In the beginning, harmonic sightsinging will consist of the ability to sing
intervals. Experiment with different ways of learning intervals. Identify
the opening intervals of familiar songs and pieces as a reference. Use the
degrees of the scale or solfege syllables to aid you. Intervallic singing
will be followed by arpeggiation of triads and other chords in isolation
and, eventually, in the context of harmonic progressions. You will be expected
to sing the bass lines (in tempo) of harmonic progressions notated in Roman
numerals, and to arpeggiate (not necessarily in tempo) each chord in a relatively
straightforward progression. You will learn the solfege syllables associated
with each diatonic and altered chord, and the sound of various inversions
and typical progressions. This activity will help not only your harmonic
dictation, but melodic dictation and sightsinging as well, because you will
be able to better recognize these patterns.
David Loberg Code, School of Music, Western Michigan University,
Kalamazoo, MI, 49008. E-mail: code@wmich.edu