How to Teach Solfege Online

2/10/2023

Did you ever struggle with ear-training? Has it always felt like it was a type of endless chore that you were assigned? Have you been finding it difficult to practice and unsure of where to begin? The different technologies that are available to us have made it possible for us to be able to learn anything online. In this article, I’m going to discuss a hybrid model that allows students to not only use traditional materials but also fun interactive ways that allow them to develop the skills to become self-sufficient so that they are able to approach the exercises independently.

Find the right resources that you feel are useful for your students. Sometimes when you’re teaching beginners, you’re not sure where to begin as there are so many things to do! You must make sure that they develop their inner ear, good rhythm, and learn notes. When you’re dealing with older students, you want to make sure that you find resources that are also appropriate for them.
Help them develop the skills for note-reading. I would recommend John Brimhall’s Theory Book series, as each workbook contains a number of different worksheets and easy-to-follow explanations that is very progressive in helping students develop their note reading skills and knowledge of the treble and bass clefs. If your students are having to take the ABRSM, Trinity, or Royal Conservatory of Music exams, it would be good to look at their remote music theory online exams. The Music & Language Learning Center currently provides opportunities for students to be able to develop their knowledge and skills in music theory and prepare students for their online exams.
Encourage your students to sing even if they aren’t good at it. This is really an important skill to develop even if you’re not the greatest at it. A lot of the time, we get shy, and sometimes it prevents us from really being able to develop our own voice or even the basic skill of singing pitches. Singing helps us be able to develop our inner ear in a natural way. If you’re teaching solfege online, you can use applications like a virtual piano to play individual pitches, but also be able to see where they are on the piano. While this never replaces the real instrument, which I would recommend if you have it, this is a great alternative as it also allows students to visualize the notes. If you’re teaching a C major scale, you can first have the student sing all the notes with the piano so that way they can get the intervals in their inner ear and then gradually subtract every other note, then every third note, etc. in this way they eventually are able to sing the major scale without the aid of the piano.
Help your students develop clef reading skills. This is an important skill to have especially when it comes to developing skills in sight-reading. I personally enjoy reading and singing Bach Chorales. Try to avoid the temptation to buy the piano reduction, but instead the edition with four parts in the soprano, alto, tenor, and bass clef. Another useful resource is the Partitúra-Olvasás, which contains a series of melodies in a variety of clefs by Nagy Olivér. This is a book that I still use in my own daily study recommended to me by Maestro Robert Houlihan. While the text is in Hungarian, the selections start with the treble clef and are short songs that can be also used for young students. For more advanced options, I would explore the Dandelot Manuel Pratique that was recommended to me by Paul Shaw when I was a student at the University of Minnesota. While the text is in French, there are translations available.
Insist on rhythmic discipline. Some really useful resources that I use in my own teaching is The Logical Approach to Rhythmic Notation: A Unison Rhythm Method for all instrumental, Choral, and Keyboard Students by Phil Perkins. What’s great about this resource is that it is very straightforward and clear, which is something very important especially in the early stages of learning music. In addition to its accessibility, it is also progressive and can be used for all ages, no matter where you are in your musical formation. I would typically assign a page a week to a motivated student who would then record their rhythmic exercises assigned to them that week. a metronome. It is important to always insist on using a metronome so that they would be able to develop the rhythmic discipline that will serve them well in their musical development. After completing these studies, I recommend ‘Rhythmic Training’ by Robert Starer.
Take advantage of the wonderful resources we have online. When I was a student learning music, I remember being introduced to an online program called ‘MacGamut’ to help with my ear-training. This was back when we had CD discs and I kept having to buy new copies as I kept getting mine scratched. Nowadays, we have dozens of online applications and free online programs that are useful in teaching music online. Here are a couple I’d recommend: Tonedear provides a lot of practice exercises that allow you to help develop your inner ear using intervals, chords, scales, and chord progressions. There are even exercises for students who have perfect pitch. There is also a program for teachers that allows you to be able to develop your own assignments and view student scores. While this is useful, I usually have my students take screenshots of their work and send them to me.
Make your lessons interactive. Now, depending on if you are teaching individual or group lessons, the dynamic can be different. While individual lessons are a lot easier to manage, as you’re focusing on the development of that person, it is possible to have interactive group lessons. A great way to get everyone involved is to take a short rhythmic exercise that is up to eight measures long, provide the details of time signature, etc. and do a rhythmic notation. I typically encourage having them use a shorthand to allow them to be able to notate quicker. If it is the first time I’m teaching the exercise, the students have unlimited listening, but as they progress, the exercises get harder, and they receive less listening. Sometimes, it can get quite competitive as it's typically a big guessing game for them.

These are a couple of things to consider when teaching solfege online to make it engage and fun for students. This is one of the most crucial skills that are so important to develop and by encouraging daily practice and positive motivation, you’d be surprised how ear training can be fun. The Music & Language Learning Center offers a variety of online ear-training courses that help our learners achieve their musical goals.