate Conversational ~ Rote preparation prior to this stag, decoding shoul seem effortless by the students. Have students decode familiar patterns and songs first. Familiar patcens ae che frst set of patterns in each unit (Patterns Se A). Also decode Pattems Sets C and D in tonal units. Familia songs to decode are the ‘to songs or rhymes taughe during the Readiness stage. Introduce unfamiliar decoding exercises afer students successfully decode familiar songs and shymes. Unfamiliar patterns are the second see of patterns included in each unit, identified as Patterns Set B. Unfamiliar songs or rhymes can be any additional songs or rhymes in the unit noc yet armed by the students Conversational Solfege — Decode Techniques Rhythm 1) Spell This ‘¢ Teacher speaks rhythm patterns with a neutral syllable or plays rhythm pattetns on an inserument + Students speak each pattem with chythm syllables. 2) Jungle Messa ‘Teacher plays rhyehm patterns on a drum. ‘ Students speak each pattern with rhythm syllables. 3) I'm Thinking of Something that Begins with ___ + Teacher thinks of afour-beat pattern and says, “'m thinking of something that begins with * "and sounds like". Here, the teacher speaks the first beat with syllables. Then the teacher speaks the entite pattern with neutral syllables. vidual attempts to decode che pattern. If he/she is incorrect, the teacher “Tm thinking of something that begins with ‘an sounds like \_." Here, the teacher speaks the firs wo beats with shythm syllables. Then the teacher speaks the entire pattern with neutral syllables. «The same individeal attempts to decode the pattem again + Continue giving additional beats as clues until the pattern is solved. When the pattern is decoded correctly, invite the next student to decode a pattern 4) Now Feel This ‘* From behind, tap a chythm pattern on each student's shoulders. '* Each student decodes and speaks the pattern with rhythm syllables. Conversational Solfege ~ Level 1 General Music Unie 1 TM Ss Patterns Set 1A ocr ltr mimi crf ltr min f trite mii anConversational Solfege - Level L General Music Conversational Solfege ~ Level 1 General Music Unit 2 Boe Gor Q olf Ho§ Patterns Set 2A Jee: 21 Fld! Du-da- di-tuh Du Du - da + di-wh Du i 8 Jai See ee lzppee) | J Je] (by bee me Bal Tm. ) noni. di Da-detuhitha Di = daahedi-uh Dy Du-da- di Du-da- di Du Du cfette legrt lTrTi mi nid tat Ai! LAT] J. J || Du-da- di Du-da- di Du-da-di Du Du - tuh-di Du Du tuh = dit Du “$f Ce ae | | fa | el | bl Da-da- a fos al (De Du - tuh-di Du Du tuh - di Du x § 14 J | os = Ja) 2 capt Per ra — ie oa Jnl. cf Fy Du-da = th Du Du - da uh Du