Why Many Professional Musicians Discount Solfege

"All those weird words just get in the way, just look at the notes and sing them!"

It is very common in discussions of ear training and music teaching to find professional musicians who feel that all forms of sight singing training relying a syllables (solfege, numbers, letter names, etc.) is a waste of time or even detrimental.

There is a reason for this.

When you have spent your whole life speaking only one language, say English, and then try to learn another language, say French, you go through three steps for each new word or phrase:

1) Hear/See the French word

2) Translate it to the English word

3) Discern the meaning

For example:

You see the word "chat"

You translate that (in your head) to "cat"

You see the image of a cat in your head

Mastery of language doesn't come until you can see/hear "chat" and immediately see the image of a feline in your head WITHOUT the intermediary step of thinking the English word "cat"

There are many philosophies of language education, and of music education as well.  Many language teachers agree that it is helpful for some students to learn how to translate the foreign language into their native tongue.

This is where solfege (or any sight reading method) comes in:

You see the note

You translate it to a syllable (do, re, mi; 1, 2, 3; A, B, C)

You hear the pitch in your head

OR

You hear the pitch

You translate it to a syllable (do, re, mi; 1, 2, 3; A, B, C)

You see the notation in your head

The problem is that many professional musicians learned music without an intermediary step (Like learning French without knowing English) so the process of translating makes no sense to them, and seems like an unnecessary extra step.

If you can see a pitch and immediately hear it in your head, or hear a pitch and immediately know what the notation is, then these systems weren't created for you.

They are for those of us who grew up without the language of music, and could use some assistance translating it. Want a free lesson in solfege and music reading?  If you live in the Boston area you can come to my studio, and if you don't, I do online lessons around the world via Skype, the first lesson is always free!  Let me know in the comments, or check out www.ChristopherGKeene.com

How To Eat For Your Voice

Many singers and speakers fail to realize what a great impact their food choices have on their voices.  Below find some helpful information and tips for keeping your voice at it's shiny best.

STAY HYDRATED.  No seriously, if you don't have to pee right now, you aren't drinking enough water, go drink a gallon and come back to read the rest later.

Disclaimer: Your body will react differently to most foods, these are general rules.  Your allergies, intolerances and body chemistry may vary.

Foods that affect your voice will generally fall into 2 categories:

Mucus-Inducing Foods: These include all dairy products, as well as most sugary processed foods and candies, as well as chocolate.  They will tend to produce a coating of mucus (or "slime") on your vocal folds, generally making it more difficult to sing/speak, though sometimes desirable if you are feeling particularly dry/raw/horse.

Drying Foods:  These include salt and foods that emphasize it (nuts, chips, etc.), citrus foods (oranges, lemons, limes) and spicy foods.  They have the pleasant effect of relieving the intense mucus of the previous category (also caused by allergies and food intolerances).  However if not properly hydrated (do you have to pee yet?) it's best to avoid these foods near performance time.

In general avoid eating within an hour of performance to avoid losing the ability to properly support your tone from your core.  If you aren't "peeing pale" then you aren't drinking enough water.  And try to get your 5 servings of fruits and veggies a day, it will leave you feeling refreshed and energetic and give you the stamina to approach the major roles.  Professional singers and speakers are athletes, and need to respect their bodies.

How have you noticed particular foods affecting your voice?  Tell me in the comments.