Solfege Ear Training - How Our Ear Training Method Takes Solfege to Another Level

Solfeggio or “solfege” is an incredibly powerful tool for any musician’s arsenal. Whether you are a singer, a concert pianist, or a guitar player in a rock band, solfege ear training can help you take your musicality to new heights.

That being said, there are limitations to the effectiveness of solfege, and there is a crucial difference between ear training and solfege. May beginner musicians get confused when trying to understand the difference between solfege and ear training systems.

In order to truly reap the benefits of solfeggio, it must be integrated into a comprehensive ear training program that provides you with a step-by-step method for strengthening the cognitive processes that support good musicianship.

Read on to learn how the Use Your Ear ear training method solves the limitations of solfege ear training and can help you master solfeggio and learn to use it as a powerful ear training tool.

What is Solfege?

Solfeggio is a nomenclature system. That essentially means it’s a way of naming the notes within a scale. Solfege gives a unique name to every scale degree using a system called solmization. A single syllable (for example Do or Re) is assigned to every pitch. These syllables are different from the actual names of the notes (for example, C or D).

There are several types of solfeggio scales. The one most commonly seen when you are learning music and studying ear training is the major scale, which looks like this:

Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti Do

These syllables can be assigned to any major scale. For example, although the notes in the scales of C major and A major are different, they use the same solfeggio. For a more in-depth look at the different types of major and minor solfeggio scales, as well as an explanation of the differences between “Fixed Do” and “Movable Do” solfeggio, have a look at this article. Before doing that, we recommend you finish reading this article first, as it might have better answers to most of your questions regarding solfege ear training.

Ear Training and Solfege - a Great Solution for You

Solfege is a very useful device for ear training. Compared to simply practicing interval-based exercises in isolation, it is far superior. Scientific studies show that our perception of musical pitch is tonal—meaning the same note or chord assumes different sonic sensations depending on the key it’s played in. Traditional interval-based exercises are practiced in isolation, so they do not establish any tonal center or help you to hear how each note sounds and feels within the tonality.

For this reason, when you try to translate your isolated interval practice into real musical situations, you will become frustrated. Your ear will not have had any practice hearing how the pitches relate to the key center. For example, C to E and G to B are both major thirds. However, within the key of C, these intervals occur in different locations and have different functions, thus they sound very different. C to E is going to sound very stable in the context of the C major key, whereas G to B is going to sound unstable in such a scenario.

You may be able to recognize a major third played in isolation, but you may not be able to recognize that G to B is a major third when you hear it in the context of a C major piece, because the interval may sound different to your ear than what you are used to hearing in isolation.

Solfeggio, on the other hand, helps you understand how notes function within a tonality and gives you a framework for internalizing the unique sonic sensation of each scale degree. For example, using solfeggio, you will know that C to E in the key of C major is Do - Mi, and that G to B is Sol - Ti. Your ear will learn how to recognize these relationships, so you will immediately understand where the pitches fall within the tonality and what their purpose is. This is how relative pitch skills work in the real world, and it’s far more useful and easier to do than identifying whether an interval is a major third or not.

With a solid approach incorporating solfege ear training, dictation tests, improvisation, singing and playing in tune, and other musical challenges become easy.

Difference Between Ear Training and Solfege

It is important to remember, however, that solfeggio is not an ear training method. Solfeggio is just a nomenclature system—a way of naming things. An ear training method is a step-by-step program designed to help you gradually build the skills you need to develop a strong inner ear.

Solfege gives you a system for naming, visualizing, and ultimately hearing different pitches within a scale. It can be an important part of a comprehensive ear training method, but it cannot tell you how to practice, what to practice, and when to practice. Nor can it give you feedback or help you evaluate your progress. It also doesn’t give you a solid framework for understanding chord progressions. Solfege alone won’t help you to learn to recognize chords.

A proper ear training method, on the other hand, provides you with all of the above and possibly more, to ensure you go from zero to advanced ear training skills, with no roadblocks in between.

How to Use Solfege for Ear Training

It’s very easy to get started with solfege ear training. At its core, solfege simply requires memorizing the names of the solfege syllables and applying them to scales. Below, we’ve outlined some exercises that will help you build your relative pitch skills.

These solfege ear training exercises are a great start, but they are not enough to build a solid ear on their own. In the next section, we’ll talk about how the Use Your Ear method integrates solfege into a more structured approach to ear training.

Solfege Ear Training Exercises

The following solfege ear training exercises are great for both beginner and intermediate musicians and can be done with or without an instrument (you will need something to produce a pitch, but there are many keyboard apps available that can help with this if you do not have access to a piano or guitar).

Sing the Scale

The first easy ear training solfege exercise we’ll look at is singing the major scale. We’ll use Movable Do solfege syllables (again, you can check this article for a look at Fixed vs Movable Do).

Even if you’re not a singer, you can benefit from learning to sing solfeggio—many professional instrumentalists do this. It’s not important that you have a great voice; it’s simply about making a musical connection between your mind and the pitches. The ability to sing the scale is absolutely essential in ear training as well as in the process of developing your overall musicality.

For this exercise, you’ll need an instrument or a keyboard app that can play pitches. A keyboard or piano works better than a guitar because the pitches are laid out in a linear, easy-to-see arrangement. Start with C major, as it’s the easiest to visualize (all white notes).

Picture the C major scale on the keyboard. If you don’t know what it looks like, check this image:

Give yourself a starting pitch by playing middle C on the keyboard. Now, sing the C major scale, using the correct solfege syllable for each note. C is Do, D is Re, E is Mi, etc. Check each pitch as you go by playing it on the keyboard after you sing it. If you have no idea what the C major scale sounds like, try playing the whole scale for yourself first a few times to get the sound into your head.

Once you can sing C major, try moving to G major or D major. You will use the same solfege syllables to sing these scales. Since all major scales have the same shape and structure, you should be able to sing them easily once you have internalized the sound of the C major scale.

Don’t worry if you can’t remember all the syllables right away—as with anything in music, it takes practice. A few days of consistent work for just a few minutes each day will start to cement the syllables in your brain.

Sing Random Pitches in the Scale

Once you can smoothly sing the solfeggio for a major scale up and down without checking the notes, you can move on to the next solfege ear training exercise: singing random pitches from the scale.

You’ll need a keyboard or keyboard app for this exercise too. Again, start with C major. Give yourself a starting pitch of middle C and sing the whole scale up and down to get the sound into your head. Now, pick a note at random (for example, Mi) and sing it. After you sing it, check your pitch by playing it on the keyboard. In this case, you’ll have sung an E (since we are in the key of C major).

We recommend first jumping from Do to all the other scale pitches in order (Do to Re, then Do to Mi, then Do to Fa, etc.) Next, try doing the same thing in reverse (high Do to Ti, then to La, then to Sol, etc.) This will be relatively easy to do because you can rely on the sound of the overall scale to help you know where you are.

Next, try jumping from Do to other pitches at random (for example, Do to La, then Do to Re). This may take some time to master. Once you can do it, the next step is jumping from any pitch in the scale to any other pitch (for example Re to Fa or Mi to Ti). You can also try singing triads or other chords (for example, Do Mi Sol—the I chord—or Sol Ti Re Fa—the V7 chord).

Don’t worry if you can’t do this right away! These are fairly difficult skills that even experienced musicians sometimes struggle with. But they are absolutely within your reach with dedicated practice. Working with an experienced teacher, or following a proven ear training method is a must if you want to improve your relative pitch skills quickly.

Either of these exercises can also be used as a benchmark or solfege ear training test to evaluate your progress. With consistent practice, you should find that these exercises become progressively easier, and that you can begin to transpose them into any key. Test and challenge yourself regularly by switching up keys or attempting more difficult pitch jumps.

Solfege Ear Training Tips for Your Best Results

One of the most important solfege ear training tips to remember is not to mix up solfege with isolated interval-based training methods and, most importantly, to avoid thinking of intervals in order to perform solfege exercises.

Science has proven that isolated interval-based ear training is ineffective, and it will most likely confuse you and hold you back. This is because (as stated previously) our perception of musical pitch is tonal: this means that the same note, same interval, same chord, etc. can assume totally different sonic sensations depending on the scale degree they assume within the key. Unfortunately, the interval method (being an atonal method) doesn’t take this essential mechanism of our brain into account.

The other important thing to remember is that online solfege ear training alone is not enough to develop a strong inner ear. The crucial difference between ear training and solfege is that solfege is just a nomenclature system and not an ear training method.

You will need a step-by-step method, and possibly a teacher, to guide you through the development of the essential skills needed to play and recognize pitches and chords by ear. The right method or teacher can provide support and expertise throughout your musical journey, assess your skill level, point out areas of weakness that require specific attention, and overall ensure that you practice correctly and make consistent progress.

Use Your Ear: a Groundbreaking Ear Training Method That Takes Solfege to Another Level

At this point, you may be asking yourself, “So what’s the ‘right method’ for solfege ear training?” We’re glad you asked!

Use Your Ear is an ear training method entirely focused on helping you build an intuitive sense of musical pitch. It is not a basic “solfege ear training program” — rather, it integrates solfege into a comprehensive, science-based, step-by-step approach to ear training that will help you identify pitches and recognize chord progressions without thinking.

We have three main services designed to help you develop relative pitch skills that can be applied to any musical situation. Thousands of students are already following the Use Your Ear courses and seeing incredible results. Check them out on our testimonial page.

Relative Pitch Video-Course

Our relative pitch video course uses solfeggio as just one part of a scientifically-proven system that will help you master your understanding and internalization of musical pitch (notes, chords, etc.). You will begin to develop an instinctive feel for melody and harmony by recognizing the sonic sensations of individual pitches intuitively, just like you recognize visual colors.

Our method is the only online ear training course available that takes into account all the sub-skills needed to strengthen your inner ear. Whether you are just getting started, or are someone who has struggled to train your ear in the past, you will find an effective step-by-step framework that will allow you to gradually improve, no matter your current abilities.

Free Use Your Ear Workshop

If you’re not sure that our method will be right for you, or you are curious and simply want to learn more about training your ear with scientifically-proven methods, check out the free Use Your Ear Workshop.

This is a mini-course that serves as a great intro to our ear training method. In this free three-hour workshop, you’ll practice multiple exercises, learn which exercises are appropriate for your level, and which exercises to avoid, and walk away with tailor-made practical directions and exercise files that will help you improve your skills for real.

Individual online lessons

Looking to take your skills to the next level? Our individual online lessons offer specialized, one-on-one guidance that can be tailored to meet your specific needs. A professional ear training teacher (qualified in using our method) will give you feedback on your progress, help you identify and work on weak spots, or dig into advanced techniques with you. No matter where you are in your ear training journey, a private instructor can help you grow faster and more effectively than any online ear trainer app. They can help you develop skills that can be used in real music, not just help you get better at the exercise itself.