User:Crantila/FSC/Solfege

Address: User:Crantila/FSC/Solfege

!! For all of this, it is assumed that the user can and has already correctly configured their audio equipment !!

Requirements and Installation

(no algorithms)

Requirements

• timidity++
• pulseaudio-esound-compat

Installation

• Use PackageKit, KPackageKit, or run su -c 'yum install solfege' to install Solfege.

Configuration

The 'File > Preferences' window has many options, which can usually be left to the default values. There is one exception: when you first run the program, you should visit the "User" tab, to customize the software for your abilities. See below for details.

"Instruments" Tab

• Tempo: Changes the speed at which examples are played:
  • Default: Applies to everything that isn't an "Arpeggio."
  • Arpeggio: Applies to arpeggios, which are, by default, played at three times the speed of the default tempo.
• Preferred Instrument: ...
• Chord Instruments: set three voices for highest/middle/lowest
• Percussion instruments:
  • Count in
  • Rhythm

"User" Tab

• User's Vocal Range, indicated with what system: this is used...
  • Highest pitch
  • Lowest pitch
• Sex: The help file says, "Solfege need[sic] to know if the user is male or female when creating some of the questions where the user will sing the answer. This because[sic] the male voice sound[sic] one octave lower than the female voice."

"External Programs" Tab

• Converters:
  • MIDI to WAV
  • WAV to MP3
  • WAV to OGG
  • if you use %(in)s and %(out)s, it will substitute the filename it wants inputted and outputted
• Audio File Players: each with "Test" buttons
  • WAV
  • OGG
  • MP3
  • MIDI
  • %s will be substituted with the name of the file to be played
• Miscellaneous
  • CSound: used for
  • MMA: huh?
  • Lilypon-book: for ear-training test print-outs
  • Latex: for outputting that as a *.dvi file instead of *.html
  • Text editor: again, why?

Interface

• Resizeable main window
• Select language
• Identify tone keyboard accelerators (explain this!)

Practise

• "Not allow new question before the old is solved"
• "Repeat question if the answer was wrong"
• "Expert mode": what's this?

Sound Setup

• "No sound"
• "Use device"
• "User external MIDI player"
• the button, "Test"

How to Train Yourself

There are three kinds of exercises available in Solfege:

• listen-and-identify
• identify
• sing

Explanation of the Exercises

These are arranged in six broad categories:

• intervals, which is
• rhythm, which is
• theory, which is
• chords, which is
• scales, which is
• misc, including:
  • intonation
  • "Dictation" = melodic dictation
  • identify tone
  • misc exercises,
    • "Sing twelve random tones"
    • Beats per minute
  • Configure yourself, see below
  • "Harmonic progressions" = harmonic dictation
  • "Hear tones" = ??
  • Cadences: plays a (major?) scale, then an out-of-context "cadence"

How to Develop an Ear-Training Program

GNU Solfege can be used as part of an ear-training program. Ear training - like eating - requires a regular, daily commitment of varied kinds of input. As far as food is concerned, you want to eat at least three meals a day, with a large portion of fruits and vegetables, and a good balance of meats and alternatives, grains, and other kinds of foods.

Although Solfege offers a wide variety of exercises, no one source can possibly offer a full enough range of exercises and training to foster a well-rounded musician. The following texts and activities have been proven to amplify and supplement the effects of ear training software.

• Hindemith text
  • does this
  • also does this
• Karpinski, Gary (2007). Manual for Ear Training and Sight Singing. Norton.
  • contains chapters with detailed theoretical explanations, tips for listening, and developmental exercises
  • comes with a CD containing listening exercises; possibly incompatible with Linux
• Karpinski, Gary. Anthology for Sight Singing. Norton: 2006.
  • organized by chapter to coincide with the above Manual.
  • Contains examples that can be used to train one's ear by singing.
  • It is best to play only the tonic tone (not even a chord or scale) on a keyboard instrument before singing. Only after you are sure that you have sung the excerpt correctly by ear should it be played on a keyboard instrument for verification.
  • Contains some ensemble excerpts, to be sung by a group of people who are working on ear training together.
• Prosser, Steve (2000). Essential Ear Training for the Contemporary Musician. Berklee Press.
  • does this
  • also does this
• Friedmann, Michael (1990). Ear Training for Twentieth-Century Music. Yale University Press.
  • does this
  • also does this
• taking dictation of real music
• another ear traning text ("star"?)
• singing Bach chorales in sol-fa
• "The Rhythm Book" or Anne Hall's book?
• what else?

I'll have to say somewhere that Solfege is terrible when it comes to melodic and harmonic dictations.

How to Use Listening Exercises

1. Open the software
2. It's at the "Front Page"
3. Decide which type of exercise to do
4. Decide which sub-section to focus on
5. Click "New" or "New Interval" or whatever to get the first question
6. On some exercises, you need to click "new" whenever you want a new one
7. Some exercises can be configured to automatically provide a new question when you correctly answer the previous one
8. After hearing each exercise, try to make a correct identification.
9. If you need to hear the exercise again, do it.
10. It is good to limit the number of times you listen.
11. Select what you think is the correct choice.
12. Go to the next question, which may be automatic for some questions. You may want to pre-select a number of seconds to wait before progressing to the next question.

How to Use Singing Exercises

These are:

• "Sing intervals"
  1. Select "Sing intervals"
  2. Choose which ones you want to focus on
  3. The exercise will begin, playing the first of the tones you are to sing
  4. You must sing the first and the second tone, or to make it harder, only the second tone (tip: use sol-fa syllables!)
  5. The exercising is self-policing.

• "Tap generated rhythm"
  1. Select "Tap generated rhythm"
  2. Choose a subcategory (they correspond to those in the dictation, but there is no compound metre available). See below.
  3. Click "New"
  4. It will play you a rhythm; listen carefully, and conduct the beat if you can.
  5. as with rhythmic dictation, you will be given an intro
  6. You must repeat the rhythm by click on the "Tap here" button
  7. Best to use the space bar to tap in; here's how.
  8. The "accuracy" may be set too high; I like 0.30
  9. On "Config," change "Number of beats in question" to adjust the difficulty

• "Sing chord"
  1. Select "Sing chord"
  2. Choose the type of chords you want to sing
  3. Click "New"
  4. Solfege will automatically play an "A" for you, and you can hear it again by clicking, "440hz"
  5. Sing the chord ascending
  6. Verify that you sang correctly by clicking "Play answer" and hearing whether the pitches are the same
     • How does it decide the order to play the pitches? I have no idea...
  7. Click "New" for another question
  8. On the "Config" tab, it allows you to change how far it will transpose the built-in models; best to leave this as it is "['key', -5, 5]"
  9. This exercise is self-policing, and progress is not tracked.

• "Sing chord tone"
  1. Select "Sing chord tone"
  2. Select which chordal member you want to practise singing
  3. Click "New"
  4. Solfege will display and play a chord in blocked form, and you must sing the chord member that it tell you to sing.
  5. You can repeat the chord in blocked form ("Repeat") or in arpeggio form ("Repeat arpeggio"). Easier when yadda, harder when yadda.
  6. When you are sure that you correctly sang the chord member, click "Play answer"
  7. For the next question, click "New"

Using "Configure Yourself" Exercises

These exercises allow you to choose the focus of your training, rather than using a Solfege preset. When you enter an exercise, you are given a default setup, which is then customized on the "Config" tab in the activity. The following things are customizeable in "Configure Yourself" exercises, but not in the other counterparts:

• "Harmonic intervals"
  • Allows you to de/select specific intervals between m2 and M10
• "Melodic intervals" and "Sing intervals"
  • Allows you to de/select specific intervals between m2 and M10, and whether to test them up, down, or both.
• "Compare intervals"
  • Allows you to de/select specific intervals between m2 and M10.
  • Allows you to choose harmonic or melodic intervals independently for the first and second interval.
  • I don't know why "Melodic" opens up two rows of buttons
• "Id tone"
  • Allows you to choose a "weighting" for each pitch, to concentrate on specific ones.
  • Allows you to choose octave displacement from octave "4"... 0 is that octave, and positive numbers are higher octaves and negative numbers are lower octaves
• All of the Rhythm Exercises:
  • "Binary Time" means "Simple Metre"
  • "Ternary Time" means "Compound Metre"
  • All sections allow you to choose which single-beat rhythms to use when creating the question.

Using "Rhythm" Exercises

This is dictation or play-back. I just need to be sure to say to use "Backspace" button when you make a mistake.

For Rhythmic Dictation:

1. Click "Rhythm"
2. Choose which subcategory:
   • Rhythms (easy) is: quarter, 2x eighths, 4x sixteenths
   • Rhythms is: those plus da-di-mi, ta-ka-mi, ta-ka-di, ta-mi, and ta-ka
   • Rhythms (difficult) is: those plus rests and triplets
   • Rhythms in 3/4 is: compound metre everything
3. Click "New" to get a new question
4. Click the buttons above the "Play" button to input the rhythm-units, in order from start to finish
5. Use paper to work it out
6. If you make a mistake inputting, use the "Backspace" button
7. You can "Repeat" to hear it again - not too many timnes!
8. You can change the difficulty by increasing the number of beats per question, on "Config" tab
9. If you get a question wrong, you will have a chance to correct it; the incorrect parts are underlined for you in red

For Rhythmic Tap-Back, see above section "Singing Exercises."

Using "Dictation" Exercises

These dictation exercises are for melodic dictation. There is not a great variety of examples here, and they are either easy or difficult, with no middle-ground.

1. Click "Dictation"
2. Choose a level:
   • Volkslieder 1: German folk songs (easy)
   • Volkslieder 2: German folk songs (easy)
   • Parts of 2 Bach inventions: only 2; the hardest of the four categories
   • Norwegian children songs: only 3 (easy)
3. The clef, key and time signatures are given for you, along with the starting note, and title.
4. The quarter-note buttons allow you to play only part of the melody.
5. "Play the whole music" plays both parts of the music.
6. "Back" and "Forward" shifts through the excerpts for dictation.
7. It's best to "Play the whole music" as many times as needed (5 - 7 or less maximum, depending on the excerpt).
8. It's best to avoid playing only part of the music.
9. Write down the excerpt on paper, then when you're sure that you've finished it correctly, click "Show."
10. This exercise is self-policing, and does not track progress.

Using "Harmonic progressions" Exercises

These dictation exercises are for harmonic dictation. You will be asked to guess the harmonic progression, but users should also notate at least the outer voices (lowest and highest). It should be noted that these progressions do not follow Common Practice Period harmonic procedures.

1. Click "Harmonic progressions"
2. Some harmonic progressions require MMA (as indicated). See below for instructions on installation.
3. The Non-MMA Categories contain the following chords:
   • "Easy harmonic progressions": I, II, IV, V, VI
   • with Inverisons: add IV6 and V6
   • "Three chords, root position": I, II, III, IV, V, VI
4. Choose a category.
5. Click "New" to get a question.
6. The passage will automatically play once, but you will not get a key signature. If you are notating the dictation, and you do not know which pitches are being used, then you may wish to guess the key, using sol-fa equivalents to know if you're correct.
7. Click the chord-buttons to input the series of chords that you hear, in order from first to last.
8. To hear the example again, click "Repeat."
9. If you make a mistake, click the "Backspace" button to erase the last-input chord.
10. When you are sure that your answer is correct, click "Guess answer."
11. To get another question, click "New".

Installing and Using MMA

This is called "Musical MIDI Accompaniment," and it is not available for Fedora. Its homepage is here, and you can easily compile the packge if you are so inclined. There is no need to worry about this too much.

I don't think it's worth including an explanation in this guide, because MMA is used for such a small number of questions.

Intonation

1. Install Csound
2. Restart Solfege
3. Click on "Intonation"
4. All of the exercises test an ascending perfect fifth. The closer the number is to 1.0, the less the difference when it is out-of-tune.
5. Click "New" to get a new question.
6. The interval will automatically play.
7. Click "Repeat" to repeat the interval.
8. You must choose whether the second tone is flat (the interval is too small), in tune (the interval is the right size), or sharp (the interval is too large).
9. When you are sure of your answer, click the corresponding button.
10. To get the next question, click "New."

Installing and Using Csound

Csound is a sound-synthesis program, similar to SuperCollider. It is older, quite well-developed, and has a broader range of features.

1. Use PackageKit or KPackageKit to install csound or run su -c 'yum instal csound'
2. There are no large dependencies, so that's it.

Monitoring Your Progress

hmm...